Pastor B.J.
Froiland
15th Sunday after Trinity
Matthew 6:24-34
September 20th, 2009
In the Name of the Father and of the Son X and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
There has always been anxiety, ever since sin entered into the world. “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of if all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground.” Thus God placed the curse upon Adam for his sin. From this day forward, the strength of man’s years is “labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away.” The worries and concerns of this world weigh you down. These are your anxieties. You cannot avoid them. You may become captive to them. You may try to serve two masters. But Christ said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” If you try to serve God and all your worries, concerns, and anxieties, then you will become captive to the later. You cannot have God simply as some extra that sometimes will break in and save the day when your health fails or money runs out. “You cannot serve God and money.” If God is not your God alone, you will be taken captive by your money affairs. If the Lord is not your only Refuge, your conflicts with others will rule your life. If God is not your God alone, the thousands of duties and responsibilities that harass you from morning till evening will be your god.
Perhaps the idea of serving two masters is not clear to you. Many in our society must work 2 jobs to get by. And we live as free individuals in a free country where labor laws and quotas protect the rights of the worker. However, this was not the case in first century Palestine. The employer could demand whatever he wanted from his workers. The mere thought of working for 2 masters would be completely exhausting; and the workload would be physically impossible. Hence, the Lord said, “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” The old Jewish word “mammon” refers to money, earnings, profits, or savings. To serve mammon meant that money was the most important thing in one’s life and that one would do anything to get it. The Lord figures that His audience does not solely serve mammon. The problem is that many want to serve both God and mammon. Of course, you want God’s help, but it’s great to have money, too. Of course it’s great to put your trust in God, but it’s even easier with money in the bank. And if it comes down to living without money or without God, the question is, “Which choice will you make?”
What do you seek and love above everything else? Isn’t it money? Doesn’t your heart rejoice more in a profit of wealth than anything else? Don’t you find your greatest pleasure and comfort in gold and silver, expanding business, and beautiful houses? Why do to rise early in the morning and work until nightfall? Why do you deny yourself joy, rest, and comfort? Where is your true treasure?
In order to come to the Creator, you must send packing your lust for creation. In order to come to the true Deity, you must cease your envy for the idols of this world. It is impossible for the lust of your soul to be satisfied with temporal things. The more your soul has, the more it thirsts after more and more and more.
The world seeks after wealth and all that mammon offers
Yet never is content though gold should fill its coffers
But when you find fulfillment and contentment in Christ, your anxieties are gone and your thirst is ended, as Christ said, “Whoever drinks from the water I have given him will never thirst.” Rejoice in heavenly treasure, and not in earthly wealth.
Hence all empty glory!
Naught to me the story
Told with tempting voice.
Pain or loss, Or shame or cross,
Shall not from my Savior move me
Since He deigns to love me.
The Lord loves you and all creation. “Look at the birds of the air … Consider the lilies of the field.” He clothes the flowers far better than with any material money can buy or than Solomon’s splendor. “He covers the heaven with clouds, He prepares rain for the earth, He makes grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food and to the young ravens which cry.” Yet the Lord did not become incarnate as a flower or a rain drop. He did not enter the world as a blade of grass, a beast, or a raven. God became a man for you. Not a flower, not a bird. How much more does he love you, the crown of his creation, you for which He came and for which He died? Will He not provide you with all you need for body and soul?
The Lord provides for your physical thirst. Will He not all the more quench your spiritual thirst with the fountain of living water? The Lord gives you clothing for your body. Will He not all the more cloth your inner man with the garb of salvation and with the coat of His own righteousness as you put on Christ? “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” When our Lord visited Mary and Martha, Mary listened eagerly at the feet of the Christ who declared Himself to be the Resurrection and the Life. Martha busily went about serving and cleaning. She was distracted from the Lord. Martha said, “Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” To this the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled over many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” The cleaning and the serving that Martha did were not wrong in and of themselves. However, in busying herself with these chores and anxieties, she was denying the most important event in her life at the time: the Lord who was present for her. Martha, the dishes can wait. Martha, the floors can be swept later. Martha, the laundry can be done another time. Now is the time to worship. Now is the time to receive the Lord who is present for you. Nothing else matters.
Mary gets it. The chores do not need to be done now so that the Lord might be properly entertained. The Lord is present for her. That’s the only thing that matters. Mary has chosen the good portion which no one can take away from her. The anxieties, the worries, and the concerns cease when Christ enters the picture. Mary gets it. Do you get it? Nothing else matters when He is present for you. Now is the time to worship. Now is the time to receive the Lord who is present for you. This morning is the time to receive the good portion of your Lord which no one can take away from you.
The Lord said, “… do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Tomorrow will bear its own load. Better yet, Christ will bear your anxieties, your burdens and you, both today and tomorrow and forever. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Amen.
The Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
XBJFX