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

In my experience, the Kingdom of God is a condition of our hearts.  It is not a political reality where we enact rules and laws to promote certain behavior and limit others.  It is my belief the kingdom of God is found by the opening of one’s life to a God who loves unconditionally and completely.  The Kingdom is not found through toeing the line and being found right, or perfect in our doctrine or practice, because this kingdom is not like others which are man-made.  This new kingdom is without blemish.  It yields non-stop with patience, love, hope and joy. This kingdom of God, which is found in the heart of the one who is willing to follow Christ into the difficult places to love, requires Jesus Christ at the center, at the very core, to teach and instruct the student into the ways of compassion and wisdom.

Hate speech, which has become pervasive and accepted as normal in our culture, is not allowed in the Kingdom of God.  To speak with vengeance toward another, to blame and cause another to stumble through the uttering of words is hate speech, regardless of our righteous positon or level of competence on the topic.

Actions which are used to cause others pain are not allowed in the Kingdom of God.  Hands to oneself please, children of God.  We should have learned this lesson as a child, yet it appears we did not.  Parents are pleased when children make good choices.  God is no less a good parent in this.  Again, the disposition of the heart is the key.

The Kingdom of God feasts upon true religion, a warming of the heart toward God and one another, instead of a reliance upon creeds or conventions to provide security or positon.  The Kingdom of God is so pure, so holy, that we cannot defile or cause the kingdom to fail.  It is without equal, nothing can come alongside the kingdom to overshadow or rival the Spirit.  It needs no protection from our kind.  Rather all we can do is to offer ourselves, just as we are, to be transformed and redefined into a new and whole person. 

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose.  Be made clean.”  Mark 1:40-41 NRSV

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