Your Heavenly Father Knows
St. Matthew 6:24-34
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 6:31-34 [Jesus said] “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or “What shall we wear?’ For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… What is happening to us? What is happening to our nation? What is happening to this world in which we live? Am I going to be safe? Are my friends and relatives going to be safe? What about those who are serving in the armed forces, especially since the disastrous withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan which resulted in the unconscionable loss of thirteen American lives? Will this world be here when my children grow up? And, if so, what kind of a world will it be?
These and many more questions like them are filling our minds as we continue to try to navigate and swim around in the noise and confusion of how to live in a world where “The Virus” and shoddy government seem to have taken over everything. Whatever side of the political fence you may be on, it is undeniable that this state, this nation, and this world are, to put it mildly, becoming more and more of a mess. Many people have simply given up on trusting any main stream media and any government official. Others cling to every word from those sources. And many others are somewhere in between. And the result is that worries abound. And the popular but vacuous phrase from many years ago, “Don’t worry, be happy,” isn’t going to cut it anymore. In fact, it never did.
One of the things that surprised me again this past week – and it should not have surprised me at all – is the constant relevancy of God’s Word. The Word of God speaks to every situation, it speaks to every time and every place of mankind; it always has, and it always will. The Gospel of Jesus Christ – the forgiveness of sins that Jesus procured for us by His death and resurrection – applies no matter what the situation. And along with that forgiveness we have comfort, we have certainty, we have hope, and we have security from our Lord who holds all things in His hands. God has allowed all those worrisome things to take place for this reason – so that we may learn to trust in Him and His Word all the more.
I was thinking during the week how I would be able to apply this week’s readings to our present situation. And it did not take long for the Lord in His Word to come through again. The words from our Lord in Matthew 6 could easily have been written today; that is how perfectly relevant God’s Word is.
In today’s Gospel Jesus is addressing certain fears, concerns, and worries that His disciples had expressed. He first cautions them against dual loyalties: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon” which is money.
Our Lord’s first caution is that we not value money and/or material possessions as much as or more than God. And it would not be wrong to apply His words to current fears. It is a simple application of the First Commandment: “You shall have no other Gods.” We apply our Lord’s caution to ourselves today and ask, What do you fear more, God or the Virus? Are you more concerned about the power of death or the Lord of life?
Crisis events like these have a way of revealing our gods, the people and things we love and trust in more than the true God; the fears we give into instead of coming to our Lord in prayer and trusting Him to deliver and save us. We must not place our ultimate trust in what we have, including our own life – or fear of losing that life – lest that misplaced trust causes us to lose sight of God’s grace and forgiveness and the eternal life we enjoy here on this earth which will culminate in spending eternity with Him in heaven.
Look at what Jesus says next: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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 probably isn’t a person here today, let alone in this country, who has not thought about these things at least a little bit over the past 18 months or so. Who has not, at least in some small degree, worried about his or her life in these ways?
There are reports and warnings about coming food shortages and continuously rising gas prices. There is legitimate concern, not to mention anger, now that our president has literally waged a vaccine war on millions of Americans by forcing companies with 100 employees or more to figuratively “bow to the image” of the shot. And more and more power-hungry politicians will most certainly follow suit. And will this country ever stop illegal aliens from pouring into the country, and where will they all end up? And because of all of this, we may even be concerned about what we will wear, whether we can put gas in our car, whether we can keep our jobs, or whether we can afford to feed our families or ourselves as we see out-of-control inflation, more and more corruption, the demonic despising of human life, and hatred for Godly marriage all go unchecked.
Whether or not these are valid concerns, and no matter what happens, the words of our Lord are for you today and always. “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Of course it is, because the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, is in control!
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It is not our job as Christians to worry about things over which we have no control, and more importantly, to worry about things that God has in His complete control. Worry drains away both our time and energy, and ultimately, it is a demonstration of lack of faith and trust in God who is the provider of all things. Worry is something the devil uses quite effectively to draw our attention away from God and onto ourselves and our problems.
“Look at the birds of the air,” says Jesus. These birds, some of the smallest of God’s creatures, are fed by Your heavenly Father. And what are they fed? Birds eat seeds, even as Jesus said in the parable of the sower: “Some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them” (Mt 13:4). The simple point of comparison is that we are to become like the birds; we are to desire what Christ sows which is His holy Word.
His Word says to us who worry and fret, “I am with you always to the very end of the age” (Mt 28:20). His Word says to us who have doubts about life, “I have come to give life, and that more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). His Word says to those who are anxious and nervous about what is to come, “Therefore do not worry… For your heavenly Father knows… But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”
And there it is! The kingdom and reign of God; that is what we seek, first, foremost, and always! In just a few minutes we will pray, “Thy kingdom come…” And as Lutherans we have learned from the Scriptures and in the Small Catechism exactly what it means to pray this petition: “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead Godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”
God has given you His Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism. He has given you His Holy Spirit through His holy Word preached and proclaimed, specifically the preached Gospel of Jesus Christ by which you learn that your sins have all been placed upon Jesus on the cross where He died for them; and three days later He rose from the dead to defeat even death itself!
God’s grace then gives you the ability to believe His holy Word, to cling to it for all you are worth, and to cling to all His promises spoken and delivered. He has promised to take care of you, even more than “the birds of the air” and “the lilies of the field.” “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Of course you are! And therein lies more comfort, for since God takes care of each and every little bird – and you are much more precious in God’s sight – then you can know and believe in no uncertain terms that He will take care not only of your physical needs, but your spiritual needs as well, for you ARE of more value than they.
God has promised to take care of you and clothe you much more than the lilies of the field which neither toil nor spin, much more than the grass of the field which is gone tomorrow. You are worth so very much to God, so much more, in fact, that He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to take your sins upon Himself and die for you in your place. You mean as much to God as His dear Son, for you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He has given you the robe of righteousness, the clothing of the bride of Christ which is His Church. Your clothing is the blood-washed garment of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection for you and for your salvation.
Neither the birds of the air nor the flowers of the field provide for themselves; God the maker of heaven and earth does that. You are of much more value than they. You cannot provide for your spiritual well-being any more than you can provide for your own salvation. Therefore, God has and will certainly continue to take care of all your needs, in both body and in soul, until such time as He calls you home to be with Him. Of that you can be certain.
Be glad that today you can receive Christ in all His glory for the eternal benefit of your soul as He comes to you not only in His Word just preached, but also in His Supper. Here on the altar is His very body given into death for the forgiveness of all your sins. Here on this altar is His precious blood poured out for you for the forgiveness of all your sins. This is the food which will sustain you throughout life, even when the dark clouds of uncertainty surround you, even when the threat of the world around us falling apart completely. For what God in Christ gives you here in His Word and Sacraments can never be taken away; it is true forgiveness, true strength, and true certainty.
Dear fellow redeemed, cling by faith to God; cling by faith to His word and Sacraments, and cling by faith to His promises. Have your faith constantly fed, for faith comes by hearing the proclamation of the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Have God Himself feed and strengthen you by receiving into your mouths the true and literal body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:26-28). Let none of us give up gathering together out of fear; instead, may God bring us together to admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, and letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Dear friends in Christ, your heavenly Father knows all that is on your mind. He knows all the concerns you have. He knows all the anxieties that accompany your heart and mind. He knows all your fears. And He also knows exactly how to meet your needs. Be comforted by His presence, His very real and true presence here in His Supper. For here you have everything you need to fend off the devil and all his lies. Here you have the medicine of immortality – the very substance of Christ Himself who will be with you until He calls you Home to be with Him in eternity forever.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
