Matt.6.24-34, Second Sunday after the Pentecost, May 25, 2008

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“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:24-34 ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“Don’t Worry Be Happy” that’s a song isn’t it… a song from the 70’s? It sounds a lot like what Jesus is saying here doesn’t it?

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy......

(Don't Worry, Be Happy, From the Movie "Cocktails", Performed by Bobby McFerrin)

I think it is good advice, don’t you? Don’t worry… be happy… but it’s easier said than done. There’s so much to worry about; too much moisture, or not enough; too much wind, or not enough; high corn prices but high fuel prices, high grocery prices, should I drive to Sioux Falls or get them here; health care costs through the ceiling; will my daughter be alright when she heads off to college; what am I going to do with the kids home all summer; family feuds; global warming; natural and unnatural disasters; presidential elections; illegal immigration; uncooperative neighbors; new neighbors; unwanted new residents; old friends leaving / dying; loss of independence; too fast change in the church; not enough change in the church; on and on it goes… it’s enough to give you an ulcer. What does Jesus think he’s saying anyway? Life is difficult. It’s a struggle to get the stuff we need… and getting harder.  How can he say, "don't worry?"

Well, it’s a good question to ask. What is Jesus trying to say here exactly? And more specifically what is he saying to you and me? Well… to really understand what he’s saying we have to take off our shoes, put on our sandals, and sit down on the dusty ground of first century Palestine. We have to put ourselves in the crowd that was listening to Jesus. This might be harder than you think. Especially for people who are as wealthy as we are. Ya, I said wealthy. Oh, I know, we don’t think of ourselves as wealthy. We seem to struggle every day for the stuff we need (or think we need). But the majority of the folks gathered around Jesus didn’t have nearly what we have. They lived day to day, hand to mouth. To put it in perspective I heard it this way:

If you have more than one pair of shoes, if you decide what you are going to eat each day, you are wealthy, by the world’s standards. (Unknown)

In fact, most of us have never been there, most of us have never been poor by that definition. But these are the people Jesus is speaking to. So when Jesus says “don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or wear” he’s talking to people who really don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. He’s talking to people who scratch every day just to put food on the table. Obesity isn’t a problem for them, like it is for us, starvation is a daily possibility. And Jesus tells them not to worry…

You know, one problem I have is that I get too serious about things. It’s a shortcoming I have. I tell a joke and nobody laughs because they don’t expect it. We look at Jesus that way, too. But one of his greatest teaching tools is humor. I think we miss this about Jesus. And here’s a good example.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns

Picture in your mind what Jesus is saying. Little wild birds, driving their little bitty tractors through the fields planting seed… little bird sized combines with little birdie satellite dishes for XM radio… and perched high in the tree tops, little bird grain silos full of grain stored up for the winter. No, it doesn’t happen, does it. The birds don’t do any of that. They are provided all that they need from God. They pluck around on the ground and pick up the seed you drop from the combine. They search through the tall grass for the early worm.

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Or how about those flowers.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

Imagine the picture of flowers, sitting row upon row in the fashion sweat shop, Easter lilies, pansies, and chrysanthemums, bent over row upon row of sewing machines. Roses pushing their high fashion clothing racks through the streets of New York. No, that doesn’t happen. God provides what they need… and more beautiful than the richest cloths of Hollywood.

Jesus wants you to know that you are of far more worth than flowers or birds. That’s what he’s telling the folks around him. That’s what he’s telling you. He takes care of all of their needs. He takes care of your needs too. In our sinful nature, the problem is, we don’t recognize real need. We think we need cable television, computers and cell phones. We think we need 16 pairs of shoes and 99 kinds of breakfast cereal to choose from. In fact, if we really looked at our lives and our possessions carefully we’d see very clearly that we have much more than we need. It is only selfishness that keeps it in our possession. We make excuses for not sharing it, like telling ourselves things like “I’d help them but they’ll just drink it away” or “I helped them once but they didn’t use it properly” or “God helps those who help themselves.” “I need to save for a rainy day.” We count success, both personal and in the church by the size of the savings account. Money is simply a resource he gives his people and the church to be used in service to our neighbors and to serve the message of Jesus' love and forgiveness for all.  Jesus gives us fair warning.

You cannot serve God and money.

Notice he doesn’t say “don’t” serve God and money. He says you can’t do it. When our eyes are on our bank account they are not on Jesus. When our eyes are on Jesus we won’t worry about the bank account.

Jesus also gives the solution.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

But be careful! Jesus isn’t telling you what to do. He’s telling you to look for what he is doing. The problem his is language. It’s that phrase “Kingdom of God” that throws us a curve. When we hear kingdom we think of territory or government. But that’s not what Jesus is talking about at all. St. Matthew in his Gospel tells us what the Kingdom of God is.

