MATTHEW 6:25-33
’Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
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It seems a bit odd at harvest, the day when we have collected food and other good, to have a reading where we are told:
‘do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
It seems cruel, to tell people not to worry about these things. Many in our own nation who live on the streets and many others live below the poverty line, finding it difficult to provide and living hand to mouth. And indeed even in Jesus’ time the gap between rich and poor was enormous, and poverty was both visible and common. Jesus himself healed people who were on the streets begging for money.
One commentary puts it well:
‘ It is not true to say that all birds are adequately fed and that all lilies reach their fullest beauty. Droughts and other catastrophes cut short the lives of both birds and flowers as well as of humans who trust in God. It simply is not the case that those who seek first the kingdom of God find invariably that all things necessary for life are added to them. And how unwise it is to counsel “Do not be concerned about tomorrow” (Matt. 6:34). Careful planning can avoid the worst effect of drought and plague.’[1]
Of course this commentator is right; if we don’t worry and make provision for food we will starve. The same is true for clothing and shelter
And yet, despite this, Jesus is not wrong. Life is about more than food or clothing. Jesus as God’s son saw better than anybody, the best way of looking at life. He saw the wonder of the birds of the air, he saw their sheer joy at existence. He marvelled at the incredible world his Father created where they can find food for themselves; and how lilies in the field, didn’t seem to strive, but they grow just in the right place and they thrive with seemingly not much effort and yet have more beauty then one of the greatest of Israel’s kings when dressed in all his finery. He could see the goodness of our creation, and indeed our own goodness yet how it is marred by sin and anxiety and worry. Now this could be a convenient reading of the passage which avoids the issue, but some scholars suggest that in the original text, this passage is written as poetry rather than prose. If it is poetry, then it makes sense that it is a bit counter intuitive as poetry has a way of seeing reality in a, kind of, magical way. A supernatural way, that sees things more then they just appear to us a mundane day to day things.
So this isn’t some text that says, if you spend all of your time focussing on God rather than looking at the day to day then you will not go hungry and you will not have difficulty. But rather it seems that it is about seeing that we are a part of God’s good creation, one that he made so that we could dwell within it and steward it well, and that needs to be our focus, where we can wonderful and marvel at it’s beauty despite the tragedies which beset us. Jesus is saying that there is a basic goodness to existence that we can miss if we spend all of our time worrying.
Saint Paul knew this, there were many times had nothing but trust in God and was able to live a life of happiness and joy despite that. And in his letters he tells us that he often went without food and without shelter.
So perhaps we are to see this passage in light of the fact that it is Jesus who is saying it. God himself. In the beginning of John’s gospel we are told that the universe itself and everything within it was made through the Word of God, through Jesus. So we know that he knows what he’s talking about. We can know that it is not helpful to us to always be worrying about things all the time. We know in our modern time the huge impact that stress and anxiety can have on our lives, robbing it of it’s joy, especially when we don’t have all of the things that we need to thrive. There is a wonderful passage in the next chapter of Matthew, chapter seven about the goodness of our heavenly Father. Jesus says:
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
I can get quite anxious at times, worry was for a long time second nature to me. It’s one of those things that just seems to be a part of my make up. I am much better than I used to be. But I still find myself worrying at times, how are we going to afford this, or that. Are we saving enough, what if the fridge breaks down, what if the car breaks down (or the dryer, which has actually happened this week!) And when I heard this passage, I heard a stern command ‘don’t worry!’ And of course, then I would feel guilty about worrying!
But not so long ago a very wise person said to me that when she reads these verses, she imagines Jesus talking to her like a kind father, who says to her ‘don’t worry, it’s okay, I will sort things, you don’t have to worry, you don’t have to be afraid.’ Jesus is not saying do not worry because he is some far off distant God who is ready to judge his people as soon as they start to worry about something, all ready to catch us out. No, he is a loving Father who helps us in our time of need. As Jesus teaches us what God is truly like:
Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Amen
[1] Hare, Douglas R. A.. Matthew: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (p. 74). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
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