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A Sermon by The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Readings for Pentecost 2:
Isaiah 49:8 - 16a
1 Corinthians 4:1 - 5
Matthew 6:24 - 34
May my words be true to your word and our hearts open to hear you.
In Jesus' name.
Amen
"Why can't you sleep?" a wife asked her husband as he paces the floor at
3am.
"Honey", he replies, I borrowed a thousand dollars from Sam next door and
I'm due to pay it back tomorrow but I haven't got it!" "I just don't have
the money!" he says wringing his hands. The man's wife jumps out of bed and
flings open the bedroom window. "Sam! Sam!" she shouts.
After a few minutes their groggy neighbour opens his window. "What is it?"
he mumbles. "You know that $1,000 dollars my husband owes you? Well, he
doesn't have it," the woman yells. Then she closes the window and turns to
her husband. "Now you go to sleep and let him pace the floor!"
"Don't worry!" Or "Worrying about it won't make any difference."
How many times have you been told that?
In this short passage from St Matthew's gospel Jesus talks about "worry" and
"worrying' six times. Either telling us not to worry or pointing out the
futility of worrying. As I like to say "God's got it sussed!" God knows our
needs before we ask him. He knows what's best for us. He will provide for
us. He has a plan for our lives! So why do we worry about so many things?
Even in Jesus' day people were worrying about what they wore, where the next
meal was coming from, what was going to happen tomorrow. And we can go back
even further to our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, about 700BC and
people were worrying then! Isaiah 49:13 "For the Lord has comforted his
people,
he has had compassion on their suffering." The Israelites needed reassuring.
So God tells them to think back over their experiences so far: Just remember
"I have answered you. I have helped you, I have inscribed you on the palms
of my hands."
This gives us one of the keys to stop worry. Looking back over what God has
already done for us, and how he has already provided and watched over us.
The Israelites could look back over centuries of God's provision, right
from their escape from Egypt and their journey to the Promised Land. Battles
were fought and won in God's strength, manna and quails were supplied to
eat, new lands were provided to live in. Just think, God's people are as
close to him as the palms of his hands. But we all know that things did go
wrong for God's chosen people. They strayed from worship, they made wrong
choices. They put greed and earthly status first. Some died in the dessert
and generations later many went into exile. But even in exile those who
turned to God for help were comforted and strengthened.
The sad thing is that history continues to repeat itself. With every right
comes a responsibility. We have a right to be called children of God, but
with that comes the responsibilities of being God's children.
Our reading from 1 Corinthians explains this. "Think of us in this way" says
the apostle Paul, "as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries"
Servants and stewards.
A servant is concerned with their master's needs. someone that serves
others, puts others needs first.
A steward is:
one employed in a large household or estate to manage domestic concerns (as
the supervision of servants, collection of rents, and keeping of accounts)
one appointed to supervise the provision and distribution of food and drink
one who actively directs affairs, a manager
God provides for us but there are duties to be undertaken. And how we carry
these duties out, whether we stay faithful servants or not,has consequences.
Of course one of the most important duties is to have faith and to trust
God.
The passage goes on to tell us that only God will judge us.
Isn't that another reason why we worry? Do we worry about what God thinks of
us? Or more often, are we comparing ourselves to others, to their
spirituality to what material things they own, what job they do, or how
successful they are? If you think you have less than someone else you can
feel slighted. And if you think you have more, you can become smug and
conceited. Possessions and money can have that effect.
Only God can truly judge us, and how we're handling the blessings that he
has given to us. A poor person can be just as miserly as a rich one.
It's our hearts that show who we truly are, not what we wear or what we own.
As Paul tell us in 1 Corinthians 4:5 it is the Lord "who will bring to light
the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the
heart."
The Israelites, the people of Jesus' and Paul's day and us today all fall
into the same traps. We get our priorities wrong. Instead of putting God
first, the one who cares deeply for us, who offers us his comfort and
compassion, we put things first. Our jobs, our possessions, our ambitions.
Jesus says:
"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the
one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and wealth."
Matt 6:24
As I've said many times before; there's nothing wrong in money itself. It's
what we do with what we've got that matters. Do we own our possessions or do
they own us?
One of the Franciscan aims is Simplicity. A short word for a big challenge!
In his life and preaching, Francis emphasised simplicity and poverty,
relying on God's providence rather than worldly goods. To live simply means:
to desire the love of God before all else, to be free from attachments to
worldly aims and goods, to acknowledge all that is good and yet to be
content to live without it.
Worry brings complications to life. Depending on God brings simplicity in
living.
Worry often gives small things a big shadow. Depending on God put everything
into perspective, for nothing is impossible for God!
Worry brings anxiety. Dependence on God brings peace.
When I researched to word worry it was closely linked to anxiety.
In fact one theory of anxiety suggests that anxiety consists of two
components; worry and emotionality. Emotionality here refers to
physiological symptoms such as sweating, increased heartbeat and raised
blood pressure.
Worry refers to negative self-talk that often distracts the mind from
focusing on the problem at hand. For example, when students become anxious
during a test, they may repeatedly tell themselves they are going to fail,
or they can't remember the material or that their teacher will become angry
with them. This thinking interferes with focusing on the test as the speech
areas of the brain that are needed to complete test questions are being used
for worrying.
When we worry our focus is not where it should be. Matthew 6:33 "But strive
first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well." Strive first, or seek first. Focus on God
first. " And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 Both our minds
and our hearts.
Yes, life can throw some pretty stressful situations our way, but we always
have a choice in how we react to them. It takes quite a lot of effort to
retrain the way we think. How we think, what occupies our mind, affects how
we feel and that then leads on to how we react. By seeking God's ways,
instead of worrying
we can change the way we think and feel.
Have you ever had to do something that you really didn't want to do?
The longer you think about not wanting to do it, the more insurmountable the
task becomes. I've found that many things can be overcome with 2 steps. Pray
then start. Seek God and then get stuck into what ever it is. Worry is often
connected with inaction, we dwell on all the things that might happen. When
you act, make a start on the problem, usually before you know it the job's
done and you feel much better.
Like making that doctors appointment, or writing that letter.
So why do we worry so much today?
There's a whole industry been set up to help us overcome our anxieties but
being anxious about life is more normal than abnormal. It's ok to feel down
or sad from time to time. Severe anxiety is something different altogether,
something that cannot be changed by a few words from me. There are
definitely times when we need to seek professional help, but for the
ordinary every day worries there are some thing we can do:
Look at what God has already done in your life
Pray and make a start on that project or problem.
Examine your thoughts - are they
negative?
de-energising?
distracting?
Next we need to make sure that we have our priorities right; to strive for
God's ways first, to depend on God, and always, to give our problems to God
in prayer.
For if we seek first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all
these things will be given to us as well."
So worry is nothing new. But God continues to offer his comfort, strength
and compassion. And remember, we are as close to God as the palms of his
hands.
May God help each one of us to overcome our worries and turn to him.
This I ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf
This sermon was written and delivered by The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf at Nelson Cathedral, 25 May 2008 at 12:00
