Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which if you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

- Matthew 6:25-34

Since Thursday before last, the Lectionary has taken us through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel. We began with The Beatitudes (Part 1), and then to You are the salt of the earth - You are the light of the world, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift, You have heard that it was said to those of old . . . , Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect, Your Father who sees in secret, who is in the secret place and Our Father in heaven - The Lord's Prayer. In Saturday's reading, Jesus taught us about exchanging, if you will, one kingdom for another. He asked us to store treasures in heaven for ourselves, rather than on earth. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It all depends on what we love and put first. How do we look at things? We need our "eye" to be full of light in order to see, rather than to be lost in the darkness. He gave us a stark choice, in our hearts: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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?" Jesus continues from the reading we had on Saturday, with its emphasis on the kingdom and on the "treasures stored up in heaven." And we continue to understand this emphasis He is asking us to make in this life. What do we focus and dwell upon? What's most important? His question is a poignant one: "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" It's one we should ask ourselves every day, to remind ourselves of the substance we seek in life, or what makes us truly of the kingdom. My study bible says, "Physical growth and length of life is dependent upon the providence of God more than upon food, drink and clothing." It adds that this is not a provision against thoughtful planning and care, but against severe anxiety. I think it's a clear continuation of His focus on what comes first -- on the importance of this choice within us, in our hearts.

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which if you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing?" Jesus shifts His emphasis to an example from the world around us, from nature, and it is an example of the workings of the world, clearly couched in the hands of God the Father. Our own efforts can't necessarily create everything we need, our own growth, the functioning of our bodies. Again it's a question of where our heart and our focus is: God who created us and created the world knows what we have need of. Our focus is there, first, not on clothing!

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" I love that this example focuses so much on the beauty of the the world, the natural beauty created by God. We can just look around ourselves and see that beauty everywhere in nature. Should we not be comforted that this has been provided for us as something of importance to God already? But Jesus takes it further and emphasizes our importance to Our Father as His children by adoption. He arrays even the lilies of the field in such beauty and glory -- how do we think God would like us to be? Again, the emphasis is consistent on what we put first -- where our eye is focused, and the light of God with which He asks us to be filled first.

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Here, He makes it perfectly plain. What do we put first? Where is our faith? My study bible reminds us that the Gentiles in this case are those who seek after pagan gods -- gods that are not real. But again, Jesus takes it further and instead focuses on our faith, and the difference it makes in our lives. What do we put our faith in first; in what do we rest and remain through all things? We "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." Those treasures in heaven we put first will include for us what we need in our worldly lives, but that's up to God. My study bible says, "The kingdom of God is the central theme of the teachings of Jesus, and His righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount. Calling us to be set free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to look to heaven, to this greater 'country' which will be received at the Day of the Lord, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings."

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Here is the great wisdom of Christ. The word here for worry means to be distracted -- in a sense, "pulled apart." It's the same word He uses when He tells Martha that she is "worried about many things" but that her sister has chosen the better part. When we lose our focus, we lose our true wholeness, our true center. And faith is that center -- faith on the right things, treasuring what it is we truly need first. The "trouble" of the day in the Greek implies what "the evil one" will send to give us worry and toil. Enough is enough for the day, we don't need to add to our worries and anxieties by dreaming up more for the future. It is better to focus on our daily faith, to do what we must in faith today and leave our focus there.

All in all, Jesus teaches that there is one real focus we need, one stark choice we need to make. And that is to keep our heart firmly in the soil of faith and in the Kingdom. This is what we seek first: We seek first the Kingdom and its righteousness. That is, all the things He has been teaching us that God wants from us in our lives. And God knows what else we need. So, what's in our heart? What do we put first? Where do we put our fondness? What's our treasure? It's reassuring here that when we place God first, and the righteousness of that kingdom of God, of love, that God knows what we really need. The Creator of all things, of the beauty of the world, loves and values us. We therefore store up treasures in heaven and build that value and worth. So we look to the birds who thrive without worry, anxiety and toil. We look to the beauty of the lilies of the field as clothed by God. But first we are clothed in God's love and righteousness, we are fed in faith and God's love. Speaking for myself, I can say that God has blessed me in ways beyond my expectations when first I put this kingdom in my faith. I can't speak for any others. But every day, we need a reminder: put this kingdom first and its righteousness. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. Let God teach us about the rest, and what we really need for our lives. Let the Lord show us the Way.