Don't Worry: Father Knows Best

In Nomine Iesu
St. Matthew 6:24-34
May 25, 2008
Pentecost 2A-Proper 3

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. . . . For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

I’m going to take a great professional risk here this morning, and ask you, my listeners, to handle the introduction to today’s sermon. I have confidence in you, even if you are rank amateurs when it comes to preaching. I’ll handle the heavy lifting, but the introduction is yours. To introduce this sermon, here’s what I’d like you to do: I would like you to name all the good things that you’ve accomplished by worrying. Just go ahead and shout out all the success you’ve achieved through worry. The goals you’ve reached—the inspiration you’ve felt—the joy and happiness that worrying has won for you. Don’t be shy. This is your chance to say, “I helped preach today’s sermon.” Let’s hear all about the wonderful effects of worrying in your life. . . . .

Well, let me just say, thanks for all your help. I mean that! In fact, I couldn’t have said it better myself. For by your silence, you have spoken volumes. Worrying, indeed, serves no good purpose—accomplishes nothing, achieves nothing, always assumes that the worst can and will happen in every situation. Martin Luther said it best with regard to worry: “All that we achieve with our [worry] is that we stand in God’s way and [we] hinder His work in us.”

Why all the words about worry today? Well, today’s Holy Gospel comes to us from the center of what is perhaps Jesus’ best-known sermon—the Sermon on the Mount. In the midst of that sermon, Jesus saw fit to gently draw His hearers away from worry by reminding them that their heavenly Father knows best—knows just what they need.

This text shows why Jesus was such a great preacher. To help get across His point about the futility of worry, He uses two everyday examples: birds of the air and lilies of the field. The birds of the air don’t sow or reap or store away in barns. And yet, says Jesus, “Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” And bear in mind that Jesus was preaching this sermon outside. There were likely birds overhead when Jesus spoke of them. There were likely flowers growing nearby when Jesus spoke of them. Those flowers were clothed with more beauty than even King Solomon in all his splendor. Jesus asks, “Will not [your Father in heaven] much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

That’s what worry and anxiety indicate—little faith. That’s our problem. That’s our sin. It’s not that we have no faith; we do have faith. It’s just that our faith too often is small and little. Once again Jesus diagnoses the problem perfectly. Jesus knows that the worry prompted by our little faith is indeed sinful. But notice how Jesus carefully addresses the sin of worry in a different manner than, say, the sin of adultery. Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus took on the sin of adultery with a stiff dose of law and condemnation. But do you know what happens when you threaten sinful worriers with condemnation and the fires of hell? They just get more worried. They get worried that they worry too much! They become anxious over their anxiety! So Jesus takes a different approach. Instead of condemning you—instead of threatening you, Jesus invites you—gently—to leave your worries behind—to live your life in a better way.

It’s important to mention that Jesus is teaching us here about the necessities of life—about the things we need—things like food and drink and clothing. And the things that we need comprise a far shorter list than the things we want and desire. Needs and wants are sometimes identical, but not always. Jesus isn’t preaching here that we shouldn’t worry because He will always give us everything we want. Nor is Jesus giving us a guarantee that we will never be in situations of extreme physical need. To draw from Jesus’ own examples, our heavenly Father feeds the birds, it’s true. But we’ve all seen how those same birds can be attacked by predators. Our heavenly Father clothes the lilies of the field, it’s true. But we’ve all seen those same flowers shrivel up in hot, dry conditions. But even if we were truly starving, dehydrated, naked and under attack, we could still confess our God as the one who richly provides for all our needs for this life and for the life to come.

So do not worry, says the Savior. Why not worry? Because, He says, your heavenly Father knows. He knows your individual, personal needs. Whatever it is that causes you restless days and sleepless nights—the worry that causes you to bounce off the walls and the anxiety that leaves you paralyzed with fear—beloved in the Lord, your heavenly Father knows. And that knowing is not just an informational knowing. No, your heavenly Father knows your needs as if they were His own needs—knows your troubles as if they were happening to Him. The fact is, your heavenly Father is even more acutely aware of your needs than you are! Your heavenly Father always knows best.

After all, it was that intimate knowledge of your situation that led your Father to send His Son. In Jesus, God made you a part of His royal kingdom. In Jesus, God gave you His righteousness. In Jesus, God took from you the source of every worry and the cause of every trouble. Your sins of thought, word and deed—your sins of worry and adultery and everything in between—sins that would otherwise torture us with worry and dread—they were laid upon Jesus. His body was affixed to that Roman tool of torture and death called the cross. By those nails God’s everlasting love for you has been engraved forever on the palms of Jesus (Is. 49:16). In those holy wounds, worry comes to an end. In those holy wounds, worry meets its match.

I don’t know how it is for you, but I tend to do most of my worrying when I’ve got downtime—when I’m not busy or otherwise engaged. Perhaps this is why Jesus tells us to stop worrying and get busy seeking. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” Literally, those words could be translated, “Be continually seeking, as a first priority, both the kingdom and the righteousness of God.”

In Luther’s day people mistakenly thought that you could seek the kingdom and righteousness of God by forsaking the world to join a monastery or a convent. But running away from our troubles is not the solution to worry. Jesus is the solution to worry! The kingdom and the righteousness of God are found in Jesus. And Jesus is found here in the power of His gospel, His Word preached and proclaimed, and in the bread that is His body and the wine that is His blood.

And when you go seeking the gifts of God in the Scriptures and the Sacraments, you will also find something else: people—a community of fellow disciples, brothers and sisters who like you are children of the same heavenly Father—people who love you and support you—people whom God is using to provide for your every need. Orient your life around the gifts of God and people of God, and there you will find faith—big faith—faith to overcome worry and courage to face tomorrow. Your heavenly Father knows—knows best—knows just what you need. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Amen.