Scripture Text (NRSV)
6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will
wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
6:26 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?
6:27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span
of life?
6:28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of
the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,
6:29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed
like one of these.
6:30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive
today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more
clothe you--you of little faith?
6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What
will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?'
6:32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and
indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
6:33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
6:34 So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring
worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."
Comments:
Will be preaching this text in Germany next Sunday - the 5th of
October - our Thanksgiving.
My two problems are: 1. What about the Christians who go bankrupt or
in the Third World even starve to death 2. I feel hypocrite. I worry
almost all the time - often about Money. Perhaps I haven't really
understood the text. I'm certainly not experiencing the reality of it.
The solution seems to be to "Seek first his Kingdom and his
righteousness". If that means Christian work then I wonder why most of
the pastors I know are worrying so much too. The Kingdom of God is
where God (Christ) reigns but what does seeking really mean ...
becoming a Christian, praying for righteousness, trying (with God's
help) to be better every day? I'm pretty sure they're doing that, but
they (and I) are still worrying. Looking at the birds and the grass
doesn't seem to increase my trust! Would be grateful for any thoughts
Not very spiritual John in Germany
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples about the
providence of God so that they would regard life with thanksgiving and
trust rather than anxiety.
Feasting and gathering family and friends is a wonderfully human thing
to do. The images in scripture of the heavenly banquet are a promise
that resonates deep within the human spirit. Thanksgiving Day at its
best connects with our need to gather and celebrate and to give
thanks. Thanksgiving Day in North America is all of these things, but
it is also a day layered with distortions and tensions.
The very act of giving thanks assumes that one is thanking another. We
in the church give witness that it is God who has given us the gifts
of food and family and community. We point to this God as the creator
of the wonderful diversity of the cosmos; it is this God whom we thank
this day. But our witness also proclaims these gifts as gifts for all,
and here we sense the bite. We know of our use and abuse of these
gifts and the reality that many do not share in them. We are aware of
the ways in which we squander and hoard even as we see that the
pattern of giving away is what brings life.
The response to this tension, however, ought not to be that of calling
off the feast but rather going deeper into it. Let us seek to open our
eyes and ears to this creator of all things. Open our imaginations to
God's rich and passionate regard for life. Affirm that all that we
have comes from God who gives it away and would teach us that path of
stewardship and living. On this day, we open our eyes in thanksgiving
to all our fellow humans and creatures and the earth itself and pray
that this vision remain before us in the days ahead.
I think that the Mark 10:17-31 text is more appropriate for Canadian
thanksgiving than the obvious "lilies of the field" text. The tension
between our love of material security which is nothing more than
illusion (Hindu concept of "maya" cosmic illusion)and the spiritual
enlightenment is far more poignant in the story of the rich young man.
See Dorothee Solle quote on other discussion page. It's great. Roberta
Hi all, especially John in Germany.
You have articulated the struggle of all believers who live in the
rich parts of the world. It IS difficult to trust when we compare
ourselves and our "income" with those around us who "earn" more and
seem more secure because of it; it IS difficult to claim value in our
work when we know in our hearts how unfaithful we have been; it IS
difficult to keep going when we see people turning their backs on what
we have poured our lives into.
I don't have an easy answer for you (or any of us!). However, I see it
as a sign of hope, and a sign of the presence/leading of the Holy
Spirit, that you are aware of this struggle! You have been given a
very real (and difficult!) insight into the depth of the brokenness of
God's creation. You have been given a glimpse into the lack of faith
that infects all of us, especially believers!
My only advice for you is, be gentle with yourself. The measure of
your "spiritualness" is not how much you overcome your weaknesses, but
how much God loves you in spite of your weaknesses, how much God loves
you along WITH your weaknesses.
Do not pray that this "thorn in your flesh" be removed! Pray for the
grace to accept this gift, and the wisdom to share it with those of us
who have not yet realized our own weakness/giftedness.
Rick in Canada, eh?
Thankyou for your kind words. Preached this sermon on the fourth.
Managed to preach it without being too much of a hypocrite either.
Just told the congregation that I am a chronic worrier - which makes
me an expert on the subject - and went on from there.
