​Trinity 15                                                                                                                                          September 20, 2020
Matthew 6:24-34
 
Anxious Seekers
 
v.33-34       But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
 
          Dear friends in Christ,  according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of Canada, "Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illness affecting Canadian adults.  The 12 month prevalence for any anxiety disorder is over 12% and one in four Canadians will have at least one anxiety disorder in their lifetime."[1]  And no wonder.  What with financial stresses ever increasing for families as well as retirees, we often may find ourselves wondering how we are going to make it to the end of the month after the money has all run out.  And then there's deadly and debilitating diseases that may strike anyone, anytime, anywhere—especially COVID 19 and the social isolation that has come with it; not to mention Christians facing suffering and death for their faith; plus, the everyday worries we have for our children, parents, friends, acquaintances--those who are sick--those who are dying --it's no wonder we are so stressed!
          Add to the fact that even here in North America where we have so much material wealth, but bad things--evil--still strikes--and it doesn't discriminate based upon how big your bank account may be--or how good a family life you may have.  We don't know what will happen in the future.  Cancer strikes.  Bullying happens both at school and the workplace.  Pressures mount as our relationships between family and friends are strained because we often say and do bad things to each other—or we disagree about politics or religion.  Oh sure, we may try to plan--we try to be prepared--but there's no telling when you may walk out your door and get hit by a bus!  And so we are scared.  We are scared of the unknown.  We are frightened that we will suffer and God will not be there for us.  The temptation to sin and despair grabs hold of us.
          Into this situation speaks our Lord Jesus.  During His great Sermon on the Mount He tells the assembled people, "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?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?..."
          Jesus tells us to trust in the Father to mercifully provide for our every need. Unbelievers may run around like chickens with their heads cut off--searching to and fro for every good thing--but the Christian is called to patiently trust in the good promises of the Father to give us all good things.  Place your trust in God--seek first His kingdom and righteousness--and all these things will be added on to you--more will be given to what you have already received at His gracious hand.
          However, this is easier said than done.  For this goes to the heart of the First Commandment--to have no other gods before Him--but to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things—to do otherwise is to sin against God.  Those who perfectly fear, love, and trust in God have no worries--no anxiety--no stress--for they immerse themselves completely in the promises of God for them in Christ Jesus.  They trust God absolutely to provide for them in every way--even as He already has in Jesus. 
          But there's the rub, isn't it?  We are sinful and frail human beings.  We are constantly at war over ourselves--seeking to be our own God--seeking to be in control.  We have a very difficult time giving over all things to the Lord because we just can't find it within our sinful hearts to trust Him as we ought.  We would much rather trust in mammon--trust in our bank accounts--trust in our friends--trust in modern medicine—even our political leaders!—anything else than God alone.
          But Jesus' words to us are not empty and meaningless.  He does not speak to us simply to hear the sound of His own voice.  He speaks to us, those of little faith, to comfort us with the absolute love of God that has a depth beyond our human understanding.  He who so wondrously feeds the tiniest bird of the air--He who so beautifully clothes the grass of the field (which will only wither and die)--He is the same God who made you--formed you in your mother's womb--and has promised to care for you all the days of your life.
          There is sufficient evil each day that plagues us without us worrying at it--picking at it--obsessing over it--which leads us to lose sight of the mercies of God given to us Christ Jesus.  Which is precisely what the devil wants.  He wants us to focus so much on the misfortune that comes into our lives and affects our friends and families--that we lose hope in Christ--fail to trust in His promises given to us in His Word.  Satan tempts us to believe that the great evil in the world is proof that God does not love us--has abandoned us--that the misery and stress we feel so deeply is a result of God's punishment and disfavour.  "Look around you!" Satan snidely declares.  "Fires burning out of control, continuing riots in cities around the world, hurricanes, wind storms, not to mention COVID!  You're all doomed because God hates you and has deserted you!"
          But Christ tells us this is not the case.  The Father loves you.  The Father has promised to provide for you in your every need.  His love for you is deeper than the deepest ocean--higher than the tallest mountain.  If He cares so much about simple birds and grass--how much more does He personally care for you! 
          For you see the Father did not send His Son into the world to become a bird or a flower--but He came to take on your human flesh--to carry the burden of your sin upon His own flesh and blood shoulders--and to go to the cross and give up His body and life unto death--all for you.  The Father has already provided for all of your eternal needs in the person and work of Jesus Christ who alone has trusted completely in the Father and who now credits His perfect life of fear, love, and trust in the Father--to you--by faith in Him. 
          Christ Jesus comes to you in the midst of your misery and despair--your anxiety and worry (your sin and death)--and He comes to give you His peace and joy which the world cannot know apart from faith in Christ.  A peace rooted firmly and solidly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the salvation of your eternal souls. 
          Now you and I might find ourselves wrestling with this from time to time--maybe more often than not.  We may seek after God in stressful circumstances wondering, "Where are you God?  Where are all those promises and reassurances you have given me?  Cause right now I'm having a hard time finding them!"  In those times you must look to Christ and His cross.  There the love and mercy of the Father is--for you.  Poured out in the innocent and holy blood of Jesus that has bought you back from sin and death--from your unbelief and doubt and worry--from your focus on mammon. 
          The Holy Spirit, working through His established means of grace in Word and Sacrament--comes to you to build up your faith.  To lead you to trust in Him to care for you in all times and necessities.  He reminds you of the way in which He cared for the widow at Zarephath and her family--even as He also provided for Elijah His servant.  Her jar of flour did not run out--nor did her jug of oil become dry.  Miraculously, the Lord provided for them all--because of His mercy and love. 
          The same Lord continues to care for you and provide you with all that you need.  In Jesus Christ you have received the full forgiveness of all of your sins and the sure and certain promise of everlasting life and salvation.  So that now you have been freed from worry and are enabled to do good with your material resources to all those in need, particularly your brothers and sisters in Christ.  For Christ Jesus has overcome all evil--all misfortune--by His bloody cross and passion--and gives you salvation and life.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.


