Homily Pastor
Do Not Worry
Here at this 9th sermon
in our series of 12 from the Sermon on the Mount, I’ll confess that I think I
fell for something early on…
We use the NIV… title says Do
Not Worry
That is a
good message…
that is exactly what Jesus said.
But it would
be way too easy for us to simply stop there.
There’s much
more here.
This is a
popular idea… whole cultures are built around this idea.
They have their icons.
- emoticons
They even
have their own worship choruses around this idea… do you remember this one?
Play: Bobby
McFerrin: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Let it run to the end
And Bobby’s
words sentiments seem to go along with what Jesus is saying here.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life a ?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [1]
But Don’t
Worry… Be Happy?
- Don’t Be Poor; Be Rich
- Don’t Be Fat; Be Skinny
Don’t Worry…
but what?
In the
context of the Sermon on the Mount…
Can we really hear Jesus saying “Don’t Worry, Be Happy?”
We can see
here that Jesus is saying, “Don’t Worry, Be Righteous”
This is
certainly more in the context of the Sermon on the Mount.
Remember, the Sermon on the Mount
is all about
Life in the Kingdom
It is a call
to embrace the character of
citizens
of the Kingdom.
It is a call
to be different… much different.
In the first half of this chapter
was a call to difference from the hypocrisy of the religious.
- Praying for acclaim
- Giving for appreciation
- Fasting for false piety
This lat half of the chapter is a
call to difference from the materialism of the irreligious
The passage
last week plainly, and categorically, spelled out differences
- Treasure – on earth or in heaven
- Condition – darkness or light
- Master – Money or God
And now we’re
called to consider the difference among
- Preoccupations – Our bodies or the Kingdom
Jesus settles it here… Jesus is seeker sensitive.
We’re all
seeking something… everyone.
31 “Therefore do not
worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things. 33 But
a
seek first the
Seeking: Same
word… subtle differences in meaning
- Appetite
- Calling
So… if we
accept this as a given… that we all seek…
How can we
not worry?
Seeking and worrying
are tied together.
It is not that
we seek… it is what we seek.
It is what we rest in and what we reach
for.
It is not
that we are to close eyes…
it is that we are to lift our eyes.
So what?
Where does
the rubber meet the road?
Rest and
Reach
Don’t worry
doesn’t mean freedom from:
- Work
- Responsibility
- Trouble
- Seems to be His tool of choice
Jesus does
tell us that we can rest… we can trust
- Worry is a form of pride
Our reach, or ambition, is to
embrace righteousness
This morning,
make a decision to be different