Two things became important to me: 1. "Gestern ist vorbei. Morgen ist
noch nicht da. Und Heute hilft der Herr." translated into English -
"Yesterday is gone - Tommorrow isn't there yet - and today the Lord
helps me." (sounds better in German) 2. The passage in Luke about
selling our purses showed me that the thankful and comfortable
complacency of many Harvest Festivals I have visited is not what the
text is about.
Thanks again
John in Germany
I am having to preach for a community Thanksgiving service, November
23rd. I would like to be creative. Aby suggestions? PH in OH
PH in OH - I've done a number of them and all I can say is the pat
answer, "be yourself." When I try to be too inclusive, I get too
"vanilla." Present Thanksgiving PH-style, from your theology, from
your hermeneutic, from your Biblical interpretation. Certainly, this
is not a platform to grind whatever axe you have to grind (and we all
have them), so just lay down your axe before you go to work.
Sally in GA
John in Germany - I like your take on starting out with a confession.
It makes it OK for all the others who are chronic worriers (and anyone
else who worry to any other degree) to hear Jesus' advice. It's one
thing to know we OUGHT NOT to worry and quite another to quit
worrying. I gave worrying up for Lent one year. Interesting results.
While modern USA Thanksgiving has a "hearth and home" comfy sentiment
about it, I wonder how many of us worry about making enough food, or
worry about family dynamics, or worry about getting up early enough to
stand in line at 6 AM at Wal Mart for the biggest shopping day of the
year. Could it be that God will take care of all needs? Even ones we'd
feel to be too foolishly trivial to present to God? (rhetorical
questions, not looking for a slew of "how God takes care of needs"
answers).
The thing is, we'd all do well to consider the condition of the first
Pilgrims. The first successful Harvest, a brief respite from their
work before they went back to work again. Maybe our worries could
include, say, the homeless. (bear with me I'm kind of thinking out
loud here)
One of the things that we do at our community Thanksgiving service is
to take up an offering for the Community Benevolence Fund. It's a good
thing and for many, a sacrificial act of devotion to provide money for
people in need. It's quite another act of devotion to go to the
Atlanta's "Feed the Hungry" on Thanksgiving day and literally feed the
hungry.
Not to induce a guilt trip, but really, many of us don't have the time
for that. I think, "why not?" The shifts aren't but 4 hours long!
Don't we sit around being bored after we eat our feast? It's because
of this boredom that Thanksgiving Day is one of the biggest movie days
of the year. Hollywood saves their good ones for Thanksgiving Day.
Another thing -- we get housefuls of company and get to busy to attend
worship. True, Thanksgiving isn't a church holiday, but there's
nothing wrong with it being a Christian holiday. I can't understand
folks who can't come to church because of company (Christmas Eve,
too). My take on it: bring the company!
Anyways, early, early, thoughts ...
Sally in GA
John in Germany, My stuggle is similar to yours. But just imagine...if
we weren't anxious, if we didn't hoard, if we didn't stockpile, if we
didn't buy into the myth of scarcity! (http://www.theotherside.org/archives/nov-dec01/brueggemann.html)
What would the world be like? Everyone would have enough. Everyone
would be fed and clothed and have access to clean water, the way God
intended! That might be the Kingdom!? Ms. Curbside Prophet in NY
This scripture will probably be one that I use for one of our
stewardship letters. Letting go of those things we find security in,
in order to believe in God is difficult. How many of us hold back on
what little we have? I think of that story of Elijah and the woman
with a son. She had only a jar of grain and oil. She did not want to
take Elijah in. But when she did, she found that God provided all she
needed while Elijah was with her. PH in OH
Date: 11/19/2003
Time: 8:18:03 AM
Comment
I am serving a church that has begun to provide a Thanksgiving dinner
free to anyone in the community on the holiday. Our people will serve
here or even deliver to peoples' homes...no questions asked! It has
been a great bright spot in the life of this faith community and we
have become know as the church with the Thanksgiving dinner.
People who worry about everything join in that day to serve and cook
and deliver and give hospitality....the worries just seem to
disappear!!
It is true that if you can learn to give yourself away you become a
different person, a better person, a more faithful person...and you
evolve into a more compassionate person.
It is a start.... and does influence the heart of our church; so that
we make great responses, significant responses, to the needs of others
in our community!
There are about 12000 people in our community and there are about 200
active people in the life of this church. We see about 120 in church
each Sunday. We think of ourselves as small but we have great
attachment to this mission....it is a JOY!
