8.7.22 Luke 12:22–34
22 Jesus said to his disciples, “For that reason I tell you, stop worrying about your life, about what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Certainly life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have no warehouse or barn; and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25 And who of you by worrying can add a single moment to his lifespan? 26 Since you are not able to do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 28 If this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith? 29 Do not constantly chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about it. 30 To be sure, the nations of the world chase after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Don’t Worry is Easier Said than Done
When I was first in the ministry I was trying to minister to a woman who was very prone to worrying. She was a timid and shy gal in her middle ages. Her husband was a fun but kind of gruff guy. He would just tell her, “Stop sinning!” It didn’t work. Bob Newhart did a gig on Saturday Night Live years ago where he tried the same approach to people he counseled. He would just yell at them and say, “Knock it off!” It didn’t work either. It would be nice if it were that easy.
We tend to worry a lot in our society, because there are plenty of fear mongers out there, especially when it comes to politics. Some of our friends were recently right outside the cinema here in Bay City when there was some gun fire between two cars. There are reasons to at least be concerned. It’s especially hard to stop worrying when you’ve done it for so long. Maybe you went through a traumatic event as a child and you just can’t shake fear. The smallest thing can trigger you.
So how do we stop? At first glance, it would appear that Jesus tries the same approach as Bob Newhart when it comes to worrying. He just tells us to “Stop worrying!” But this is different. Let’s see how.
There are two things that Jesus talks about worrying about. Food and clothing. They are the basic staples of life, protection in the clothing and sustenance in the food. Paul asked for a coat to keep him warm while in prison. We have had plenty of both, but with the rise in gas prices and food prices, more of us might be tending to worry a little bit more about making ends meet from month to month.
You might also look at the word “worry” can also mean to “strive after in an anxious way.” Even when we have plenty, it is easy to be consumed with MORE. Think of people obsessed with fashion, constantly worrying about what they’re going to wear and how it fits on them, whether it fits in with the crowd. You might also be a slave to taste, willing to spend plenty and drive miles to go to the most highly recommended restaurant. You worry about the wait time or whether you’ll get in. Your life might revolve around food and clothing, a different kind of worry, but worry nonetheless.
Why not worry about them? First of all, it doesn’t do any good. It doesn’t add a single minute to your life. If anything, it takes away your health. Secondly, Jesus reminds us of a simple fact. Certainly life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Think about the well dressed. Some of the worst dates can sometimes be those who know how to dress well but can’t carry a conversation at all. Maybe they are also rather vain. Their clothing does nothing for them beyond shallow aesthetics.
Years ago we had a wedding here and one of the bridesmaids was all worried about how she looked. One of our ushers finally saw her come out twenty five minutes after the wedding was supposed to start and lovingly said to her, “Nobody is going to be looking at you anyway.” It wasn’t the nicest thing to say, but it was kind of funny and kind of true. She was seemingly all worried about how she looked instead of just enjoying the moment of her friend being married.
There’s MORE to life than food and clothing. This doesn’t mean that the meaning of life can be found in other things like sports, camping, or social media, things less essential than food and drink. Lord have mercy on us for how much we revolve our lives around television, movies, and all of these meaningless things. You might expect people that have no other view of life than the here and now to live for those things, but not the Christians. That’s not the MORE Jesus was thinking of.
Instead, think about Abraham in our Old Testament lesson. God had given him a wife and riches. He had over 200 servants. He had everything you could think of and MORE. Yet when he prayed to God, he said that he had NOTHING. Why not? Because he didn’t have a SON. And if he didn’t have a SON, he didn’t have a SAVIOR to come. What good would all of those riches do without a Savior? He’d just end up dead and in hell. So all the rest of the stuff he had? He regarded it as NOTHING. There was MORE to life than food and clothing.
Jesus reinforces this from a positive perspective. Do not constantly chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about it. 30 To be sure, the nations of the world chase after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need them. There’s the positive thing. YOUR FATHER KNOWS what you NEED. The Holy Spirit is actually living within you through your baptism. He knows you BETTER than you know yourself.
Here’s another thing. If anyone knows food and clothing, it’s God. Look at how He generously feeds the raven day after day, without need of a storehouse. Ravens live usually around 10-15 years in the wild, and I doubt that any of them die of starvation. Then look at how luxuriously He goes into clothing a flower that He KNOWS is only going to maybe last a week? There’s a cactus, for instance, that only blooms once a year, during a full moon, at night. It looks beautiful, but it only lasts a short time. Yet God designed the flowers to work this way. So Jesus says, let’s put the two in a scale of importance. The flower and the human. Which do you think is more valuable to God, who took on flesh to live and die for YOU as a HUMAN? This is God in the flesh talking here, right? If this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith?
The point Jesus is making here is not only the bare necessities, but that God does a GOOD and GENEROUS job at feeding and clothing us. He’s GOOD at it. When we bought some suits from a guy named Sal in Saginaw, it was fun to work with him. He’s done this for years. He’s an expert at it. Just by looking at you, he knows your suit size. He got us all measured up and fit just right. How much better is GOD than SAL? First and foremost, He fits you with the clothing of Christ in your baptism, making you look holy in His sight. Beyond that He clothes you with so much more! Think about what Paul says, one of my favorite passages, in 2 Corinthians 9:8. “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Think about this when you start to worry.
