But 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 of 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 as 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 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and were thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole boy will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  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?  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 of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"  My study Bible explains that Jesus is warning here against anxiety, not against thoughtful planning.  Our physical well-being is directly dependent upon God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  It says that excess anxiety over earthly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.  

 

 "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 as 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?"  Jesus demonstrates here the natural beauty with which God has created the world, and clothed even the lilies and grass of the field.  Do we presume that God does not care about these things?  

 

 "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."  My study Bible comments that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly 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."   The kingdom of God is the central theme of Christ's teaching, and God's righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount. My study Bible states that, calling us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to look to heaven, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.  

 

 So much of what we worry about seems to be directed by demands that do not come from within us, but come from what seems to be going on around us.  Do we need to have an updated home?  Do we need to wear clothes  that resemble what's admired or popular?  How much will people think of us when we don't impress them, or gain their approval through the things we have, wear, the car we drive, etc.?  That is a first consideration when we begin to approach the questions which are raised for us in today's reading.  It's important to consider the beauty that Jesus spells out in His teaching.  God does not neglect beauty, nor even admiration.  Jesus points out for us the charm and delight of the birds.  How are they cared for?  Do they store up the grain they find for the next season?  How do they flourish and survive?  And regarding clothing, Jesus speaks of the real splendor of the simplest things we can find in nature, even the lilies and grasses that grow wild.  It seems to me to be a quite literal statement that even Solomon wasn't arrayed in the glory of these flowers and plants that nature produces for us.  Our own ideas of beauty stem from the beauty of the natural world around us, the colors of the sunset, magnificence of mountains, the brilliance we see in flowers or the coloring of birds, the trees that give inspiration, the natural grace and life of the animals we observe.  The world is filled with the creative beauty of God, so why do we consider that God doesn't care about food or drink or clothing?  What Jesus is saying is that when we look around at the creation of God, its beauty should inspire us to consider our Creator, and what it says about God.  Do we think that God doesn't care about us?  Clearly God has provided for the birds and other animals.  Do we think even the beauty of our clothing doesn't matter?  But we see extraordinary natural beauty all around us, so what does that tell us about God?  Jesus is telling us, therefore, to look to our Creator first before all the rest of the cares and anxieties and urgent stressful demands that seem to plague us all the time.  And He also tells us exactly how we should look to our Creator first:  He says we must seek God's kingdom and His righteousness in the very first place in our lives, as our top priority.  In Christ's Incarnation, it is made manifest God's love for us and for God's creation (John 3:16).  The Incarnation is for us, so that we may become like Him and live with Him, even an abundant, eternal life; and this Incarnation is for the whole of the world, all of creation (both seen and unseen).  Christ's ministry presents us with the overwhelming conviction of the value of human beings, even those who will carry His kingdom in this world.  With that astonishing, invincible love, do we think God does not care what we will eat or drink or the clothing we'll wear?  So let us seek God first, trusting in God, and putting into perspective the nature of our relationship to creation and to our world.  For it is in righteouness that we find right relationship to all of it, including our material needs and lives.  Christ's final words in today's reading give us a right attitude to cultivate for our well-being:  "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."  This last word, trouble, is in the Greek κακία/kakia, meaning evil or bad, wickedness, even depravity.   Whatever troubles and difficulties we have, let us not compound them, for the things on our plate today are enough for us.  Let us put our trust and efforts first in God's kingdom and our pursuit of God's righteousness, and what we need will be added unto that. 

 

 

 

But 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 of 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 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught His disciples, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.  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?  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 of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"  My study Bible explains that Jesus is warning against anxiety here, not against thoughtful planning.  Our physical well-being is directly dependent upon God, it says, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  It further remarks that to be anxious over earthly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.  

 

 "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."  Because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained dependent upon earthly things, my study Bible says.  Those who follow God can be freed from this dependence.  

 

"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."  The kingdom of God is the central theme of Christ's teaching, and God's righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount, my study Bible notes.  It says that Jesus calls us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, and directs us to look to heaven -- secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.  

 

