2A Pentecost Matthew 6:24-34 May 25, 2008
When I first sat down to look at today’s Gospel reading and heard those laconic words: do not worry about your life, a song came to mind.
It was the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart back in 1988 (a couple of years before our graduates here this morning were born):
Any guesses?
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin.
How many of you remember this song?
Here’s a little song I wrote,
You might want to sing it note for note,
Don’t worry, be happy!
In your life there may be trouble,
When you worry, you make it double,
Don’t’ worry, be happy!
And so forth…you get the picture.
Something tells me that while there might be some wisdom in this little ditty, I also suspect that Jesus had something more in mind, don’t ya think?
So what is going on here?
What is Jesus trying to tell us?
In a nutshell, I believe Jesus is trying to help us get our priorities in order, he is providing some divine insight into a life worthy of living, and a life centered on what is lasting and purposeful. I also believe that Jesus is offering some words of wisdom; he is offering us something of a reality check.
Let me explain:
In the very first verse Jesus lays it on the line—“No one can serve two masters” and from there he reminds us that we cannot serve God and wealth.
While I rarely make use of the King James Version of the Bible I do find that I like the translation found there: “You cannot serve God and mammon.”
So what is mammon?
Mammon is the Greek word for wealth or greed.
It is one of those rare occasions when the KJV translators could not find an English equivalent for mammon, so they just introduced the Greek word into their English translation.
It is odd, but I like it.
I like it because while it sounds like the name of one of the pagan gods I might have read about in a mythology course when I was in school, you won’t find any reference to any Greek gods named mammon, nor will you find any Roman gods by this name let along any Babylonian gods either and yet, this god transcends all time and culture and is alive and well in this era and this culture and it is alive and well right here central Minnesota!
The god of mammon is worshiped every time we get sucked into the mentality that bigger is better, that life is not right unless we have been super sized, when we upgrade to the newest and more expensive model, when we have this sense that we can’t face another day without the latest new gadget, fashion accessory and ever bigger version of the last over sized gas guzzling toy.
We bow down to the god of mammon every time we cross over the line between satisfied to gluttony, from content to overwhelming, from living within our means to all out greed at any cost.
It is buying into the myth of scarcity as opposed to appreciating a life of blessings.
Jesus says that we cannot serve God and mammon.
Jesus doesn’t say we shouldn’t worship God and mammon.
He says we cannot—that it is just not possible, because God and mammon are stars in different parts of the sky.
We cannot steer by both in the journey of life.
If we try, we will only find ourselves confused—going this way and that.
To try to serve God and mammon is to end up wandering—lost.
So what Jesus want us to understand is that it life is not about stuff, it is about faith, it is a question of trust.
Do you trust God or money?
The fact is we want both.
We want God on our side, but we would also like to be well padded—well invested—well insured—comfortable and secure—especially secure.
For those of you who attended the Milaca Baccalaureate service on Wednesday might recall the biblical story that Pastor Carlson mentioned.
It was the story of a rich young man who came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to be saved. Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to the poor.
The rich young man went away sorrowful, because he had lots of money.
I don’t believe that Jesus meant that as a prescription for everyone.
I don’t think that he requires everyone to sell everything so that they can give it to the poor.
I believe that was his prescription for that particular man.
For that man, money was like a boa constrictor squeezing his heart.
He needed to get rid of it.
I believe that Jesus clearly wants us to avoid allowing the boa constrictor to squeeze our hearts—and that’s what happens if we worry too much about money.
The problem, you see, isn’t how much money we have.
The problem is how much we love it.
The problem is how much we worry about it.
The problem is that we get so caught up in money and things that they squeeze the life out of us.
There is a story about an expert wood carver and one day he was sitting on his front porch, sipping lemonade and enjoying the sunshine on a spring afternoon.
Around him on the porch sat his various creations.
A friend of the wood carver stopped by for a visit and was surprised to see the artisan relaxing.
“It’s only 1:30 in the afternoon, isn’t it a bit early for a break?” he asked. The artisan swallowed a mouthful of lemonade and yawned.
“This isn’t a break,” he said, “I’m done for the day.”
His friend, a young executive, was confused.
“What do you mean it’s too early to stop working?
You could produce more.
You could carve more figures.
You could even hire an assistance to help you with your business.
You could buy new tools.
