Do Not Worry

“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?” Matthew 6:25 NRSV

Do not worry.  Easy said, hard to accomplish.  I have shared this advice with persons many times over the years.  From folks caught in a bad relationship situation, or an awful illness, to a tragic accident, to not worry and remain calm is a real gift.  It seems we all worry at times.  It is how we are wired for life. 

This passage from Matthew comes to us toward the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Now please take a second closer look at the text.  Christ tells the people to not worry about what they will eat and what they will wear for clothes.  Jesus says nothing about missed house payments or flat tires.  Jesus say nothing about running late into work or failing to get our assignments completed.  It seems the dog needing shots and the Internet fading while the stove is boiling over in the midst of a leaking roof is just not that big of a deal.  First things first.

Jesus tells us not to worry about food and clothing. Those two are pretty high up on the list of essential human needs.  And he picks these two, which we all take for granted in this society, as a way of saying, “If you do not have even these basic needs covered, relax I have got this for you.  And if you do have these two covered then you should have no real worries at all.”  Relax people and do not worry.  This is God who created the world and calms the storms.  Calm down. 

This passage is also a go ticket for the church who serves as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ for the world.  We must be out and about providing clothing and food, taking care of the basic stuff for people.  But not just some people but any person at all who shows up without food and clothing.  Boom, the church should spring into action and heal the situation. 

Should the church also fix the internet, the dog, the flat tire, or the leaking roof? Perhaps, but first things first.  Food and clothing should be free if needed, or almost free. Let’s keep the children fed and warm with clothes on the backs of our neighbors and friends, even especially the strangers in our midst.  But do not worry.  Never let worry become your partner.

Pond Report

The pond is once again full and flowing after 2.5 years of drought. It was 4 feet low this summer with a large summer fish kill. Lots of nature passing by the pond trail camera this fall and winter. Deer, fox, bobcat, coyote, mink, otters, possum, turkey, quail, pheasant, rabbits, and squirrels. Along with some stray dogs and house cats, even the neighbors buffalo herd came through one day. The pond looks healthy and alive. And consider that fact particularly in the midst of winter.

There is Hope

There is hope.  For whatever your day brings, there is hope. 

In the midst of days of sunshine, hope is easy to grasp.  When days are dark and we walk through a valley of shadows, hope can be scarce.  But make no mistake, there is hope. 

Hope endures.  Hope fulfills.  Hope outlasts, outworks, and outshines everything our human hands can produce.  Hope is to the brokenhearted as a cool drink of water is to parched soil.  Hope brings energy, focus, new life.  Hope offers a sight unseen; it is the stuff of dreams. 

We only dare hope in something outside ourselves, for only something outside of our own striving can offer that greater vision of better days; a better way.  We carry foolishness and immaturity with us as a child.  We carry our inflated self-ego and competitive fire as a young adult.  We carry our fears and our mortality as golden adults.  And yet we find hope for our weariness and hope for our challenges in every stage of our life.  Every journey is accompanied by hope.  For hope is from God.

Hope is a gift.  We receive hope like a bowl of food at the supper table.  We take our share and pass along the fullness of God for another to receive.  We receive our hope from God and we feast in joy.

We seem to struggle along with a lack of genuine God given hope.  We stress over the silliest things, we fail to be obedient, and easily become hurt and belligerent because we do not see hope as our partner in the journey.  If we did have hope, we would not treat our neighbors in poor and uncaring ways.  With hope we would see the path open before us to move our brothers and sisters, even the ones we struggle to love, to a new position of importance in our lives.  We are not called to like everyone, but we are called to love just about everyone.  And in that loving, we will treat others with at least as much respect as we would want our own selves to be offered.   And it all begins with a gift of hope from God.  It begins with an Easter Story.  It begins with a death, and a resurrection.  There is hope.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1 NRSV