So, what is God's righteousness?   The entire Sermon on the Mount is a way to express this, what life is like in living for the Kingdom.  We started with the Beatitudes, which taught us how to live and to view a blessed life.  From there we learned that believers are like salt and light, and carry these needful qualities with them in spiritual terms that help their societies and communities.  Deepening our understanding of the Law and its aims, Jesus teaches us about the reality of our interior lives, what it means to be part of this communion, and to take action to avoid sin at deeper levels within our own hearts.  In other words, true righteousness, and justice, even spiritual perfection.  Giving examples of this life, He teaches us how we should pray, and what to pray.  Yesterday, He taught us about the impossibility of serving two masters; we'll either be a slave to materialism or freed in true righteousness, embracing the life of the Kingdom (see above).  Moreover, in today's reading, Jesus elaborates on that freedom, asking us to become freed enough from attachment to our material desires so as to avoid excess anxiety, to stop making that the central focus of life and put God there instead -- "for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  In other words, we don't divide life into two realms, but we do put one first, the one governed by God, under whom are all things, for God creates and upholds all of reality.  When we lose the righteousness -- the kingdom of God and His righteousness -- then we lose the reason for being, the ways of relationship to the world and even to our material possessions, how to use them, what they are for, and how they are provided for us.  In our lives we may work hard, we may find very creative ways to live material lives, but ultimately our well-being depends upon placing our faith in something that colors everything and transcends it.  In recognizing dependence upon God, we not only find this righteousness and this Kingdom for ourselves, we also find a healthy gratitude, an understanding of life that places in our laps the means by which we find values and priorities for all that we do.  Gratitude is so often the alternative, and therapy, for the times one feels depression or meaninglessness, so let us shape our lives by this understanding of dependence upon God.  Even the sad parts of life, the things we experience as loss, pain, or suffering, gain meaning through God's righteousness, and relationship to Creator, including insights on how we go forward through difficulties.  So let us depend upon Christ and free ourselves from the anxieties that make us unbalanced and unreceptive to the righteousness and communion we can find.  Today's passage contains some of the most beautiful imagery found in all of Scripture.  It's not for nothing that Jesus reminds us of the stunning beauty of nature ("even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these"), of the things created by God, the dependency even of the birds of the air for God's care ("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?"), and most especially how futile our worry and anxiety are ("Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?").  In this context, faith becomes the way of life that is not simply preferable, but needful, and for all of us as human beings.  In the modern world, we feel that we are constantly bombarded with things to worry about; we are constantly fed information guaranteed to stoke anxiety.  Jesus acknowledges that we have needs, and we also have troubles, but He puts them into context for us.  Perhaps it was always like this, but nonetheless even in our present age it remains true, that "tomorrow will worry about its own things -- and sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  Let us take Jesus at His word, for unlike some who preach all kinds of systems or philosophies or even faiths, He doesn't scare us with fear, but quite the opposite.  He teaches us that a focus on worry and anxiety avail us nothing; only faith changes everything and is the place we should take our stand and root ourselves in life.  Let us remember the beauty and wisdom He teaches to us. We are called to a particular Kingdom, and a particular righteousness.  The whole world may urgently chase the material life ("For after all these things the Gentiles seek"), but we are called to a different way.  In a world increasingly obsessed with security, let us consider how we may seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness.

 

 

 

 

But 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 of 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 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 - 7 in St. Matthew's Gospel).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  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?  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 of 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?"  Here Jesus warns against anxiety -- not against thoughtful planning.  My study Bible asks us to note that our physical well-being is directly dependent upon God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  

"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."   My study Bible explains that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  Those who follow God can be freed from this excessive sense of dependence.

"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."  Here, we note the central theme of Christ's teaching:  the kingdom of God; and God's righteousness, which is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.   My study Bible expands on this, saying that Christ calls us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, and in so doing He directs us to look instead to heaven -- secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.

Jesus' teaching today focus us on worry, on anxiety.  If we look up this word in the Greek (μεριμνάω/merimnao) it means, essentially, to be distracted.  Jesus uses this same word in St. Luke's Gospel, when Martha complains to Him that her sister is not helping her serve the guests, but spending time listening to Jesus teach.   Jesus tells her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41-42).   "Worried" is translated from the same word, while "troubled" is translated from a word that means to be fearful.  If we look more closely then at what Jesus is teaching here, the text implies that we can be overly focused on the wrong things through worry and anxiety.  Merimnao can also imply a mind that is split in some sense -- we become off-kilter, distracted, by things that take up our focus when Christ calls us (particularly in recent readings) to be "single-minded" and stick to our focus on God's kingdom.  This word can even be used in a positive sense, such as when we care for something, or pay attention, or take care.  But if we read these meanings in the text, and follow Christ's teaching as He's given to us so far, we come to see that what He says is that anxiety and worry tend to distract us from where our focus should be, on the kingdom of God.  They give us a "split mind," so to speak, and we are fragmented in different directions.  It's consistent with the teaching in yesterday's reading, in which Jesus says that our "eye" (the lamp of the mind) should be full of light.  Over-distraction with worry is a kind of darkness, that keeps us from focusing on Christ's light.  He suggests to us the remedy:  "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  He's teaching us that God knows what we need, and a life of faith means living in God's care.  But then He teaches us something equally important to remember: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  He's letting us know that He understands that worries are a part of life in the world, but each day will bring its own things to be concerned about -- and that is enough for the day.   Let us note, as is always so striking in this passage, the simple but stunning images Jesus gives us from nature:  the birds of the air whom God cares for, our stature which worry can do nothing to alter, and the lilies of the field, which even Solomon in all his glory could not match for raiment.  Jesus' poetic speech is nowhere finer than here, illustrating the precious things of life that can't be bought for money.