Worry adds nothing to ones' life but work that begins in the heart
adds abundance to the spirit!
Happy Thanksgiving all of you! tatat
I too will be preaching this text at a community Thanksgiving service
on the 23rd. It's an interesting event. We'll be at the local Roman
Catholic church along with the ECLA, American Baptist, and Church of
God folks. I, the UM pastor will be preaching, as the UM handbell
choir performs along with the community choir (90% UM) lead by the UM
choir director. The other pastors will be participating with prayers
and Scripture readings, but I'm trying to remember as I prepare my
sermon that we have a diverse crowd with diverse sensibilities. (Not
all of whom will understand my quirky sense of humor)
Here are the ideas I'm toying with: the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
is a little superficial, and could be understood as hiding your head
in the sand. Not a big comfort to worriers.
Another idea I may explore (NOTE: I'm a procrastinator) is the theme
of how much anally retentive people worry. Being anally retentive
leaves one full of *&$%. I probably won't use that word though. Just
imply it.
In my first appointment, where I was an associate pastor, the senior
pastor used to get annoyed with when I got things done. If we'd agreed
on Monday that I would have something done by noon on Friday, she'd be
asking me whether I'd started yet on Tuesday. I hadn't. I figured that
if we'd agreed that I'd get done by noon on Friday that if I finished
at 11:59 am, I was early.
Needless to say, that caused both of us some stress. I'd hoped that by
seeing that I did get things done at the agreed upon time, she would
relax realize that indeed things would be in order. But those two
personality types are hard to reconcile.
I've learned through the years that everytime I needed something from
God, it came at the last minute. I too used to get frustrated until I
realized that if I didn't need it before noon on Friday, I should be
happy when God was early at 11:30 am. It's a trust thing.
I could be thankful because God did what God promised, rather than
fretting over God's 'lousy' timing.
It's kind of like the Eddie Murphy joke (I think it was in 'Delerious')
there was an old man in his neighborhood who'd died, and everyone
thought it was terrible that he'd died penniless. Eddie Murphy
responds, "Sounds like perfect timing to me."
HAM in IL
To Ham in Ill,
I think I would leave out the analy retentive part! You can get the
concept of that without being as crass as that in a mixed crowd.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Susan in Wa.
PH in OH One Thanksgiving I bought a papermache turkey at Wal-Mart and
took off the tailfeathers and replaced it with a piece of styrofoam.I
went to a craft store and bought large colorful feathers and stuck a
return address label to each one. I told the congergation to write one
thing they were thankful for on the label. We had communion and as
they took communion they paced their feather in the turkey. The trukey
was beautiful! Thanksgiving is not complete without our thanks to God
and how beautiful it must be when we come together as his people to
worship with thansgiving. RE in TN
The late Rev. Laron Hall had a sermon called "Thanksgiving is for
Turkeys ..."
Those of us who just don't get it when it comes to trusting in God.
One of the things that made the first thanksgiving so powerful is the
peoples' utter dependence on God. God helped them - God sent them the
native people to teach them, God kept many safe, God sent them rain
for a harvest. Yet, in today's world, we think of Thanksgiving as
turkey day. We feel entitled to a store-bought turkey and our
comfortable time with family (or not so comfortable as the case may
be). We're a bunch of turkeys! Consider the lilies of the field ...
God clothes them. Consider the birds of the air ... God provides for
them. A paraphrse, but you get the gist.
Sally in GA
HAM in IL - Gee, if you Don't worry, be happy doesn't do it for you,
how about Mad magazine: "What, me worry?" Just being a little
sarcastic!
L in M
My mother was truely the world's worst worrier. She would worry if she
did not have anything to worry about! I would say, "Mom, enjoy today!"
and she would say, "How can I knowing that something bad is going to
happen?" She was also one of the most miserable human beings I was
ever around. She could never claim the joy of today because she was
worrying about tomorrow. This scripture should have SHOUTED at her,
but unfortunately, she was not churched.
I too,am preaching the Community Thanksgiving Service. My sermon title
is, "And The Best Way Is..." Of course, I will do the sermon on being
thankful, but the whole sermon will be wrapped up in my last
statement. And the best way to give thanks to God is...quit
complaining!! (I may be looking for a new community next year)
You all really bless me, thanks! Toni
