Consider the lilies

Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

- Luke 12:22-31

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave His disciples - and all of us - the Lord's Prayer. While He was praying, His disciples had asked Him to teach them to pray, as John did. This was no doubt a response to His example, and that is what it meant to be disciples: through living with Him and sharing His life, they learned. See Our Father - The Lord's Prayer.

The lectionary is skipping forward in preparation for Ascension Day, and today's reading follows the theme of prayer given yesterday. I think it's very important that we combine the lessons of the two readings, connected as they are in terms of discipleship and bringing the kingdom into this world. Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing." What do we pray for? How are we clothed and fed? What is it we need? Following with complete consistence the things He taught in the Lord's prayer (which we examined in yesterday's reading), here the Lord gives us -- and His disciples -- instruction in their orientation in prayer. We seek a sacramental life, the world returned to God and infused with the purpose of bringing the kingdom here. So this precaution against excess anxiety -- focusing solely on the material -- is given in that vein. We seek more than the material life only, but a life filled with the Spirit, with God's presence, with the kingdom.

"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?" Jesus gives us the examples from nature: the ravens who do not constantly worry and work and plan. Can we grow through worry? The lilies in their enormous beauty -- this quotation inspired the choice of my photo at the top of my blog. Indeed, "Solomon in all his glory" cannot top the beauty of God's creation for me, either. So if we look to that example, can we not think of God's loving care in all things? We must consider our own work as disciples -- are we not important to the Lord who wishes for His kingdom to be a part of this world? Let us consider this, then, a precaution against excessive worry and focus on things that detract us from what we are really doing here, once we have made the commitment to be one who seeks to bear that kingdom in this world. It is faith, as Jesus indicates, that He is aiming for here, that we must follow when we make our choices. Excessive dwelling on the purely material is a distraction from that, something that misleads us. In faith, we put ourselves in God's hands, and we focus on the present time. What is before us today, in our focus as disciples who look to the kingdom, who seek to bear it in the world?

"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you." I think it's important that Jesus teaches that "all these things the nations of the world seek after," because He makes it perfectly clear that He understands the business of the "nations of the world." But He is asking us to live a different life with a different focus. We are here to bring the kingdom into the world, just as we were taught to pray in yesterday's reading, and this is our focus. We are more than merely material beings, and as disciples, we look to the "next day" focus of a sacramental life: that is, today we seek how we are to live in order to bring the kingdom into the world, to bear the kingdom, to seek the kingdom of God. And that is our focus, for today. How do we live a sacramental life, one that infuses the reality of the kingdom with the reality of this world? Not neglecting either, but not focusing only on the worldly.

A sacramental life is one in which all that we do and live in this world is also infused with our faith. Beautiful objects can be testimony to faith and remind us of our faith. I don't see this preaching as condemning beauty and the beautiful things of this world at all: quite the opposite, in fact. The beauty of the world, here, is clearly the creation and in the care of God, a loving Father. We can see, then, the kingdom even in this world, as Jesus teachings of the beauty of the lilies, and the ravens who are, He says, fed by God. So let us consider what it is to live this life in which we seek the kingdom, here and now, and to bear it through the world, through our worldly lives. Like the Eucharist, the gift we are given is returned to God, and God returns it to us, infused with His Spirit and purpose for us - to seek that kingdom and to bring it into the world. Every act can be one of sacrament when we practice love, this way of life, when we pray and seek that "Thy will be done." Our own work, of course, whatever we do, is a part of that practice, too! In that way, all things can become a part of prayer. Let us consider the lilies, then, and God's good grace for a life filled with beauty and love. I heard recently a quotation from a book by Fr. Thomas Keating, a small comment on experiences of God in life. He said they are those in which one finds simultaneously present love, awe, reverence and delight. Can you think of such moments in your daily life? Sometimes we may find them as we consider the beauty of the lilies. Let us remember, then, the great desire of the kingdom in this world, as we pray "Thy kingdom come" and remember Jesus' teaching about seeking that kingdom and all things being added to us.