[1] http://anxietycanada.ca/english/pdf/kirby.pdf

Trinity 11                                                                                                                                                                                       August 23, 2020
Luke 18:9-14
 
v.14b For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
 
Dear friends in Christ, you have no doubt heard of the celebrated story written by Jane Austen, entitled, Pride and Prejudice.  A story of two young people who fall in love, yet refuse to admit their love because of their selfish pride and prejudice they hold against one another.  Today, we see in our text another story concerning pride, Pride and Prayer. 

At first glance we might find it difficult to believe that one could be prideful in their prayers—yet, here Jesus lays it before us plainly and simply as He tells a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray.  His audience for this story?  “Some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.”

The Pharisee, principle character number 1, thought that he was, indeed, number 1 in everything.  In his prayer, God gets short shrift, the briefest of introductions, and then he proceeds to go on and on...about whom?  Himself!  “Oh, I thank you God that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.”  In our language, he is saying, “Thank you Lord for making me, me.  I am such a great guy.  I don’t take other people’s belongings, I deal fairly with people, I don’t cheat on my wife, nor am I like this crooked government lackey over here.  I am such a good guy—you should be thankful that I am your follower.”

The second principle character in this story, the tax collector, does not pray in the same manner at all.  He cannot even bring himself to look up to heaven when he prays, he feels so absolutely unworthy and low.  He keeps his eyes downcast and beats upon his own chest, chanting, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”  He does not plead his case before God.  He does not set forth any good works—rather, he accuses himself of being precisely that which God cannot abide—a man consumed by sin—but then he pleads to God for the one thing that he needs most—mercy!

Which one of these two men was prideful?  Which was humble?  Which one went home justified before God—declared righteous by His grace and power?  The one who repented of his sin and relied on the mercy of God for his own sufficiency. 