But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you"

 

 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. 

Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. 

 

- Luke 8:26-39 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught (following the parable of the Sower), "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him." Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But he said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

 

 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Jesus comes across a man who is entirely disordered:  he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but the tombs.  This is the work of the demons who oppress him; he lives among the dead and entirely outside of community.  He has been seized, and kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles.  These are human attempts at "order," but his bonds were broken,  and he was driven by the demon into the wilderness.   He is tormented by a Legion of demons.  The malice of the demons is important for us to notice; it is contradictory to the kingdom of God and Christ's gospel.  The demons recognize Christ, and fear Him, for He has power to command them.  They beg that He will not command them to go out into the abyss, the place of non-existence.

 

 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.  My study Bible has a very lengthy note on the story of the swine.  It says that while some teach the presence of the swine indicates a Gentile population, we know that Christ forbade His disciples to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5) -- and He also was reluctant to seek out Gentiles (Matthew 15:24).  It's more likely that these are Jews who are raising swine for the Gentile market in this place of mixed population, and so are engaged in what for them is an sinful occupation.  According to my study Bible, the destruction of the herd of swine reveals several things.  First, animals are a venerable part of creation, but human beings are of far greater value.  Additionally, Christ removes a source of since, as swine herding was an abomination to the Jews (Deuteronomy 14:8).  Moreover, demons have no power over creation, but they are subject to the will of God.  They could only enter the swine at the command of Christ (and begged Him not to command them to go into the abyss).  Human beings are protected under the providence of God; for otherwise this demon-possessed man would have come to the same end as the swine.  For these hardhearted people who don't care about the healing of the man, the economic loss would remain as a sign for them who fled that region. 

It's important to look at the signs of what doesn't conform here to the kingdom of God which Jesus represents and seeks to bring into the world.  There is, first of all, the demonic influence of the afflicted demon-possessed man.  We don't know his name, but we know the name the demons give themselves:  "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  His life is entirely disordered, and the human efforts to give him boundaries and control don't work at all.  He's driven further and further away from human community by the demons, to the point where he lives now among the dead, in the tombs.  He doesn't even have clothes.  This is a human life that has been destroyed, and he is left entirely isolated and tormented.  We can see the true malice and destructive insanity of the demons when they enter the herd of swine, and the swine race to their deaths down a cliff into the lake (which is the Sea of Galilee).  A "steep place" like this often serves as a sign of sin, of danger, and we can see here the analogy.  Then there is another kind of evil influence in this picture, and that is of the people who are fearful of Christ and stonehearted regarding the healing of the formerly demon-possessed man.  They only care for the material value of the swine which they've lost.  It means nothing to them that Christ has cast out the demons.  Clearly they were contented the way that things were before, and the healing Christ has done has disturbed the order they lived with.  We see something similar happen within social systems where a person tries to get healing for what ails them, be it an addiction or some other problem.  There will be those who are happy with the way that things were under the old system, be it for monetary gain or some other type of currency that's valuable to them.  Healing, which can be akin to banishing or correcting some form of evil, can be disruptive.  When a person no longer settles for a dysfunctional way of being, no longer is content for not following the path that God may set forth for them of developing a skill, a talent, an intelligence, this can disrupt a system of relationships in which those who surround them are content with the way things were.  They benefit in some sense.  It's a kind of selfishness that doesn't see the bigger picture, can't be happy for the healing, and doesn't want to make an effort to do something better and cherish the higher values that may be introduced by the search for healing.  Christ offers a way out of chaos and destruction, but the material selfishness, closed-mindedness, and deliberate ignorance of these townspeople make it clear that the healed man cannot live among them, and they also demand that Jesus leave them as well.  When the healed man wants to come with Jesus and the disciples, Christ gives him a different solution for his life:  "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." Jesus teaches him to return to the place that is home; that is, the place where there are those who will be glad to hear and to see "the great things God has done" for him, including a restoration of his right mind.  It suggests a kind of revolutionary importance of finding support for a life set on a right path, where the great things God has done for us, the healing we have experienced especially with help from our faith, can be shored up, set into a structure of community, find a home, and can be celebrated rather than feared or discouraged.  There is a lesson here for our own spiritual gains in our lives, the fruit of the spiritual life Christ brings us.  If there are those who don't like the change, it is important to find one's "house" where a positive change and institution of good order in life can be seen as the good thing it truly is, and one can testify to the great things Jesus has done for us.  We need those who will be happy for our good news.