But that’s not ALL Jesus has to say to alleviate our worries. Jesus does a bit of misdirection, in a sense. He tells us to think about something else BESIDES food and drink. Instead, continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. But how do we seek this kingdom? What is it? It’s not like going to see the capitol in Lansing. You have an address. It’s made of cement and mortar. It sticks out.
Let’s look at the Word. It’s interesting to read through the Scriptures and see how it is described. Sometimes it is described as a PLACE that you enter into. For instance, He said that it is hard for the rich to ENTER into the kingdom of God. But then He said that little children could RECEIVE the kingdom of God and in another place He said the kingdom of God is WITHIN you. In today’s text, Jesus told His disciples to KEEP SEEKING it. Jesus also said that the Father “is pleased to give you the kingdom.” So Jesus speaks, in this context, of the kingdom as something that God GIVES you, and that He ENJOYS giving it to you. Instead of being a place, it’s packaged as a gift and given to you. You don’t have to earn it or work for it, it can be given to you.
What is the kingdom? Perhaps we could think of it in terms of citizenship. You are American citizens, no matter where you go. You were born into it. In a sense, the same is true of the kingdom of God. We are born into it through baptism. This spiritual citizenship is kept and cherished through FAITH in Christ which comes from hearing the message and receiving the Supper. Paul wrote in Romans 14:17 that, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit enters into your heart with Jesus. He says, “Here is your Savior. Here is your forgiveness. When you are baptized into Christ you are put to death with Him and raised with Him. Your God is dedicated to you. You are His child. He will guide and protect you here and now. You have life and hope because you are connected to Him.”
God wants us to venture around in His kingdom of grace, get to know Him throughout the history of the world as He speaks of Himself in the Bible. It’s like when we moved to Michigan. As time went on, we went adventuring out to Tahquamenon Falls up north and the Sand Dunes to the east. We found more and more beauty than we ever thought we’d find here. Some day what I really want to do is get up to the Porcupine Mountains, which is the farthest away from here. Many people who live in Michigan never venture out to see these things. So it is with living in the kingdom of Christ. We might think more of the kingdom of God as a state of being when we are brought to faith, where the Holy Spirit brings Jesus into us to rule our hearts. He doesn’t enter you just to keep you stuck in one spot, afraid to venture out. We explore this grace as we dive into the Word and sacraments. It promises of more beauty yet to come, as our eyes are then opened to look to heaven and await the Final Coming of Jesus in the clouds. We look forward to the Final Hope of what we have - getting to see Jesus and be with Jesus and our fellow believers forever in heaven. So we’re waiting to enter the Final Kingdom while spiritual living in the kingdom right now as well.
It is easy to forget about your final destiny. Jesus died to take you out of here. Don’t get bogged down with what happens to you physically down here. Don’t worry about it. So there’s one final thing Jesus says. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus is not against owning things. Abraham and plenty of the saints had possessions. The point is, don’t let your possessions possess you. If someone gave me a brand new expensive car, I would probably worry more about where I parked it, and whether it would be broken into or stolen. I wouldn’t own it. It would own me. I don’t do that with older cars that are broken in. I just enjoy them and use them for what they do - get me from point a to point b. Imagine if you were married to someone who owned an expensive car, and every afternoon all they did was drive in their car and shine their car, leaving you behind at home. Your relationship wouldn’t last that way. You’d say to them, “It’s just a car! Come in and enjoy life a bit!” Finally, you might issue an ultimatum. “It’s either me or the car.” That’s what can happen with possessions when they take you away from Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t say your heart is where your treasure is. Your heart can be deceiving. He says that your heart will follow your treasure. So what does Jesus do? He gives Himself as the treasure that never rots and can’t be stolen. He lives His life giving away His time and His effort, giving His all to give us forgiveness from the cross. His treasure is outside of our feelings and emotions. It is a rock solid fact and truth. In a world of sin and death and selfishness, He possesses our heart with His love, and He redirects what we love and focus on in this life, contemplating what really matters in this world.
I think of when I go to the hospital to visit someone who is sick and dying. It no longer matters what job they had or what kind of car they drove. Millions of dollars won’t do them any good. A trip to Europe will mean nothing to them. It won’t matter how famous they were or are. They’re going to lose all that anyway. They don’t cling to any of that on their death bed. But I can still give them something more. I can give them hope. I can give them peace, knowing that they are good with God, because of what Jesus did for them in His death. They don’t need any last rites. Jesus performed His last rite on the cross. I can give them the body and blood of Jesus, for the forgiveness of sins. They don’t need to worry about what they’ve done or not done in this life, because Jesus did it all for them. You can’t put a price on that.
In 1988 Bobby Ferrin came out with the hit, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” It was a nice laid back song that was relaxing. But it didn’t have the power to do what it said. Don’t worry is easier said than done. But when Jesus says, “Don’t worry,” it’s more than just a command or a catchy song. His words speak comfort to our souls. We have a God who KNOWS what we need. We have a God who has already GIVEN us the kingdom in Jesus. He gives us everything we need, both physically and spiritually in Jesus. Jesus gives what He commands in Himself. Remember who is taking care of you. Remember who you have. Don’t worry is not just said by Jesus. It is said and done by Jesus, for you and in you. Amen.
