In The Words of the Great Philosopher, "What, Me Worry?"

             Worry, a human survival strategy?  A way of warning the self about shortages in key areas of human need?  Jesus says not to worry about food, not to worry about clothing.  He is calling upon us to undercut our hardwired reactions to basic survival strategies? 

            But maybe Jesus is not thinking about survival when he challenges his listeners.  Perhaps he is addressing a crowd that is assured of the basic needs of survival.  Perhaps it is not a matter of having food to eat, but deciding what to have from a variety of choices?  Is it somehow a matter of social competitiveness?  What do my neighbors have to eat?  What more should I have?  That kind of social competition might be easier to consider in clothing, easier to show the world what I am wearing than what I have on my dinner plate. Or, more importantly, what I am wearing is better than what you are wearing...and I worry if I am right about that.

            If we continue to look at the metaphors Jesus then employs, that of ravens who are fed without barns to store, that of lilies that are clothed in raiment more splendid than Solomon, only to be burned with the grass tomorrow, I don’t know if these help sort the question of survival versus social standing.

            Except that maybe that doesn’t matter either.  Its about worry, not what is worried about.  It is about a state of emotional being.  If Jesus does not distinguish what exactly we are worrying about, do we need to parse meaning even further?    

            The answer to worry is that ‘God provides’.  That’s fine when faith is involved.  God promises us the treasure of heaven.  It is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.  He even calls upon us to sell our possessions to give alms.  But that is not where Jesus wants us to end up in this passage.  Jesus does not want to curtail our activity.  Its not a matter of peace replacing worry.  It is a matter of peace curtailing a destructive activity, worry, to entail another, constructive activity, in the Lord.

            Worry takes energy, mental, emotional, and physical.  Jesus calls for us to invest that energy elsewhere, deliberately.  “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit.”  Be ready for the return of Jesus.  Stand there and wait for the bridegroom to come home?   No, prepare for the master’s return.  The promise of the Lord is that all we worry about is taken care of in the power of the Living God.  That’s the peace we have, it is the peace we act from.

            Be dressed for action, have the lamps lit, take this blessed assurance that Jesus is mine and share it with the world!  Where there is worry, work in the Lord to assuage that worry, to demonstrate the reality of our faith that Jesus provides.  Wade into the world in the name of Jesus.  We are not standing around waiting to ascend with Jesus into heaven.  We are action-oriented, committed to the world around us, doing the work of Jesus’ followers in preparation for the day of His return.  Then, in the end, when Jesus does return, He will take care of us in turn.

Peace

pastor pete