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

 

"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 of 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 either 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 

 

We have been currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  In Saturday's reading, Jesus taught, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  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?  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 of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"   My study Bible comments that Jesus is warning against anxiety here, and not against thoughtful planning.  Our physical well-being is directly dependent on God, it says, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  Anxiety over earthly things can be a demonstration of a lack of faith in God's care.  

"So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they either 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?"  Again, Jesus is putting faith in God first over anxiety over worldly things.  That is, we come to depend first upon God.  His warnings, as my study Bible put it, is against anxiety, as opposed to thoughtful planning.  

"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."  As the Gentiles served pagan idols, my study Bible explains, they remained consumed by dependence upon earthly things.  Those who follow God can be freed from this dependence.

"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."  Here is the central theme of Christ's teaching and the gospel message:  the kingdom of God, and God's righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.  My study Bible comments that Christ calls us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, and directs us to look to heaven, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.  

So what does it mean to put God's kingdom first in our lives?  To seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness?  First of all, it is a way to set things in proper order in our lives, to put things in their right perspective.  This is not simply because God is Creator, but because God has the way for us to put in proper order and relationship that things in our lives -- which includes the right relationship to earthly things, material goods.  In Saturday's reading, Jesus taught  that we cannot serve God and mammon.  And it is clear that if we don't put things in proper order (that is, if we do not put the kingdom of God and God's righteousness first), we will wind up making an idol of material, earthly things.  When we are filled with excess anxiety over the things we might possess and use, then we dwell on them constantly.  We do not seek God's direction for how to live our lives, but wind up obsessing over things that really don't need to consume that much attention, and we take away from our faith.  We engage in practices that steal our own ability to live prayerful lives, to dwell in that Kingdom, so to speak.  This is not a teaching about escaping from material responsibility, or a two-tiered life divided into the spiritual and the material.  It is, instead, a teaching in which we're given the right recipe for wholeness, for right-relatedness to God and to the world, to put things in order, instead of living lives which are disordered and out of balance.  A modern vision that sees life as purely material, and focuses so heavily on what we wear, what we look like, what modern things we have, what our houses look like, isn't conducive to a focus first on the Kingdom and God's righteousness.  Neither is it a focus that leads to good judgment or mercy, as so much finally becomes measured by this material yardstick of "success."  This is a disordered way to look at life, upside down, one in which suffering even for one's faith, or for love, is simply seen as loss without meaning.  And that is truly a disordered worldview, because in the end it will rob everything of meaning.  Suffering is a part of life and of this world, it is the root of the very word for evil or "the evil one" in Greek (Matthew 6:13).  That word is πονηρός/poneros, the root of which means pain, and in its broader meaning includes suffering, trouble, and laborious toil.   But if it is for our faith we suffer, for the righteousness of God and the gospel of the Kingdom, then suddenly suffering takes on meaning, because we put real meaning first in our lives -- and this diffuses into everything, even the sacrifices we make for it.  It is the "good fight" (1 Timothy 1:18, 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7), the struggle for love and meaning, which is not blind to the darkness of the world but bears light into it.  A purely material yardstick leaves us with only winners and losers, anxiety and depression, a world filled with meaningless suffering.  Christ will transform and transfigure that world through the Cross, and we are given this righteousness as a way that leads us through life as more than just losers when we suffer, and as those with the opportunity to transfigure even worldly wealth into compassion when we win.  Now that is a great proposition, the good news indeed.

 

 

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

 "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 of 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

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  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?  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 of 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?'"  What Jesus says here notably follows the admonition that one cannot serve God and mammon (in yesterday's reading, above).  He begins to speak about the material aspects of life, a focus on anxiety that is more than simply thoughtful planning.  Life is more than food and body more than clothing.   My study bible says that our physical well-being is directly dependent on God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  Moreover, excessive anxiety over these things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.  It's important to put this into the perspective of His preaching about what we worship, what we put first.  He is speaking of a kind of worry in which these are the things which concern and consume us most, more than the greater blessing of having God as our Father.

"For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  My study bible explains that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  Those who follow God can be freed from this total dependence, as we can trust that our heavenly Father knows that we need all these things.  Jesus is not negating the need; He is rather asking us to keep in mind the love of God for us, and God's awareness of all our needs.  It is this mindfulness on our part that creates a holistic balance in our lives.

"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."  My study bible points out that the kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus' teaching, and that God's righteousness is the true focus of the Sermon on the Mount.  His primary admonition is that we seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness, and that all the things we need will be added to this.  Therefore, this is our primary focus as His followers.  My study bible says that, calling us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to look to heaven, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.   That sufficient for the day is its own trouble is one of the wisest sayings that experience will teach us.  We do not need to drum up more troubles by needless anxiety!  Tomorrow will bring its own set of worries; there is no need to think up more.  Today -- and the things which present themselves immediately before us -- is enough for today.

