Matthew 6:25-27, 31-34

‘DO NOT WORRY …’

Jesus said, ‘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?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

… So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?”

or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”

For the pagans run after all these things,

and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and (href=)all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.’

In our Gospel reading this week, Jesus continues his famous Sermon on the Mount, and here he is teaching about our need to focus on the things that really matter. It sounds like he is being a bit extreme doesn’t it? After all, surely we need to eat and drink and wear clothes? Of course we do, but Jesus is saying we shouldn’t spend all of our time thinking about such things.

Last time, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us only to ask God for those things we need – ‘give us today our daily bread’ - and yet so much of our lives are influenced by things we don’t need.

We seem to be obsessed by food and fashion and things. Every other programme on the TV nowadays seems to be a food programme. Half the world doesn’t have enough food, whilst UK households throw away 7 million tonnes of food every year.

We worry about our weight and our image. We buy clothes that are only meant to be worn a few times, so that we buy more. (It’s called ‘throwaway fashion’ and does huge damage to the environment.) All of this isn’t really about food or clothing, but about self-centredness. It all about ‘me’. What do ‘I’ want? How do ‘I’ look? What do people think about ‘me’.

Jesus tells us to stop obsessing about ourselves and to focus our thinking on God. Focus on God, because it is in God that we find our worth. Focus on God, because it is in God that we find real fulfilment.

Someone once said,

“If you seek peace, you will not find it.

If you seek Christ, you will find peace.

If you seek joy, you will not find it.

If you seek Christ, you will find joy.”

Jesus said,

‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.’

[Matthew 6:33]

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Luke 13:31-35

IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK

• God's peace and justice in all war-torn places of the world, but especially in Ukraine, Sudan and DCR
• leaders of all world governments, that God will change their hearts and agendas to be more like His
• The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas; that it will last
• The bereaved
• The sick, in mind, body or spirit, especially Stewart Stacey 
• The students and staff of our parish schools
• The staff at the surgery
• For the forthcoming interviews for our new vicar

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