The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
“Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?””
Summary
“O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in Lord your God” the prophet Joel exhorts us, for the rains have come, there will be grain, there will be wine and oil. Will there though? After all, Joel 2:21-27 is addressing a people in the midst of famine. Why should they believe that the future will be any different? And then there is Jesus telling us not to worry in Matthew 6:25-33, do we worry? You can bet your life we worry. There are floods, there are hurricanes, food prices are rising, there are over 7 million people in the UK suffering from food poverty, which is peanuts compared to the 27 million and counting at risk of starvation in Sudan. As for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, they are doing so well either. There is much to worry about and precious little, it seems, to rejoice in. Do we worry? Damn right we worry. But are we worrying about the right things and, more importantly, are we striving for the right things? Jesus is not telling us that food, water, clothing and shelter are unimportant, he assures us that “God knows you need these things”. And, like Joel, he promises that these things will be provided but not by some random act of God or providence but by building the kingdom of God: “strive first for the kingdom of God … and all these things will be given to you as well.” We do not lack God given resources. What we lack is justice and peace, equity and courage. What we lack is belief in our God given ability to make a difference. Do we worry? Of course we worry, we worry about climate change, energy security, sustainable food supply, we worry about the equitable distribution of resources and access to health and housing. I am not suggesting that we stop worrying but that we start striving. That we start believing, as Jesus did, that we can make a difference, that we each have a part to play in building the kingdom of God.
First Reading
Joel 2:21-27
Do not fear, O soil;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
Do not fear, you animals of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit,
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing-floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame.
GOSPEL
Matthew 6.25-33
‘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? 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? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 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? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
