Lent 2017 (2nd Sunday Before)

Ask anyone who knows me fairly well, and they will probably tell you that I am one of life’s born worriers.  They may even go as far as to say that I worry if I have nothing to worry about (if you see what I mean).

Well, it may be true to a certain extent, but I can take comfort from the fact that I’m not on my own.  I know plenty of people who are just like me in this respect.

All of us are capable at times of falling into the trap of worrying about the material things, the smallest things or even those things over which we have no control. This then drains our strength, our resources and our creativity which we could use for so many other good things. 

There are so many different events going on around us locally and in the wider world to which we could make our own contribution, if we were not consumed by so many cares. Most of these cares cannot be improved anyway, at least not by worrying about them.  

This is a theme which is taken up by Jesus in our Gospel reading this morning.  The passage forms part of the Sermon on The Mount, which over the course of chapters five to seven of Matthew’s Gospel covers the majority of Jesus’ moral teaching for the disciples.

It’s almost as if this particular passage could have been written for me and the many others like me who may justifiably be called “born worriers.” 

Here, Jesus points out to His disciples that they should not worry about the material things of life, but should concern themselves with those things, those values which will produce real change for the better.

In the passage, He gives several examples:

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, about your body or what you will wear”

He goes on to give further examples.  The flowers of the field, the birds of the air.  They go about the business of living out their lives and God still provides for their needs.

At this point we need to step back and acknowledge that everything in and about our world is not perfect. There are indeed people in the world who do need to worry about what they will eat, what they will wear and where they will sleep.

This is not only true of far-off countries, where we may feel a little helpless owing to the distance involved and therefore unable to make a difference.

My brothers and sisters, you do not  have to look very far to find examples of this. A short amble down the Bethnal Green Road will provide you with plenty of examples of people in need as I discovered myself this week.

There are many things in life over which we have no control or influence. Our focus should be on the values which make up and build upon God’s Kingdom.  The values of love, peace, justice, fairness and equality.

These are the values which do have the potential to bring change in people’s lives for good, and as part of our discipleship with and for God, we need to be showing and working for these values in the world.

At various times and stages in our lives, it can be all too easy to focus almost entirely upon ourselves, and therefore fail to see the bigger picture of what is going on around us. 

It is true to say that, depending upon events and circumstances, at times we need to focus upon ourselves.  It’s also true to say that all of us at some point in our lives will rely on help from others.

We do though require a balance, a clearer perspective, and that clearer perspective should allow us to focus on the needs of other people in addition to our own.

So then what is the message that Jesus is trying to give here, and in turn, what can we take with us today as we face the world in the week ahead?

It’s interesting to note one thing about this morning’s Gospel reading. Keeping in mind His frequent ability to seemingly make things sound difficult, one might say that, in almost un-Jesus like fashion, the message from this passage is in fact quite clear.

This is a message which gives us an opportunity to refocus. To think firstly about what is important to us, then to realise that worrying about them only causes anxiety and has a “knock on” effect, if you like, on our lives and the way we live them.

Our task (where we are able), is to not worry so much about material things, or on the things over which we have no influence or control.  We are told in the Gospel passage that God knows our material needs and will look after them.

We as today’s disciples, should, in exactly the same way as the disciples of Jesus’ time were instructed, place our focus and energies in working for the values which make up the Kingdom of God.

The values of love, peace, justice, fairness and equality.  On paper perhaps, they may not seem to be too difficult to achieve, but in reality, in the midst of busy and diverse lives which we all lead, and with our own views of what is important to us, they may be far more difficult to achieve than we first imagined.

It looks a daunting prospect, yes. But sometimes even the smallest action or act of kindness on our part may make a massive difference to someone else.  We may not realise it but, don’t worry, others do.

Today is all about being able to put to one side those things which get in our way, which are either materialistic, or things over which we have no control, but which can still cause problems. We can then focus on those values which make a real and lasting difference for good.

AMEN