In the central photo at the top of my blog, one will find one of the most beautiful (to my mind) flowering plants that grow quite commonly in the region where I live.  These are crocosmia lilies.  They grow so easily and abundantly that some consider them an invasive species.  Their beauty and color remind me of Christ's "glory" of the lilies of the field, as indeed these display in their ruddy gold brilliance.  Somehow by accident, my camera at the time of the photo captured the white of the sun's rays shining down on them and nurturing their beauty, highly appropriate for our passage today.  These rays are likened to God's mercy -- the energies of God that truly sustain life for us all, including the great beauty of the flowers that remind us of resurrection, especially the bulbs that rest in the ground to re-bloom each year.  The beauty of their colors, nurtured in the sunlight, give us delight through their glory.  And so it is that we are free to enjoy the beauty of the God-given world, as that very beauty also nourishes us and provides us with something we need.  When we observe the beauties of the created world, we may pause to consider how deep our need for beauty is, for beauty -- something hard to define as a material necessity for bodily survival -- is indeed something that nurtures the soul.  It is a reminder of God's love for us and God's care, for we may ask why it is that so much of created nature bursts with such beauty as if to give us an uplifting gift, a break from toil, a time of enjoyment or delight.  Jesus calls lilies such as these the "grass of the field," reminding us also of their simplicity == and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed such as these. Indeed it remains difficult to replicate through man-made objects the brilliance and dimensional richness of these colors in the sunlight.  In the most ancient burial sites discovered by archaeologists, we find evidence of such types of flowers buried with the ancient dead -- truly a teaching of our need for beauty and the reflective promise of resurrection of life our earliest ancestors intuitively grasped for.  Our own need for beauty teaches us about our dependence upon God for the finer things in life, the things that nourish the soul, give us the most heart, and the true faith in life's very goodness that sustains us and makes life more than toil.  Worry and anxiety, Jesus seems to teach us, take us away from that truth of life, and even from who we truly are as the children of a loving Father in heaven.  Excessive worry keeps us stuck in the "what ifs" == all those things that too often distract us from what is right in front of us and what is important, taking away our spirit for the real work we need, even the work of faith, of prayer, and of trust.   We need to remind ourselves that our health does depend on taking the time to appreciate the beauty we're given, telling ourselves that our focus is on what's needful, and not the fears that take us away from good health in every sense.  It's a common theme that so often we feel we can solve problems simply by worrying about them, when so often it is patience that is necessary to await a solution -- and time to contemplate the better and beautiful things that gives us a refreshed mind more able to cope with whatever the troubles of today really are.  Let us remember our need for beauty, and our Father in heaven who knows what all our needs are, and take heart in what is good, without giving in today to what rightfully belongs only to tomorrow.

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient to the day is its own trouble

 "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 of 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 to the day is its own trouble."

- Matthew 6:25-34

We are currently reading the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5 - 7 of Matthew's Gospel.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught:   "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 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?  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 of 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?"  Jesus is warning here against anxiety -- not against thoughtful planning, my study bible says.  Our physical well-being is directly dependent on God, and indirectly on food, drink, and clothing, it notes.  Anxiety over worldly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.

"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."  My study bible says that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  A reliance on God frees us from this dependence.  This is the second time that Jesus has reminded His hearers that "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  In speaking about prayer, He contrasted pagan prayer (using "vain repetitions") with the type of prayer to the Father He was teaching, saying, "Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" (see Tuesday's reading).

"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 to the day is its own trouble."  The central theme of all of Jesus' teaching is the kingdom of God, and God's righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.  Christ calls us to detach from our anxiety of earthly things so that we may look to heaven and dwell upon that faith for what we need for our lives, knowing that God is aware of our needs.  There is an important emphasis here on what is appropriate to the time, and where our focus is.   Life will always present challenges, but we needn't add to them with excess worry.

Jesus gives us an important emphasis to focus on our relationship with God.  This does several things.  He speaks of detachment from material needs.  This is not to say that we don't understand what we need, or that we don't need material things.  On the contrary, He reassures us for the second time that "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  He's telling us that our primary focus should be on that particular relationship, for our dependency upon God for life is our true dependency.  He asks us to look around at the beauty of the world.  Even the wildflowers have incredible beauty.  We can look to the birds and wonder at their care.  Jesus doesn't say so, but to look around ourselves at the marvel of nature and creation is to reckon with gratitude for what is truly present to us and what it tells us about our place in the cosmos.  God cares for the flowers of the field, for the smallest animals -- and how much value do we suppose God places on us?  The Incarnation itself, the Father sending His Son to be one of us and to fully and completely take on our human life in this world -- what does that really say to us about our worth in the eyes of God?  As Christians, we place our faith, hope, attention, and focus first on God's righteousness.  That is, on living that righteousness ourselves.  This puts everything else on a second rung, and it puts anxiety also in its proper place.  It's important to note as well that this particular focus Jesus teaches us includes mindfulness, a focus on the here and now.  It is a way of staying rooted within our own reality, eyes wide open to what actually is with us today.  Anxiety and worry about the future take us away from a focus on our present reality, and drives us in a kind of frenzy which is based purely on destructive speculation, a fantasy that is wholly negative.  In addition, Jesus teaches us that this sort of entanglement based on excessive attachment can cause us even more troubles than are necessary for us to deal with, adding to our burdens and challenges.  He's quite right when He tells us, "Sufficient to the day is its own trouble."  We don't need to make more for ourselves, our challenges are enough.  In a sense, He's also telling us that the crosses we need take up are measured for us; we should not add to our own burdens ourselves through excess worry and fear for the future.  It should be noted that the word for trouble is the same word as "evil."   Enough is enough.  Let us follow His loving advice!

