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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
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Time after Pentecost - Lectionary 8 (A) May grace and peace be with you from God our heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I have a confession to make. I had an extremely difficult time in preparing for my sermon this week. At the beginning of the week, I had promised Carol that I would do my very best to get my sermon finished by Thursday so that we could enjoy a couple of days off on Friday and Saturday. And guess what? I didn’t keep my promise to her – but it certainly was not for lack of trying. Yes, last week was a busy one in many ways – but I did manage to spend some hours in studying our gospel text and all kinds of various commentaries on it. But nothing seemed to speak to me. Nothing at all! My mind became an absolute and total blank. I think you can guess where I am going on this. The harder I tried to get this sermon finished, the more and more upset and worried I got! I spent about six hours on Friday – my supposed “day off” – working on this sermon. And then again on Saturday – yesterday – as well! I wasn’t a happy guy and, as you can imagine, neither was Carol! The bottom line was that due to my obsessing and worrying about getting this sermon finished (this sermon on Jesus’ admonition NOT to worry!) my “days off” on Friday and Saturday were not a time of relaxation and renewal. Has that often been true for the rest of us as well? God wants us to enjoy the time we have right now, but so often we fail to do that because we constantly are thinking and worrying about something we have to do. For me during the past several days that “something” was getting this sermon finished. “Then,” I thought, “I will finally be able to relax!” But I can think of many other examples as well. “When I finally get to my weight loss goal, then I will be a much happier person!” “When I graduate from high school – or college – then I will be finally able to really enjoy life!” “When I get a good job and have a steady income…when I get married…when we have children…when I can retire…” I can go on and on with these things. We keep on thinking that happiness and contentment are always somewhere ahead of us – and that when we finally achieve the particular goal we are striving for, then we will finally be “there”! Then we will finally be “happy”! But of course, it doesn’t work that way. As soon as we achieve one goal, then there is always going to be something else to capture our attention. After finishing this sermon, for example, then I had a number of other things to worry about. We tend to spend our entire lives in the pursuit of happiness, but never quite finding it. Maybe this is what Jesus is getting at in today’s gospel text. Jesus in our gospel bids us not to worry about our life, what we will eat or what we will drink, or about our body, what we will wear. Jesus doesn’t mean “Don’t think about these things.” He knows that they are necessities. But Jesus does tell us not to worry about them. Instead of always worrying about what we need to do next – or what we need to have next – Jesus encourages us to focus upon enjoying what we have at the moment – and then trust that God will provide what we will need for tomorrow. “Live today,” Jesus is telling us. “Be satisfied like a bird that’s enjoying its daily meal, and isn’t concerned about whether it will find something to eat the next day or the day after that. Enjoy what you have right now!” “Be like a lily of the field when it is in full bloom, enjoying the beauty you have right now – and not worrying that the next day you will grow old and shrivel up and die!” The kingdom life, Jesus tells us, means enjoying and being thankful for whatever blessings we have right now – and it also means trusting that our heavenly Father loves us and will continue to be with us and provide for our needs in the days to come. This doesn’t mean that things are always wonderful at any given moment. As I have told you, I was not exactly feeling “blessed” while struggling to prepare this sermon – and nothing seemed to be coming into my mind. Perhaps some of you are also having problems and struggles today as well that are much, much more serious than what I was going through. Perhaps you may be having issues with your health, or are facing financial problems, or may be having problems in your family or marriage. Yes, life can be difficult, and Jesus acknowledges that. As he says at the end of today’s gospel text, “Today’s trouble is enough for today.” But I believe that God can use even our troubles to be a blessing – because through them we can learn more about ourselves and also about our need for God’s help. I know that for myself personally, the hardest times in my life have also been those times when I have most come to realize my dependence upon God – and have therefore most grown in my faith. And my difficult experiences have also made me a lot more understanding and sympathetic toward others who may be going through them too. And I am sure that the same is true for you as well. But getting back to our gospel, Jesus most of all wants us to appreciate today and the blessings that we have in it right now. As children of God’s kingdom, we don’t have to focus upon the failures and regrets of our past – because we know that our Father in heaven loves and forgives us. By his grace, today is a brand new day and a fresh start for each and everyone of us. We don’t have to worry about the past. Nor do we have to worry about the future – because as God’s children we trust that our heavenly Father loves us and will always take care of us. He will provide us with what we need day by day. “Do not worry,” Jesus says, “for God is with you now. God provides for you now, loves you now, and forgives you now. Just as he always has, and always will.” What a gift – what a wonderful, priceless gift this promise is! And so as children of God who are loved, forgiven, and provided for, we can live – really live – today. May we appreciate the beauty of this day and also its opportunities for living in God’s love and sharing that love with each other. Yes, this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! That is what I said when I finally finished preparing this sermon yesterday evening – and now I’ll say it again. In fact, let’s all say it together: “This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” Thanks be to God! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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