There are many contradictions in life. One contradiction is stated in the saying, “You always hurt the one you love.” There is something contradictory, but tragically true, in the idea that love is always accompanied by some kind of hurt or pain.
Another contradiction is that we live in a country based on the principle of freedom, yet many still are enslaved—by drugs, by the will to succeed in the eyes of the world, by a drive for wealth or power.
There is another contradiction at the core of our lives. God created us with a deep love of life itself. He gave us intelligence and imagination, the will to seek new experiences, new discoveries. Yet at the same time that we love this life God has given us, there lies, deep within us, an uneasiness about that life, about what life has in store for us. It’s a fear of the unknown, a general fear or anxiety about what the future holds. It happens whether we have a lot of money, or very little, whether we’re successful or not, whether we’re working or retired.
Jesus knew our human condition because he was human himself. He knew our deep need for security and our deep fear that that security might somehow be lost. When he said, “Do not be anxious about your life,” he wasn’t speaking some lofty principle; he was getting at the root of our human condition. Jesus was saying that the anxiety that everyone experiences can only be dealt with through trust in God’s love and providence. “Look at the birds of the air.” They aren’t anxious about life. “They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these….If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?….Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
Jesus is first of all saying that life is going to have its share of troubles. Being a follower of Christ doesn’t mean that life will be care-free. Much of popular religion today ignores this aspect of Jesus’ teaching. Some people believe that by living a Christian life one’s life will be a picture of worldly success. Our businesses will flourish, our home lives will be exemplary, all of our relationships will be rewarding, and so on. And while the Christian life is the best life you can live, we are not promised that it will be trouble free. In fact, Jesus’ life of loving service led to his death, and a life that gives itself to others in love is inevitably opening itself to hurt and suffering.
But Jesus is also saying, “Don’t anticipate trouble.” Being anxious about future problems doesn’t help to solve those problems, and most often the problems we anticipate never come to pass. When Lincoln was on his way to Washington to be inaugurated, he spent some time with Horace Greely and told him a story which was meant to be an answer to the question which everyone was asking him: “Are we really to have civil war?” In his circuit riding days, Lincoln and his companions, riding to the next session of court, had crossed many swollen rivers. But the Fox River was still ahead of them, and they said to one another, “If these streams give us so much trouble, how shall we get over the Fox River?”
When darkness fell they stopped for the night at a log tavern, where they fell in with the Methodist presiding elder of the district who rode through the country in all kinds of weather and knew all about the Fox River. They gathered about him and asked him about the present state of the river. “Oh yes,” replied the circuit rider, “I know all about the Fox River. I have crossed it often and understand it well. But I have one fixed rule with regard to Fox River—I never cross it till I reach it.” We will have our share of troubles, but anxiety doesn’t help us deal with these troubles; it only magnifies them. “Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
The second aspect of Jesus’ teaching on anxiety is that there is no need for us to be anxious if we trust in God’s love for us. We may indeed lose our possessions or our job, but we must not put our trust in these things for our ultimate security anyway. You can’t have two gods. Jesus is telling us to put our trust in the Lord. We should trust him because he loves us and has made us infinitely more valuable than any other part of his creation.
The world views success in terms of the house in which we live, the car we drive, the clothes we wear, but there’s always someone with a bigger house, a better car, fancier clothes. Money and possessions are often valued above God and people. We were created to love God and others, and to use things. The irony is that we use God and others and love things. That creates anxiety, because it messes up our relationships and things never provide what they weren’t meant to provide. Trust God for your security, and that will take care of your anxiety.
Finally, don’t emphasize your troubles when they do happen. Turn your attention away from yourself. Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. When we become engrossed in ourselves it’s easy to dwell on our misfortunes. And in times of great misfortune, it is especially important that we not dwell on our problems.
Martin Luther said, “When I am assailed with heavy problems, I rush out among my pigs rather than remain alone by myself….The human heart, unless it be occupied with some employment, leaves space for the devil, who wriggles himself in and brings with him a whole host of evil thoughts, temptations, and tribulations, which grind out the heart.” You don’t have any pigs? Believe in God’s loving care for you and when you’re having a bad day, reach out to others in love. Seek to meet the needs of others. When we become involved in the struggles others are having we often realize how small our own problems really are. And when we see how the faith of others takes them through the worst of crises, our own faith is strengthened. Anxiety stifles us. It puts our attention on ourselves. When we seek the righteousness of God, our attention is put where it ought to be: on loving God and our neighbor, and our anxiety loses its hold upon us.
God did not create our lives to be a contradiction. He wants us to love life, to lead fulfilling lives, and not to live in fear of what might happen. Jesus gives us the remedy for anxiety: trust in God.
Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
The 8th Sunday after the Epiphany
27 February 2011