You could buy a shop and you wouldn’t have to carve at your house.”
“Why would I want to do all that?” the carver asked.
“So you could make more money,” his friend replied.
“And what would I do with all that extra money?” the wood carver asked. “Why, enjoy life, of course.”
The woodcarver took another sip of lemonade, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
He then mumbles, “What do you think I am doing?”
When we allow the god of mammon take over our lives we loose sight of what is important.
When we align our lives with the God of heaven and earth and all stars we discover a happiness that is focused on living in the moment, living day by day.
Jesus goes on to gently remind us: “Don’t worry”, saying, ‘What will we eat? Or, ‘What will we drink?’ Or, ‘What will we wear?’”
Jesus isn’t telling us that these things aren’t important; he also isn’t tell us that we should sit around and wait for hand outs either, rather he is assuring us, you will be provided for.
Jesus goes on to say:” Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
In other words, “Turn away from the altar devoted to mammon and kneel at the altar devoted to God.
Turn away from the star in the sky that blinks like a dollar sign, and turn toward the star that came to rest over the manger.”
Jesus promises that, if we do that, God will help us.
Keep in mind, God doesn’t promise us one of those 4,500 square foot mansions.
He doesn’t promise us a Lexus or a Hummer.
He promises that God will help us—God will provide us with what we need and in doing so, help us get a grip on the difference between want and need.
And once we grasp this divine bit of wisdom we will significantly reduce our level of anxiety and worry by half if not more.
And here comes the reality check…Jesus says: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of it own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
I believe what Jesus is saying here is, let‘s be honest:
Most days are troubling and troublesome in one way or another.
Things are not perfect.
Life is not calm—it is not one continuous Corona Beer commercial poised on a Mexican beach.
On any given day, there are plenty of things for us to worry about:
Will our home be foreclosed?
Will I get downsized?
What about my healthcare?
How am I going to pay for my child’s education?
How am I going to pay for gas so I can get to work?
When will all the fighting end and when will my child come home?
These are all legitimate worries and worthy of our concern.
And yet I believe that Jesus’ words are not meant to be a brush off or an attempt to minimize our anxiety, but rather, an effort to draw us closer to him and to trust him to a greater degree.
“Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
When we get our priorities straight, when we trust the One who gave us life, the One who has blessed us with gifts and who has offered us unconditional love—then life will take on a new dimension and many of those causes of worry will dissipate.
Now having said all that: It would be easy to walk out of here at the end of today’s service remembering only the sentiment—don’t worry, be happy!
And that might lead us to believe that we ought to live complacent lives, passive lives avoiding any of the complicated and messy aspect of this world.
That, my friends is not what I am suggesting.
What I am suggesting is that there are aspects of this life that we can put on the back burner and not worry about and at the same time there are as Jesus has mentioned, troubles enough today that are worthy of our attention.
I believe that as people of faith, as followers of Jesus, we need to be not only concerned that there are far too many who are hungry and die of malnutrition by the thousand every day.
I believe that we are called to care for the poor, to go beyond lip service and actually strive to eliminate poverty in this land of milk and honey.
I believe that this nation of ours has resorted to violence far too often when diplomacy and other peaceful solutions would have and could have been employed.
I believe we need to be better about caring for those who struggle with illness and disease; we need to provide better care for our elderly, our vets and our children.
These, my friends, are concerns worthy of our attention and our efforts.
Jesus has made it perfectly clear, we are loved and cherished by our Creator, we are the recipients of God’s amazing grace, and we have been blessed with the gifts to make a difference in this troubled world.
Today’s Gospel reading is a reminder to each of us—graduates—parents—young—old—faithful—kind of faithful—to get our priorities in order. It is a reminder to place God the creator over and above the god of mammon.
It is a reminder of God’s promise to love us and care for our needs, maybe not all of our wants, but our needs.
And today’s Gospel reading reminds us that when we claim these promises we will find ourselves able to shed some of the anxiety that weighs down on us so heavily. We will find it possible to relax a little—knowing that God loves us beyond our wildest dreams.
We will be able to take time here and there to play with the kids, smell the flowers and care for our neighbors in need, so that they can do the same.
So, to paraphrase Bobby McFerrin: Don’t worry, be faithful. God will take care of the rest.
Amen! Thanks be to God!