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

 "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 of 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

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which began with Matthew chapter 5, and the Beatitudes.  In Saturday's reading, Jesus taught:  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  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?  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 of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"  Here my study bible emphasizes that Jesus is warning against anxiety, not thoughtful planning.  Because our physical well-being is directly dependent upon God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing, we live in all ways within that relationship.  Anxiety over earthly things, my study bible says, demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.

"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?"  Jesus gives us a sense of the natural beauty of life and the care built into even the smallest details of each form of life in creation.  All of creation, He's saying, is filled with God's love and care.  If even the grass of the field, with its extremely transient life, is so clothed by God with beauty, how much will God care for our adornment and clothing?

"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."  My study bible says that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence upon earthly things.  Those who follow God can be freed of this dependence.

"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."  The kingdom of God, my study bible tells us, is the central theme of all of Jesus' teaching, and His righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.   If we place first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness by which we live in that kingdom even in this world, our focus is in proper order and right-relationship even with worldly things.  We rely on God for our lives, and God adds blessings to our lives.  "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" is good advice in an age of anxiety and depression.

Above all things, Jesus gives us righteousness, or right-relatedness.  In all things, we put our relationship to God first.  We cultivate our faith first, because this puts everything in the proper order in life.  Our worldly blessings, Jesus says, will be added unto us.  It is a recipe against anxiety, for a way of seeing our lives in context of the true relationship we have in faith and with the Creator of all things.  Above all, everything depends on what we put first.  It is the righteousness in the life of the Kingdom that Jesus emphasizes throughout the whole Sermon on the Mount, and it is this that He says is our greatest treasure that leads to all other good things and our understanding and proper appreciation of them.  Let us note carefully that Jesus does not despise the needs we have in life for clothing and food.  On the contrary, He points out the beauty of the natural things of the world, even the simplest flowers that grow in the fields.  It is such that God creates and adorns in raiment that bests even Solomon in all his glory.  Jesus wants us to understand that it is the love of God that comes first before all things, and within that context we live in each moment, each care, each need.  When He tells us that "after all these things the Gentiles seek," He is referring to a form of idolatry, where these cares and concerns come first -- outside of the context of faith and love of God.  Therefore, so much depends on this teaching about what we put first, what we seek first.  For Christ, the deepest teaching He does is right here:  "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  First comes the trust we place in God, the seeking of the Kingdom Jesus says is at hand.   Modern forms of illnesses take on the shape of this broken trust:  addictions of all kinds, anxieties and their connection to depression.  Medications for these illnesses top the sales of all pharmaceuticals around the world.  Christ knows our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and He knows our needs.  He understands what we need and what are our concerns.  He doesn't expect us not to have them, nor to ignore our desires for food, drink, and clothing.  But He also knows what hurts us and debilitates us, what keeps us from experiencing God's love and the trust of this deepest relationship, to Creator, the One who loves us and who wishes most fervently that we are one (John 17:20-21).  It is this depth of relatedness and communion to which Jesus points, a life filled with blessings too deep and varied to count, in which we can see God's love for ourselves in the care of the birds and the beauty of the natural world around us.  Let us remember that all of the Sermon on the Mount is meant to point to the righteousness of this life of communion, the kingdom of heaven and our growth within it, our way and journey in faith.  He opens the door -- He is the door.  Let us work on our reliance on God, and an active faith that seeks to discard the unnecessary anxieties that may plague our lives in the demands of a modern world so that we may find His care and direction instead.

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

 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

Yesterday we read that as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a  serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  As in yesterday's reading, today the lectionary skips forward to chapter 12, in preparation for Ascension Day tomorrow.

 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."  My study bible says that here Jesus warns us against anxiety, but not against thoughtful planning.  Our deepest dependency for physical well-being is on God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  Anxiety over earthly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care, a note tells us.  Jesus' words here remind us of the love of God, and the care of God, even for the ravens and the grass.  And to God, we who may bear the Kingdom into the world are of so much greater value.  Therefore our first priority is our dependency upon and relationship to God before all other considerations, planning, and concern.

