sermon excerpts: "Worry as Thanksgiving"

(Matthew 6: 25-33; Joel 2: 21-27)

Like so many of the prophets, Joel is saying “Don’t worry, things will work out in the end”. Which was laughable for the people to consider given all they’ve been through with famine, drought and wars, one after the other.
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Jesus was another one who said, “Don’t worry.” If it was only as simple as not worrying turning off our mind, our conscience, our natural inclination to fret about things out of our control or things unresolved. There isn’t a switch that we can throw in our mind and suddenly be calm, assured and composed.

We know the effects of stress, ulcers, high blood pressure, of Type A personalities, on our health. We know that worry is bad for our health, that worry doesn’t add a day to our lives. But we do it anyway. We can’t help it.

We cannot avoid worrying. That is part of what we do. I would go as far as to say it is what makes us human. No other animal or life form frets or stews about things so abstractly out of our control, thousands of miles away or months into the future.

Jesus offers a bit of perspective based on lessons from plants and animals. Even the ugliest of birds can look graceful soaring in the sky. We see trees growing out of solid rock, or glorious flowers coloured in ways that our most brilliant artists cannot copy. Nature knows that things will be taken care of and that worry won’t do anything good. In some ways, in many ways, if we just get ourselves out of the way, God will do the work. There’s a saying you may be familiar with: “Let go and let God”.

Let us simply be. God was urging nature to do exactly that through Joel’s prophecies, to simply be and trust that nature will take its course. Goodness will flow.

Jesus wants us to worry about the right thing. We are not to be worried about where our food, or drink or clothing will come from. God will take care of us. We know that, we see how abundantly and extravagantly all creation is cared for. We are part of that same creation and partake of God’s providence.

But it is our Christian duty to worry about the needs of others. Where will the poor find food? Where will clean drinking water come from for people in Africa? Who will clothe the street people in winter?

The gap between rich and poor is so great, and the needy and those who have too much, are both unfulfilled and unhappy. That is our call to serve this world, to act upon our worries and concerns about the state of the world, the condition of all people and to imagine what might be done.

Let our worry spur us to action. To speak out against what is not just or life-affirming, to support ministries that tend to the needs of others in ways we ourselves cannot, to remind others of God’s love and care for us. To cherish the precious moments we have with our loved ones. To give thanks for each opportunity.

sermon excerpts: "A Place at the Table" (Hebrews 1: 1-4, 5-12)

...From the letter to the Hebrews, this trend continues as the write attempts to outline the hierarchy of heaven. Christ ascends to the right hand of God, a virtual equal, much superior to angels, being more excellent than them. Within this ordering is the placement and promotion of mere mortals. In spite of God’s infinite and immense power and presence, we as individuals limited to a single lifespan in one limited range of geography merit more consideration than all other aspects of creation.

It is humbling and amazing that puny us, as people of mistakes and misfortune, rank only a little lower than angels and have great glory and honour. And this ordering is not permanently fixed. Because the verse states that it is only for a little while that we bear this lower class. We see the writer note that for a time Jesus himself was lower than angels, equal to all humans tasting of death. This sacrifice was made and remembered so that we might all taste of eternal life.

We are perfected through our sufferings, leading to the axiom “that which does not kill us only makes us stronger”. It is hard in the midst of anguish and loss to see the lessons that might be taught, that we need some time and perspective, maybe a sympathetic ear or an outside opinion. For this reason, a community of faith relies on the people to come together in common cause, to support and serve one another, to sacrifice our effort and energy as we each take our place as a follower of Christ’s teaching.

This morning we gather around a table, to recall a moment in our faith tradition shaped by betrayal, political cowardice, great suffering and humiliation. Yet from this low point comes assurance, comfort and hope that our sins are forgiven, we are made new and that the evil in the world cannot ever conquer love.

In the letter to the Hebrews, we are called brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus, that we are of the same generation, of the same parenting, to be praised and glorified. So we are called together around the table to taste and celebrate a gathering of family, remembering past stories, to find nourishment for our spirit and make preparation to leave the table for a world that needs our care and compassion.