A Thought For The Week Of February 2, 2015

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" (Matthew 6:25) Matthew 6:25-34 is truly one of my favourite passages of the Bible, and the basic message is so consistent with that of Jesus, and so relevant to people today: do not worry. Jesus said that (or variations of it) so often. Don't worry, don't be afraid, Be at peace. To worry, after all, is to fear the future and what it holds, but for a Christian, whatever the future may hold, the one thing we know it does hold is God. After all, God holds the future. A hymn I often come back to reminds me of this: "Many things about tomorrow I don't need to understand, but I know he holds tomorrow, and I know he holds my hand." And yet, so many Christians worry about the future, usually because they're burdened by something in the past. So the basic message here is so essential: do not worry.There are two other things that leap out at me in the passage, though. The first is the comparison of us and our worries to God's care of nature, and to birds and flowers who don't worry. I almost get a "return to Eden" feel out of these words. Just be one with creation. God has provided us with all we need. It's there. We don't have to be hungry or naked. But, of course, sin interrupts, and there are people who have no food and no clothes - because we who have such things often hoard, or we're selfish, and we neither care nor share. So how do we approach this passage that tells us that if we have enough faith, we'll be provided for? It sounds prosperity-gospel-ish. Believe and you'll have. But - maybe - this is a call to the church.Those in need who seek God's Kingdom should - ideally at least - find the church. And the church has a responsibility to provide for those who lack the basic necessities of life. Maybe this is a bit of a veiled mandate given to the followers of Jesus to look out for the less fortunate. In that way, those who seek out the Kingdom of God will find their basic needs met through the generosity of God's people. Ideally at least. When the church is at its best.