"Why Worry?"

Dear Friends in Christ,         

                I can’t believe that we’re just a few hours away from 2012.  Even though, we are changing the year on the calendar, does that mean we are getting rid of all the things that are caused us to worry in 2011?  Sadly, we can’t answer that question with a “yes.”  The calendar might change, but we still have some of the same worries.  Not only will we have some of those worries but we will have new worries.  Last year at this time I know the big thing on my mind was, am I going to get a call, and if so where would that call be.  Those worries caused me to lose some sleep on some nights.  As we enter into 2012 I am not worried about that anymore, because I have been called to serve at a wonderful church.  Now going into the New Year, I am worried about making sure I serve all of you to the best of my ability.

                Now those worries I would consider major worries.   Not everything I worry about I would classify as major.  I have to admit I worry about some little things in my life.  One thing I seem to worry about a lot is did I shut the garage door.  I don’t know if I should say this or not but I am, I can’t tell you how many times in the past few months by the time I get to the end of my street I turn around in the church parking lot at the corner of Ohio and Allmon, so I can drive by my house to see if my garage door is shut.  And every single time that I drive by my house, the garage door is shut.  I wish I could say it was only a few times.  I wonder if these worry is because in the back of my mind I’m thinking about how I forgot to shut the garage door to my parent’s house the day I moved to Salem.  I tend to doubt that because even while I was at seminary I worried about little things like that.  There were many evenings after coming back from errands or something I would walk back to my car to make sure it was locked or the windows were shut.  It didn’t matter if I was in my pajamas or if it was freezing cold, I would head out to my car to check one of those things or both.

                In the Gospel Reading for this evening Jesus asks the question, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.”  If I had to answer that question honestly I would have to say that with all the worrying I have done in my life I haven’t added any hours to my life.  Actually it probably has taken away some hours from my life, because all worrying does is cause stress and loss of sleep.  How about you, how would you answer that question that Jesus proposed?  Could any of you say that your worries added a single hour to your life?  I doubt that any of us could say that worry has added an hour to our lives.

                This week as I was preparing for this message, I came across a story that illustrates this point perfectly.  One dark, pitch-black night a man was walking down an unfamiliar road on either side was a deep ravine.  Suddenly he stepped into space and began to fall.  Thinking he was falling to certain death, he began flailing his arms and clutching for anything he could get his hands on.  He was able to grasp a bush along the side, and he held on for dear life.  It was agony.  His body became numb.  At last in weakness and despair, he let go and dropped – six inches to the bottom of the ditch.  Think of the needless agony he went through because he didn’t let go sooner.

                We all know that worrying really doesn’t do us any good, but we still worry.  Did it do any good for that man who grabbed onto a branch to worry what would happen when he let go?  No, his worry is what caused him great agony.  So why do we worry?  Sometimes we worry about major things such as what the future holds, why do things not go the way I want them to go, and so many other things.  We would probably be here all night if we listed all of our worries.  I highly doubt that is the way any of us want to ring in the New Year.  Other times we worry about little things such as, what’s for dinner, did I lock everything up, will I be able to stay up until midnight to celebrate the New Year, and I am sure all of you could add something I am missing.  We are like that man just hanging six inches from the ground.

                Where are we to turn amidst all of our stresses and worries?  Jesus gives us the antidote for worry in the Gospel Reading.  In verse 33, He says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  Jesus is telling the disciples along with you and me that our focus and source of strength is knowing that the reign of God and His righteousness, has come into our world through Jesus.

                Let’s look into what it means to seek first His kingdom and His Righteousness.  Jesus is inviting us to seek the reign of God.  That means to go to the places Jesus is ruling with His gracious presence, to receive his gifts of forgiveness and righteousness.  Jesus gave us the wonderful gift of forgiveness and righteousness when He sacrificed Himself on the cross.  It was through His actions our sins our forgiven, and God no longer sees us as the sinful people that we are but He sees as righteous people. 

Another part of this invitation is to learn His truth, and respond to His call.  God spoke his truth to us through His Word, the Holy Scriptures.  It’s through the Bible we learn how we were saved from our sinful ways.  As a response to this gracious act of God we are to respond by offering our praise and thanksgiving to God our Heavenly Father.  We can praise Him in so many ways, songs, prayers, worship, and so many more ways.  Another response is to tell others of this news, because God didn’t just sacrifice Jesus for you and me but for all people.  That is exactly what OAFC was doing this afternoon.  They went out in the neighborhoods of Salem to tell people about Jesus.

To seek the reign of God also means to seek the Gospel, this comes to us in the Scriptures and the Sacraments.  As we seek the Gospel, we will experience the supporting community of fellow disciples, who are brothers and sisters in Christ.  Together we are joined to Christ in our baptisms, when we hear God’s Word read in worship or Bible Study, and we are joined with our brothers and sisters as we kneel at our Lord’s Table and receive Holy Communion.  It’s in these great gifts that God has given to us that His saving righteousness is found.  God is working through those wonderful blessings to forgive us and make things right.  That is what the focus of our life is, and Jesus is calling us, inviting us, to focus on these things, so we can be free from worry over life’s other needs.

                Jesus concludes with some more encouragement in the form of a proverb, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  He is telling everyone that we have enough trouble in today so why add more worry to today by thinking about tomorrow.  In simple words He is saying, “one day at a time.”  Each day we need to remember that God is taking care of us, and taking care of the true needs that we have, so we have no need to worry.  This verse reminds me of a saying that I saw on a CD once, it said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift.”  I think that’s a great quote to remember.  We can’t do anything to change yesterday, and we don’t know anything about tomorrow.  We do know one thing that is God has given us today and that is a gift and we should make the most of it.

                As we conclude 2011 and start thinking about our New Year’s Resolutions, remember the Gospel Reading for this evening.  I think a good resolution would be to worry less about tomorrow and focus on God’s reign.  We all know all too well that worries just cause restless nights, stress, and other things that are no fun to deal with.  Instead let’s look to the fact that Jesus is ruling and through His gracious presence we have forgiveness of sins.  Also He has given to us our brothers and sisters in Christ who can help support us when we are going through difficult times.  Remember today is a gift from God, and is something to be cherished.

Amen.