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“God's Great Things Before Us”
Joel 2:21-27;
1 Timothy 2:1-7; Matthew 6:25-33; Psalm 126;
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
Thanksgiving Eve Services of
Cambridge Area Churches
Wednesday,
November 22, 2006
7:00 p.m. London, WI
"Therefore, I tell
you, do not worry about your life...."
Matthew 6:25
When
I was a little girl, I didn’t worry at
that age about being cared for in my life. All four of us as children were cared
for by our mother and father; in sickness as well as in health. At times in
elementary school, I was prone to having migraine headaches and, during these
times, I was in bed from school for one day (they lasted just one day). Mother
knew I was under the weather because I didn’t show up at the breakfast table; I
stayed in bed and didn’t talk–my head really hurt.
On any normal given school day,
when mother wanted us to get up, she’d start our day with opening the shades
saying, “This is the day which the Lord hath
made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).” But the
days of my migraines she closed the shades over the windows, for the light was
painful to my eyes, she checked-in on me through-out the day as I slept away my
pain and discomfort, and brought me 7-Up in the late afternoon as I felt well. I
didn’t know it at the time, but I was experiencing Mom’s heartfelt love and care
for her children. It was her portrayal of how mother and child experience God’s
loving provisions all throughout the day; for where her treasure was, her heart
was also!
“Therefore,
I tell you, do not worry about your
life....”
In our texts this Thanksgiving
night we recall similar scenes of trust in God’s presence, in God’s provisions;
we are told not to fear, but to be glad and rejoice in the Lord (Joel). For the
psalmist the Lord did great things for the land of Israel, restored fortunes for
rejoicing. In I Timothy thanksgivings are made for everyone, for in one God,
Christ is himself human and the mediator, it is right and acceptable in the
sight of God. In the gospel of Matthew we are urged not to worry about life;
Jesus is telling his disciples that it is not so much in what we gain in
‘things’ as much as what we proclaim in God’s ‘things’ set before us. All of
these scenes in scripture are of God’s great things before us; what God has
done! God’s great love is shown before us in the birds of the air who are fed,
the lilies of the field who never toil, and in us, who are clothed by the
Father.
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your
life...”
The scene is where Jesus is in the
midst of teaching his disciples things concerning their being God’s people; in
this same text in Luke (12:22-34), Jesus
says, ‘sell your possessions and give alms, for where your treasure is, there
your heart will be.’ He urges them to trust God. He tells them not to worry
about what they will eat, drink, or what to wear on their bodies. Jesus says,
‘you of little faith’, your life is more than food, and your body is more than
clothing! These are outside appearances; it’s what‘s inside your heart that
counts! Here’s the clincher: if we strive for the kingdom of God, if we treasure
in our hearts and provide in our actions, all of these things, food,
drink, clothing will be given to us as well.
Now, if you are like me, you
wonder how Jesus could function in a world such as ours today. Especially this
week, we have been dreaming about and hoping for the smells of our grilled or
oven-baked turkey, or visiting family/friends who provide all of the trimmings
that go with our Western culture of thanks and feasting celebrating the
Pilgrim’s harvest back in 1621: today’s feast might include cranberries, sweet
potatoes, dressing and wild rice, and of course pumpkin pie. All of this in
satisfying our appetites!
In this Thanksgiving time of the
year, it seems, we are filled with hope and love on the outside, a kind of
confidence. Our text tells us God wants for us what is good and provides it for
us. But we might ask are we really responding to God’s love for us, by receiving
these material goods, even in sharing them with family and friends? Are we
worried about these things more than we need worry? If we are so wrapped up in
what more we can get of food, clothing, and material matters in this world, how
can we know that God loves us and will provide for us in need?
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your
life.....”
Our texts relate that all of our
wealth, all of our material goods, all that we think we need is not part
of trusting in God who provides all that we need to have. You see, in the
Roman world, as today, motivation of life’s riches was/is wrongly placed
towards individuals; wealth was/is achieved by status and reputation, and not by
practice or promotion of benefiting and helping others or even to serve God But
God, through Christ’s actions of being with and healing the less fortunate, was
exemplary of God’s plan.
Jesus is honest in telling them
and us it is a high-priced kind of discipleship; and we probably don’t have what
it takes. But we have faith and trust! We strive for and receive the kingdom by
following God’s plan of need, not our plan of having more. Jesus has told his
disciples not to be hypocrites (6:2,5,16)
but to give their alms, pray, and fast secretly, for the Father will know and
see it inside us.
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your
life....”
In all of this, Jesus was not
telling his disciples that they need not worry–but Jesus does say to them, in
their giving, praying, and fasting, the reward was God’s blessings upon them as
they experienced God’s plan now and in the new age to come. One of the best
parts of this gospel is in seeing God’s greatness before us. I love the birds of
the air; I was reading about birds, no, not turkeys, but geese in my latest
Smithsonian magazine ( “Living with Geese,”
Smithsonian, December 2006, Vol. 37, No. 9, p. 38-44 ). It seems the
author and novelist, Paul Theroux’s treasure is where his heart is! He has
raised geese in Hawaii for ten years and he relates their many wonders; the many
breeds, they recognize his voice, hurry near him when called or follow when he
has food in his hand. Their curiosity is ‘inexhaustible’ as they sample tasty
plants, peck at objects they might like. Their digestive systems are wonderful
in that they eat nonstop but don’t ever grow fat! Their capacity to heal is
quite phenomenal–all to the glory of our seeing, hearing, and being with them.
Theroux said once he had a gander,
a male goose, that became ill, got weak, stopped eating, and couldn’t walk, just
moaned. After weeks of nurturing his gander with a turkey baster of medications,
Theroux was seeing that his gander was sipping water finally, and eating. One
morning after giving the meds, the gander became strong enough to walk, and
after placing his food on the dish, the gander took a few steps toward his
master and gave him a “purple-purse sized bruise” on his thigh. Theroux said,
“This is not an example of irony or ingratitude, it is GOOSISHNESS (goose-ish-ness)!
He was thankfully himself again!”
In our faith, we can trust that
God loves us, cares for us, forgives us, clothes us; for God knows we need all
of these things. The good news for us this night is that the greatest things are
before us as God’s own. God feeds the birds, allows the lilies of the fields to
bloom, and clothes us. God watches over God’s own. We strive, with God’s help,
to attain God’s kingdom. In our striving, we struggle at times, in conflicts,
confusion, and set-backs; but God is always with us, encourages us, and lets us
know:
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your
life......”
AMEN
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