And [Jesus] went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Matthew 4:23 ESV)

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 9:35 ESV)

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. (Matthew 11:1 ESV)

Jesus is God, the King, come to fix the world, to bring the Kingdom of God.  Jesus is God the king come to remove the effects of sin in his world. He does it by preaching and teaching.

Jesus doesn’t help those who help themselves; Jesus helps those who are helpless. Given the choice to serve God or money (because we can’t do both) our sinful nature would pick money every time. We hoard, covet, cheat and steal for it. Our selfishness runs too deep for us to change. In fact, whenever we worry, we assume the power of the King and try to take it into our own hands. But look for the Kingdom of God. Jesus, the King, comes. Jesus, the King, removes sin’s effects by taking the punishment for our selfishness to the cross. The King does what Kings are supposed to do. He takes care of the needs of his people. He starts with our greatest need, the need for forgiveness. He takes our worries into his hands and takes them to the cross. Jesus’ blood dripping from the cross washes away the sinful stench of selfishness through the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5) in the water and the word in Holy Baptism. Jesus’ broken body bears the burden of our serving the wrong master, money. He puts forgiveness right into us with his Holy Supper. Jesus sweetly speaks forgiveness into our ears and our hearts with his Word. He reminds us that we are free from the money master. We are free not to worry about our needs because God, the King, Jesus Christ, our Savior, has them all under his control. We are free to serve the needs of others. We are free to look at the wealth that God has given us and use it in service to other people, even (and especially) people who don’t deserve it. We are free to think about what God has given us as gifts for the help of other people (by the way, that includes our own families). We are free from worrying about ourselves, because Jesus has us in hand. Listen to those wonderful words from the Prophet Isaiah we heard a moment ago.

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:15-16a ESV)

That’s not just an idle reference. Isaiah is talking about how slaves were tattooed with their master’s names on the palms of their hands. This was done so the slaves would remember who they were working for. Jesus engraves your name on the palms of his hands. He serves you with his life, death and resurrection. Everything he did he did for you. He will never forget you. Even death will not separate you from him. If you are looking for the Kingdom of God, look no further than Jesus doing what he does for you. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Technorati Tags: Sermon,Matthew,Stewardship

Matt.6.25-34 Consecration Sunday Resurrection Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, SD

Matt.6.25-34 Consecration Sunday Resurrection Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, SD

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My brothers and sisters in faith at Resurrection Lutheran:

It’s my privilege to be here and bring you the Good News of Jesus Christ today. Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today as you celebrate Consecration Sunday. I bring you greeting from one of the oldest congregations in the district, your sister church, St. John’s, Howard.

You have asked me here to talk to you about stewardship. Whenever we talk about stewardship in church we can be a little bit uncomfortable. That’s because one important part of Christian stewardship is how we handle the money the Lord has given us, particularly how we support the work of the church. Whenever we talk about giving to the church it strikes us very close to our hearts… right in our wallets. Also, we know that whenever we talk about money there’s bound to be conflict. You know how the saying goes, stick a two of South Dakotan’s in a room to talk about money you’ll have 3 opinions on how it should be spent. And don’t forget the other old idea that lots of people think, “the only thing the church talks about is money.” Well, we’re going to talk about Christian stewardship today because congregations that never talk about Christian stewardship end up always talking about money.

We do have to talk about money in the church, because the church needs to pay its bills. You have a beautiful building to pay for. The city doesn’t provide you with electricity and water for free. You pastor has hungry mouths to feed. He needs to be paid for the work he does here. St. Paul says:

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17-18, ESV)

These needs are all a part of giving to the church. But we don’t give to the church because the church needs the money. We don’t give to the church so that the church meets its budget. We give because as Christians, we need to give. We give because we have a need to rely on God, and God alone, in everything. We give because God is the gracious supplier of all our needs.

When we don’t have a proper view of stewardship, when we spend all our time talking about money, we are missing the most important thing we are to be talking about in Church. You see, Jesus tells us that here in the church we are to be focused on one thing and He will take care of the rest. I’m not saying, nor is our Savior, that if we do the right thing the budget automatically fall into balance. I don’t see that He promises that anywhere in Scripture. Your church here may always have some struggle with its budget just as you struggle with your budget at home from time to time. What Our Savior does promise is that He will take care of us. He promises that all things happen for our benefit.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, ESV)

Jesus wants us to trust Him. He wants us to realize if we struggle to meet our budget, while we are focusing on what’s most important, it’s ok, because in that struggle we learn to be dependent on Him. Jesus says it in this way in Matthew Chapter 6, which is the text I have chosen for our meditation today:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34, ESV)

Today the part of this text that I really want to focus on is: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. There are some questions here that I think come up when we look at this very short and simple passage. What is God’s righteousness? What is God’s Kingdom? What is it exactly that we are to seek after? St. Paul says it in a very clear way:

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:1-2, ESV)

The church, that’s me and you, the Baptized Children of God, are to be focused on Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. We are to be focused on the forgiveness of sins that comes to us through Jesus Word and Sacraments. That’s the message, the Good News, that we are to be about, proclaiming to the world. If you want a mission statement for the church that talks about that very thing, well Jesus gives you one of those, too.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

Baptizing and Teachings. Word and Sacrament. Seek ye first, the Kingdom. That’s what we are to be about. That’s what we are to be doing.