"For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things."  The nations of the world are the Gentiles, who worship idols and therefore remain consumed by dependence upon earthly things.  This is an idea of connection to "worldly" material power, rather than dependency upon God.  To depend upon God is to be free of dependencies which base all our well-being and self-awareness on worldly circumstances.  But again we note that this is not an extreme form of rejection of material life at all; Jesus reassures us that our "Father knows that you need these things," making God's care intimate and personal.

"But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."  Here is the central theme of Jesus' teaching, the kingdom of God.  All His preaching is focused on this.  My study bible says that, calling us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to look to heaven, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.

We may be tempted to read Jesus' words as rejections of material life.  But then again we must remember God is creator of all the world, our bodies as well as our souls, and everything about the world itself.  To reject material life is to reject God's own creation. Rather, we are asked to make a distinction between material life and materialism.  These are two different things.  On the one hand, we can see the world as created by God and ourselves as stewards in it, asked to make wise decisions about the protection, care, and prolonging of the good qualities of life -- and not only for human beings for but for all the life of the world.  But if we look at that phrase, for the life of the world, and find it in Jesus' teachings, we read John 6:51:  "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  This is directly impinging on our understanding of our material lives, as it conveys to us the entire sacramental understanding of Christ.  We seek  the kingdom of God, meaning that it is this dependency, and goal, and drive that sustains and builds and enhances our own ability to be good stewards of the world, and to know how to use wisely our material goods and manage properly our needs for them.  We have a choice:  a completely selfish perspective based on materialism, a purely materialistic perspective on our lives and the life of the world.  Or, we seek the kingdom of God, which may direct how we use, live, work, and share the beauty of the world, how we value its goodness in particular as a gift from God, and how we relate to one another on every level of life in the world.  All we have to do is simply look around to find ourselves easily persuaded that there are selfish ways of using power in seeking material goods, and there are also ways of balancing that understanding and power and by seeking God's wisdom and perspective first in doing so.  Our dependency is there because it is that direction that makes all the difference between a world guided by our own selfishness and its destructive potential, and a world in which we may build something of value and beauty that recognizes our need for righteousness; that is, right-relatedness to all the world and everything and all others in it.  That is, the whole of the life of the world.  Let us remember His gift and sacrifice, and ask ourselves to what extent we are meant to follow in His footsteps for the life of the world.  The anxiety we are asked to put aside is anything that stands in the way of our primary dependency and recognition of that dependency upon God, and our deep desire for God's kingdom to manifest in the world, as we were taught to pray in yesterday's reading:  "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Luke 11:2). 

Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things

 "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 of 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 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 to tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

- Matthew 6:25-34

 We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  We began with the Beatitudes, then we read You are the salt of the earth, Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill, Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment, Let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No," Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, Pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly and Our Father in heaven.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  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?  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 of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"  My study bible says that this is a warning against anxiety, not against thoughtful planning.  We are dependent upon God for our well-being, and indirectly on food, drink, and clothing.  Great anxiety over earthly things, it says, demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.  An excessive anxiety means that concerns about all of these things crowd out everything else, depleting our capacity for life in its fullness and robbing us of joy.

"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 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?"  Jesus calls our attention to the natural beauty of the world.  In some sense, this is a remedy to excessive worrying, which doesn't really solve problems in and of itself.  Beauty is a kind of antidote to the worry, uplifting us and reminding us that God's hand is in all things.

"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."  My study bible says that Jesus' emphasis is on the idols of the Gentiles -- in serving pagan idols they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  To follow God gives us a freedom from that kind of dependence.   This is the second time in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus reminds us that the Father knows what we have need of.  In Friday's reading, in which Jesus gave us the Our Father or the Lord's Prayer, He said, "For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

"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 to tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."   Here is the central theme of Jesus teaching, the kingdom of God.  And the righteousness of God is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.  My study bible says that Jesus seeks to set us free from anxiety about earthly things so that we may look to heaven, secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.  This is all about what we put first, what our real aims and goals are, and our deepest needs.

