A sermon on Matthew 6:24-34 for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.
“But Dad, I need it!” How often have you witnessed or, unfortunately, been involved in this conversation in public? You can already envision it now, right? The toddler clutching on to the object of his life’s desire, knuckles turning white, face turning red with the frustration of being unable to construct a more convincing argument. “But Dad, I need it!” But whenever this happens, what the child wants isn’t actually something they actually need, right? The toddler is never holding a piece of healthy food that would nourish him and strengthen his body. No, it’s a candy bar or a toy or something like that. “But Dad, I need it!” “Sorry, bud. No, you don’t.”
In our Gospel this morning, God promises to provide for all of our physical needs. Although our sinful “needs” go unfulfilled, we see that God has given us complete satisfaction in our heavenly needs and will generously provide for us on this earth as well.
I. Our Sinful “Needs”
Now, most of the verses in our Gospel seem rather fluffy out of context. Oh, Jesus tells me not to worry, how nice, maybe I’ll make an inspirational Facebook post with one of these verses. But all of these thoughts come at the end of a section which talks about money! The first verse of our text sets this tone. Now our guard’s up! Talking about money in Church! What Jesus says here has consequences for our lives.
Let’s remember the context in which Jesus spoke these words. We’re in Matthew chapter 6, right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is speaking to people living in what we would today consider abject poverty. There was a very real risk and fear of famine and starvation that we just can’t comprehend today. Among that larger group are Jesus’ disciples. These men left everything to follow Jesus. They gave up families and homes and livelihoods to wander around with Him and be reliant on the generosity of others. If anyone had a reason to worry about food and clothes, it was these guys!
As I look out into the pews, I see that everyone is wearing clothes. That’s good. I’m guessing that you either ate breakfast before coming here or you’re making plans for lunch now that we’re this far into the sermon. Jesus promises us food and clothes, but these promises kind of ring hollow when most of us have more than enough. And all of us are incredibly wealthy, in the grand scheme of things. The median household income in the United States is enough to place you in the top 0.17% of people worldwide. That’s not to say that you’re free from all financial stressors, but generally we’re not worried about food or clothes. But Jesus’ words are still applicable to us.
God could very well strip away 90% of your stuff and still fulfill His promise to provide the necessities. But we find ways to worry. Like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, we often lose sight of what we actually need. In our prosperity, we recategorize luxury items as necessities. Wants as needs. How often have you said, “I need it!” about something that has no bearing whatsoever on your actual basic needs? How often have you cried out “but heavenly Father, I need it!” when God in His wisdom decides that you can’t handle that much prosperity? Do you fully appreciate what God has provided you with, whether that means being content with a little or a lot?
Maybe that’s not what your prayers look like. Fair enough. But how about when everything is financially stable. Your needs are met and you don’t even have any wants, it’s hard to get you anything for Christmas. You still worry and stress about tomorrow. Trying to make sure that it’s enough or that it’ll last, trying to place everything under your control when really nothing is. The only One we need to rely on is God, but we really like to rely on ourselves.
Either way, our selfish desires become our god. We worship things instead of Him. We display our lack of trust by doubting His promise to provide. Worry indicates that our priorities are off. This is the attitude that Jesus is warning us against. You can’t serve God and money. That’s not how being a servant works! If even a single ounce of your effort is directed to the other master, you are betraying your master. We like to think that we can rely on God, it’s a nice inspirational idea, but when the rubber hits the road, we always fall back on our own efforts. And never on Him.
II. Our Heavenly Satisfaction
Although we so often get caught up in our needs and our “needs,” Jesus never did. Two chapters after our text, He remarks that, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Mt 8:20). Jesus went without physical necessities to accomplish His mission and His purpose. To live a perfect life in your place. He often went without food and without sleep to minister to people. To heal them of their infirmities and proclaim to them the Word of God. More than that, the Son of God left the glory of heaven and became a man. Imagine that! If Solomon isn’t worth comparing to the lilies—well we can’t even begin to comprehend the glory and majesty of God. Yet Jesus gave it up for you. To give you your most fundamental need. Himself.
Jesus gave up His life for you. He offered Himself on the cross to fulfill your deepest need, one that we might not even recognize that we need: peace with God. Jesus paid the debt your sins created with the most valuable currency: His precious blood. Our sinful desires which built up this barrier between us and Him have been torn down, demolished. All of your worries, even feeling guilty that you worry too much, have been taken away because Jesus has taken your sin away. And now, basking in His presence, we see that all we need, all we ever needed was Him.
And when we realize this deeper truth, everything else just fits into place. If God was willing to go through all the hassle to save your soul, won’t He also provide for you in this life? If not, what was the point? Isn’t the former so much more difficult? St. Paul says the same thing in Romans 8, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (v 32). Jesus’ resurrection shows you that you have nothing to worry about. We have received reconciliation with God. He cares that much for you. And Jesus’ resurrected body shows us that our bodies matter. Our physical existence is important to God, we aren’t just meant to be disembodied spirits. He created us to have bodies and He will provide for us in these physical bodies. He cares so much about you that He will raise you bodies on the Last Day, to live forever, physically, with Him.
We are freed from the demands and concerns of this life and find before us a far greater opportunity. Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This isn’t first God stuff and then, second, all of our earthly worries. No, this is first and foremost. Entirely dedicated. Serving one master with our undivided attention and effort. This is our new calling, since all our heavenly needs have been satisfied and all of our earthly needs will be provided for.
And this all plays out in a wonderful way. When we are absorbed in God and what He would have us do, all our worries and anxieties just melt away. They aren’t even a concern, it’s not even in the back of our minds. It’s not that we serve God because He will provide for us, keeping one eye on the physical benefits we receive. We serve God wholeheartedly and as we serve Him, He provides.
Jesus ever so gently chastises these concerns with some amusing pictures. Try to picture for a second, a bird building a barn. Or a flower knitting a sweater. Ridiculous, right? They’re not concerned about such things, they just go on with their lives trusting in the providence of God. Now this comfort doesn’t mean we can be lazy. God doesn’t make worms miraculously appear in the bird’s nest each morning. No, the bird goes out and works for them. In the same way, we are not called to be lazy. Rather, we serve God in our vocations, the roles in which God has placed us. And stewardship and planning are good things so that we make the best use of what God has given us. But because we can place the worry and stress to provide on Him, we are freed to serve Him wholeheartedly with everything that we do. Because if God cares so much for the birds and the flowers, He is going to care for you. If He cares enough to send His Son to die for you, He will certainly fulfill all of your passing earthly concerns.
As much as we may be concerned about all of the wants and needs in our lives, the best things really are free, aren’t they? Laughter with friends and family, admiring God’s power and wisdom in creation, love. When we trust in God, He allows us to enjoy the good things instead of placing all the worry on ourselves. But most of all, we rejoice in the free gift which satisfies our deepest needs, that Jesus came to reconcile us to God and make us His own. We have a lot to learn from the birds and the flowers, which are content to go on living, trusting entirely in God’s providence and care. Amen.