Yet, let’s be honest, though we would often like to think of ourselves as acting like/praying like the tax collector in this story—in reality—whom do we more often reflect in our lives?  The Pharisee.  It is so easy to get caught up in one’s own pride.  We may not go to the extreme that the Pharisee did in our text, blatantly and openly condemning the sins of others and puffing ourselves up.  No, we tend to be more subtle—listing our good qualifications—“I was born and raised in the church...I taught Sunday School...I tithe every week...I sang in the choir...I served on council for many years in all different capacities!”  All of which may be well and good on their own, but when we begin to take pride in these things—when we begin to look at them as our accomplishments—our works—that God should look kindly towards us because of them—we cross the line.  We cross the line from prayer—to pride—which leads to hell and damnation.

For those who view themselves with pride and self-righteousness refuse to confess our sin to God—even fail at times to regard our sin as sin.  Sometimes, it seems as though we think God must grade on a curve.  “I may not be perfect God, but I am better than so-and-so sitting three pews back—he doesn’t even serve on church council!  And I am certainly better than my unbelieving, heathen neighbour who can’t keep his dog from pooping on my lawn!  I don't get involved in violent riots, and I try really hard not to be racist.  Really, God, I’m a pretty good person—you should be proud to have me as your follower.” 

Yet, what does Jesus tell us we are to say?  In Luke 17:10, He says, “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”  Furthermore, the prophet Isaiah had some harsh words for those who thought their good works were so great when he says (64:6), “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.  We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”  Our so-called “righteous deeds”—our very best of our good works—are like a polluted garment—the Hebrew literally means, like a soiled feminine hygiene product.  You think your works are so great and wonderful?—try placing those before the throne of the Almighty and see where they get you!

There is only one thing that we can do, dear friends, as people who are filled with pride and sinfully selfish desires.  Repent.  Repent and throw ourselves down before the mercy seat of God, begging for His mercy, not because we deserve it—not because we have earned it with our good deeds—but solely for the sake of Jesus Christ and His work and sacrifice for our sins.
For we are not to hold ourselves up in comparison to other people—we are held to a much higher standard—that of God’s perfect and holy Law.  When we look into the mirror of the Law we see nothing but our own sin and degradation before us and we also know that we are fully deserving of nothing but the Lord’s wrath and fury over sin.  We dare not look down at others and their sin with self-righteous arrogant pride—for we truly are no better—no different—in the face of God’s Law. 

Since there is nothing good in us we are then led by God’s Spirit to repent of our sin and beg for God’s grace and mercy on account of Christ and His cross.  For God is, indeed, ready to bestow mercy generously on even the very worst of sinners—sinners like you and me—because of His grace poured out freely for you in Christ Jesus. 

Recall that it was Jesus who was humbled for you.  He took on your flesh—your sin—your death—and He suffered and died for it on Calvary’s cross.  Because He also knew of your unworthiness—your failures—your many gross sins—and He loved you just the same.  He loved you so much that He came to live, suffer, and die so that you wouldn’t have to—so that you could receive forgiveness and mercy for all your sins and be given life everlasting through faith in Him. 

By trying to rely on our own righteousness—our own works—we reject the mercy of God and insult Christ who came to win our salvation.  True prayer begins by humbling oneself before God and relying purely on His mercy because we have heard and believe the good news of Jesus our great High Priest—who bore all our sins in His own flesh to the cross to pay for them and cleanse us from all guilt and sin and death with His innocent shed blood.  For He delights in exalting the lowly—those who humbly confess their sins and receive forgiveness for Jesus’ sake. 
​
Let us pray that the Lord would lead us to deal with others in all humility and respect.  May we help them to see their sinful state before God and their salvation in Jesus Christ crucified and risen again.  For Christ did not come to purchase heaven and salvation for only a few.  No, in His own words (Luke 19:10), “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  You, me, and all people. Truly, He has had mercy on us, sinners all.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.