In Saturday's reading, Jesus taught us that you cannot serve God and mammon.   Here, He's building upon that teaching, and showing us an essential truth about ourselves.  Everything depends on what we put first, what is our goal or focus, and what we choose to serve.  If our first and highest concern is really what we'll wear, and what we'll eat and drink, how we'll do this or that, then what winds up happening is a life filled with anxiety first over these things.  But what Jesus really asks of us is putting one consideration first before all these things, seeking the kingdom of God.  It's not that we're to live such ascetic lives that we think we don't need anything of these things.  No, it's quite the opposite, in fact.  He assures us that God knows we have need of all these things.  What He's asking is that we put everything in perspective by having our priorities straight, and by understanding what we really want to serve in life.  This is all about what comes first as priority and goal in the heart.  How do we live our lives every day, and what do we keep our mind on?  What's the goal?  What do we really want to serve?  Is it just all about the material stuff, and that's it -- an end in itself?  This kind of life is a prescription for anxiety, excessive worrying.  And there's wise advice here:  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.   We really don't need to add up things to worry about -- today's troubles are enough.  Sometimes the shift in focus to the things of God is the one remedy that really helps to put it all in perspective, and to get us to take the time to focus on something beautiful, uplifting, that fills us with a much bigger sense of purpose than just what we're going to eat and drink or what we're going to wear.  Those things may be ends in themselves, but they're not going to fill up the soul with what it needs.  For that kind of depth, we need more, and that's where Jesus is trying to get us to focus.  So think about it.  What do you really want to serve with your life?  What makes life good, and adds blessings of joy to everything else?  Sometimes, forgetting about anxieties and losing oneself in what is more beautiful is just the thing we need to be able to solve a problem!  Anxiety and worry, on the other hand, tend to just get us stuck, staying in the same old loop over and over again.  Let us "seek first the kingdom of God," and remember all the beauty that might hold for us in so many ways, and the creativity that goes with it -- and the God who knows that we have need of all these things.  Ironically, this is often a key to finding a solution to a problem that's been worrying us.  The patience that comes with such a focus, and the detachment it helps us with, the rest we take in this place, always seems to come with its own blessings -- not least of all for our health and well-being!

But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you

 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." '  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

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 12:13-31

In yesterday's reading, we first read that Jesus' ministry has reached a point at which He is now being challenged by the Pharisees and scribes, looking for something in which to catch Him, so that they may accuse Him.  In front of huge crowds, so great they trample on one another, Luke tells us, Jesus taught, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For these is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

  Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  My study bible explains that "it was a tradition for respected rabbis to arbitrate personal disputes over property or money.  But Jesus refuses to play the role of judge regarding material things, and instead issues a stern warning about greed."   It's interesting here that Jesus refuses to be "judge" in a traditional and, if you will, worldly sense.  In the teachings in yesterday's reading, Jesus is quite clearly asserting Himself as Judge, but that is "judge" in a cosmic and spiritual sense, as His divine Person.  He's also begun to openly challenge the religious establishment.  So the context here emphasizes the difference between "judge" and Judge.  Jesus places His emphasis on the kingdom breaking through and the values of that kingdom in our lives.

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." '  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  Again, I'll quote my study bible:  "The rich man is a fool, despite his material success, because he vainly puts all his trust in his possessions rather than in God.  To be rich toward God is to have a life of close communion with Him through faith and works."  Jesus' emphasis is on those who put all their faith in "worldly" or material life, and neglect to be rich toward God.  This isn't a criticism of reasonable concern for life and its necessities, but rather the blindness of a life lived without concern for the true wealth that gives value and meaning (including perspective) to everything else in our lives.

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."   My study bible teaches:  "This is an exhortation against worry and anxiety, not against God-ordained planning and earnest work."  Jesus will frequently speak against worry and anxiety in the Gospels, and here we can see a parallel with yesterday's reading as well -- in which He taught that in the face of persecution and worldly courts His disciples are not to worry what they will say.  They are to place their faith in the Holy Spirit; they are in the process of true witnessing.  Here, there's a parallel emphasis on the necessities of life.  We're assured that God knows we have need of them.  But again, there's a parallel with the earlier story in Luke of Martha and Mary, and the one thing needed, the good portion.  And there is a promise here, that putting the things of the kingdom of God first will set things in order, in proper relation, and "these things" shall be added unto you.

I think it's important that we take Jesus' words seriously here.  What is it to seek that Kingdom first, and to put its values before everything so that we may be properly "related" to everything around us, including our material needs?  If you think about it, the world isn't only about our needs, but if we are privileged to live in a place where we have more than what we need for survival, then we also have choices to make about what to do with what we might be able to store up.  If we look at life and possessions that way, then we see that we may need a sort of plan for how we look at our wealth and what we do with it.  The values of the Kingdom become essential in this perspective, because they become a guidance for how we handle things in our lives.  Jesus addresses Himself to disciples who are going to work for this Kingdom, who may face terrible persecution because of it, be cast out of community and ostracized; they will put everything on the line.  And yet in this case, they are cautioned against worry and anxiety, to be rich toward God, and that the God who remembers every sparrow and numbers all the hairs on our heads is aware of what they need.  This is a powerful teaching of trust, above all else, a faith that is a trust (the essential meaning of the word we translate as "faith" from the Greek).    So let us remember, in all the choices we may make in our lives, what comes first? What sets things in right order for us when we make our decisions about what we pursue?  Jesus tells us that these things will be added unto us.  But can we take that great step of trust to begin?