Ok, so when we talk about doing this work of the church, baptizing, teaching, preaching, etc. it’s only natural to talk about the financial means the church uses to do it. When we talk about the money the church needs to carry out its mission, it’s easy to be tempted to worry about making ends meet. It’s only natural as a caring human being. Your pastor isn’t immune to worry. I’m not immune to worry. You are not immune to worry. At home you worry about paying your bills. You worry about getting your kids through school. The same thing happens at church. Although being a small church has many advantages that you love, being a mission congregation means that you don’t have the resources of an established congregation. So you worry about where the money is going to come from to pay the bills. You worry about how that is going to effect your mission to reach out with the Gospel. It’s not all wrong to have concerns about these things, except that is, when these things and these worries get in the way of the Cross. I would not be fulfilling the office that God has placed me in, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if I didn’t tell you that when that happens it is sin. And it’s easy to get caught up in that sin. I get caught up in it and so do you. God may never grant this church to have all the resources of a larger church. He may never grant that this church have an easy time meeting its budget, but that’s His call, not mine, not your Pastor’s, and not yours. We just have to get around the idea that if we have it easy, we are under God’s blessing and if we struggle we don’t have God’s blessing. Well, it’s like the hymn:

I lay my wants on Jesus; All fullness dwells in him;

He heals all my diseases; My soul he does redeem.

I lay my griefs on Jesus, My burdens and my cares;

He from them all releases; He all my sorrows shares.

(Lutheran Worship, 366)

How about an example from Luke’s Gospel:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42, ESV)

How easy it is to get tied up in the work that’s necessary to keep things going, and miss the main thing. How easy it is to get tied up in how to pay the bills and forget that the reason we pay the bills is because we come to this place to see the one thing necessary, Christ Crucified. There’s no better way to put it than the way Martin Luther says it in the Small Catechsim:

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

“That I may be His own” just think about that for a moment. Jesus Christ comes, is born a human being, “that I may be His own.” Jesus lives on earth, walks the roads of the Middle East “that I may be His own.” He hangs on the cross, and suffers not just the physical suffering of that punishment, but also the spiritual suffering that our sins deserve, “that I may be His own.” He ascends into the cloud up to the throne of God, the Father, and prays for me there, “that I may be His own.” He comes here in His Word, in Water connected to His Word, and in His very body and Blood, in with and under bread and wine, “that I may be His own.” His own to serve Him in worship. His own to serve Him with the time that He gives me. His own to serve Him with the talents that He gives me. And even His own to serve Him with the money that He gives me. That’s Christian Stewardship. That’s giving to the church for the all the right reasons.

Maybe I’ll just say it this way: You and I know that everything is God’s. He created the world and everything in it, including you and me. He gives things to you and me to take care of us, and so that we can take care of our neighbors. It is beyond my understanding that He then lets us give some of it back to Him and He uses it what we give to give us the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. It used to be so much clearer. In the old days, people gave their offerings, not in cash, but in kind. So piled up in the front of the church would have been hams, and corn and bread and milk and wine. The pastor would take some of the bread and some of the wine and carry it up to the altar for the Lord’s Supper. And the gift that was given by God’s people came back to them with the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and life, and salvation.

Now I want you to stand up and look around you. You see this church. It’s a beautiful building; it’s been well taken care of. You’ve been good stewards of this gift. What a blessing it is. See this Baptismal font. I had water put water in it today just as a reminder of what happens there, a reminder of the lives that have been brought into the family of God. Look on the altar and see the chalice. In it is some wine, and near it bread, where very soon Our Lord will come to us in His very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Let that also remind you also of what God does here through that gift.

All of this is God’s gift to you… and he gives you a part in it. The gifts that you give He gives to you. The question you can ask yourselves today, as you think about the gifts that God has personally given you and how you are going to support what he does here is this: Do you need what God gives you in this place? Do your friends and neighbors need what God gives in this place? Do your children and grand children need what God gives in this place? Does this community, this state and the world need what God gives in this place? If the answer is “yes”, then recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in you right now.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33, ESV)

He’ll guide you in what you can do to support the work that He does here. He’ll provide you with all you need to do the work He has for you to do out there. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.