Sermon – Matthew 6:25-33 Don’t Worry be Thankful

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
Sermon – Matthew 6:25-33 Don’t Worry be Thankful
November 23, 2008

This morning we will be remembering all of the blessings that we have received in our lifetimes: the blessings of our birth and loving parents, the blessing of our youth, education, and moral development, the blessings of our spouses, families, jobs and church, the blessings of retirement, travel, and lifelong friendships. We have so much to be thankful for. So God has given us this week to be thankful for all of our blessings.

Will you pray with me? Father in heaven, we approach your throne this morning thankful for all you have done for us. Purge from our minds the worries that often overwhelm us. Help us to focus this week on all that you have provided for us, especially our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

If you are anything like me you worry most of the time. I worry about the stock market going down and what is happening to my retirement funds. I worry about my parents getting older and how they will be cared for. I worry about this church and the problems each of you face. I worry, like so many others, about paying the bills each month. Worry is a part of my life and I am sure that worry is a part of your lives too.

The Israelites were worried as they wandered in the wilderness. Just a few days after God freed them from slavery in Egypt with the miraculous parting of the Red Sea they ran out of water. Moses, who had been a shepherd in this desert for forty years, guided them to a watering hole, but the water was bitter and people were worried. “O Moses, what have you done? We had plenty of water in Egypt. It would have been better to die there than die here in the desert of thirst.” God knew they were worried so God led them to an area with twelve springs, one for each tribe.

But a few days later the Israelites ran out of food. They worried again. “O Moses, what have you done? We had plenty of food in Egypt. It would have been better to die there with full stomachs that to die out here in the wilderness of hunger.” God knew that they were worried so he rained down bread from heaven each morning and had quails fly by every evening so that the Israelites would never be hungry.

You would think that with all these blessings from God the Israelites would never worry again. After all time after time God had provided for them. But when the spies returned from the Promised Land with a report that the people of Canaan where powerful, and descended from giants the Israelites were worried, really worried. “O Moses, what have you done? In Egypt we weren’t facing slaughter. It would have been better to remain slaves than to all be killed in this strange place.” With that their God, who was slow to anger and abiding in steadfast love had enough. God was ready to wipe out his people and start over. But Moses intervened and reminded God of God’s love for God’s people. So God relented, and permitted the Israelites to wander around the desert for forty years where they could worry all the time until a new generation, free from worry, could take what was being offered, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Worry is part of our lives. We do it well because we practice it all the time. We are worried about the economy and the values of our retirement investments and homes. We are worried about keeping our jobs, or finding a job. We are worried about our health and what will happen to us as we age. We are worried about our families and their future.

The Christians of the Protestant Reformation were also filled with worry. As William of Orange organized the rebel forces in the Netherlands to fight for political independence from Spain and religious independence from Rome the Reformed Christians worried about their churches, their country and their lives. They gathered into churches and confessed their faith which sustained them through these most dangerous times. In the midst of their worry here is what they confessed.

“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing, sing praises to His name; he forgets not His own. Beside us to guide us our God with us joining, ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine; so from the beginning the fight we are winning; Thou, Lord wast at our side; all glory be Thine! We all do extol Thee, Thou leader triumphant, and pray that Thou still our defender wilt be, let thy congregation escape tribulation; thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!”

Whenever we are overwhelmed by worry there is a simple solution. All we have to do is to turn to God with praise and thanksgiving. By praising God our faith increases, which allows us to withstand anything that world might throw at us. We are able to face our worries with confidence only when we have first approach God in praise.

And this brings us to this morning’s scripture and Jesus’ teachings on worry.

Matthew 6:25-33 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 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? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

According to Jesus, the antidote for worrying all the time is service to others. If we feed someone who is hungry today then we will not be worried about being hungry tomorrow. If we clothe someone who is naked today then we will not be concerned with what we will wear tomorrow. This is how the Kingdom of Heaven works. God provides us with everything we need and all God asks us to do is to provide for the needs of others. By caring for others we realize all the blessings that we have received and become a thankful people praising God in the highest.

Craig Barnes, a prominent Presbyterian pastor, tells a story about one Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving morning at about 11AM while his family was preparing for a great feast the telephone rang. It was a nurse at a local hospital saying that a member of his church was dying. Craig was worried about the interruption this would cause in his family’s plans for the day. He arrived at the hospital to find Jean, a seventy-eight year old member of the congregation surrounded by her family. She had had another heart attack and was not expected to make it through the day. Jean was about to die. After Craig prayed with the family and read some scripture someone mentioned that it was sad for Jean to die on Thanksgiving. But Jean replied that it was a glorious Thanksgiving because she would soon be with the Lord. She then prayed for everyone in the room and died. While driving home Craig realized that Jean was a saint. She had taught Sunday School for thirty-five years until her eyesight failed and then settled into a ministry of prayer for others. Jean had no worry about her fate because of her service to others in the kingdom. She was grateful for all that God had done for her. Craig arrived home just in time to carve the Thanksgiving turkey, but Jean was on his mind, and all he could say as he carved the bird was that this truly was a glorious Thanksgiving.

When we live lives of service to others we stop worrying about what the future will bring and become thankful people who praise God of our blessings. As Christians we are thankful for all the blessings God has provided for us: the blue sky and bright sunshine, families coming together for the Thanksgiving feast, the food, water and clothing that our planet provides, and our saving faith in Jesus Christ. All these and so much more have been provided to us by our loving God. So we have come here today to thank God for all that God has done for us, to express our gratitude for all the blessings we have received, and to commit ourselves to lives of service to others. As we gather together lets give our worries to God and be thankful for all the blessings we have received.

Gracious and loving God, we are a people who gather around tables. On Thanksgiving Day, many of us will gather around dining tables or kitchen tables or tray tables and share a meal with our family and friends. We give thanks to you, O God, for food and the time to enjoy it together. As we are seated at our tables, help us also remember the table where we gather in worship to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. At this table we are all God’s people gathered in communion with Christ. May our joy-filled celebrations of Thanksgiving Day remind us of the joyful feast of the people of God. Thank you, God! Amen.