The Uncertainty of Worry
TRANSCRIPTION:
Welcome to worship at Dearborn First UMC. I am Pastor Suzy Todd and we are on week 3 of our series on uncertainty. This is a super crazy time of the year for me. Besides it being Lent and preparing for all the Easter things.
Two of my granddaughters have birthdays in March
One of my daughters
One of my sons-in-law
Two of my nieces’ birthdays are in March.
Oh…
and my sister and brother-in-law’s anniversary
My daughter and son-in-law’s anniversary
My mom and her husband’s anniversary.
And…
It’s when gardening starts and this will be my first year in this house so…
Dirt and compost have to be ordered and moved to the backyard.
Seeds have to be ordered.
Beds have to be planned and prepared.
Did I mention we pulled out all the landscaping last fall? Should I put in all native plants? How about a rain garden? Maybe a pollinator garden?
And a shutter got blown off my house last week. I don’t have an extension ladder to fix it.
And my car insurance is due. I should probably shop for a better price, but who has time for that?
And every time I come home and my old dog is curled up in his bed I hope he’s still breathing.
Ugh… and sometime last fall I committed to writing a sermon this week on “the uncertainty of worry”
… a topic I clearly know nothing about.
WARNING ABOUT WORRY (Gospel of Luke 12:22-34)
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 There is more to life than food and more to the body than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither plant nor harvest, they have no silo or barn, yet God feeds them. You are worth so much more than birds!
25 Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? 26 If you can’t do such a small thing, why worry about the rest? 27 Notice how the lilies grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. 28 If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, how much more will God do for you, you people of weak faith!
29 Don’t chase after what you will eat and what you will drink. Stop worrying. 30 All the nations of the world long for these things. Your Father knows that you need them.31 Instead, desire his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights in giving you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out—a treasure in heaven that never runs out. No thief comes near there, and no moth destroys. 34 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be too.
This is one of the most frustrating scriptures in the Bible.
We hear this scripture saying that God provides enough for everyone, but we also know lots of faithful people lack the necessities of life.
Photo Courtesy of Suzy Todd
Go to Haiti and you will see people who love God. You will see people who go to church and strive to obey the commandments. And still, they suffer from a lack of basic human needs.
More than 2 million Haitians live at an emergency level of food insecurity
And another 2 million experience consumption gaps of less severe nature.
Just 60 percent of Haitians have access to safe drinking water
Meanwhile residents of the US consume on average more than 3000 calories a day
I know that God provides the food and the water, enough for everyone, but the human element on this planet makes sure it is not distributed equitably.
Around 1.3 billion tons of food – grown for human consumption – is wasted every year. That’s nearly 24% of the planet’s food production that goes uneaten while more than 10% of the planet’s population remains undernourished.
God is good, but the system is broken.
29 Don’t chase after what you will eat and what you will drink. Stop worrying. 30 All the nations of the world long for these things. Your Father knows that you need them.31 Instead, desire his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.
Verse 31 says: Instead, desire his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.
How do we keep ourselves focused and committed to participating in the kin-dom of God when humanity continues to create barriers to it?
If we eliminate the Department of Education:
Are we going to defund special education?
That’s no way to welcome the little children!
In the Kin-dom of God we care for the elderly:
Social Security offices are closing
Medicare is being threatened
With the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act from 1798
Will my “green card” carrying family member be picked up and deported?
Will my neighbors face deportation if they speak up against Israel?
This is in opposition to the command to welcome the stranger, traveler, refugee.
We live in a society that seems to be working really hard to be the anti-Kindom.
Desire his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.
I don’t know about you, but I desire that kin-dom… but I’m losing patience waiting for it to come! I want justice to roll down! Now!
We live in a world with a changing climate:
Wildfires take down multi-million-dollar homes in LA
Tornados ravage the Midwest and southeastern states
Flood waters send mud through homes in the hollers of West Virginia
At a time when FEMA, the system we’ve traditionally used to redistribute the burden of rebuilding in the wake of these tragedies is being disassembled, how do we live into our Christian call to offer aid to the suffering?
The United Methodist Church offers ways for faithful people to make sure that these needs are not ignored.
Next Sunday is UMCOR Sunday. UMCOR stands for United Methodist Committee on Relief. It is a global humanitarian relief agency focused on alleviating human suffering through disaster response, recovery, and global development, with a focus on those most vulnerable.
There are innumerable people trained in disaster relief work. Some of them are volunteers in local churches, ready to deploy after an emergency. Others work full-time in places prone to disasters and suffering.
UMCOR improves access to quality healthcare and addresses issues like sanitation and hygiene.
UMCOR addresses food insecurity and poverty through sustainable agriculture, food security programs, and other initiatives.
UMCOR works to improve access to clean water and sanitation facilities in communities in need.
UMCOR provides support and resources to refugees and migrants in crisis situations.
UMCOR promotes environmental stewardship and sustainable practices.
UMCOR supports long-term development initiatives that address the root causes of poverty and vulnerability.
Click the image above to learn more about UMCOR Sunday and to donate.
Next Sunday is UMCOR Sunday.
Gifts given for UMCOR Sunday pay 100% of the administrative costs for this very important organization. That means that when a disaster strikes and money is needed for relief, 100% of what you give can go to on-the-ground relief and recovery efforts. None is diverted to cover overhead.
You can give today – right now – by going to our online giving with this QR code or you can wait until next week. There may be special UMCOR envelopes in your pews now. They’ll definitely be there next week.
This year’s offering is more important than ever. With the disassembling of much of the USAID agency and the picking apart of our domestic social safety net, church organizations are absolutely going to need to step into the gap left by the government’s deconstruction of public assistance.
Clearly, the United Methodist Church is not big enough to meet all the needs of this world. But that will not deter us from doing everything we can. We desire God’s Kin-dom to come.
And maybe that’s the point of this scripture.
Lying awake all night creating a Venn diagram of the current American state, the Third Reich and the Roman Empire isn’t productive.
Is that just me?
“We are powerful;
but worry diverts us from the things
over which we have power.”
Worry consumes our focus and our energy.
It convinces us that because we can’t fix everything that we identify as wrong, that we are impotent.
We are powerful; but worry diverts us from the things over which we have power. It prevents us from acting in ways that impact the world.
What a world it would be if every faithful person diverted all the energy we’ve wasted worrying, to pursue the Kin-dom of God.
The first thing we need is to be able to identify the Kin-dom of God…
The Kin-dom of God is diverse – Every person is made in the image of God.
The Kin-dom of God is equitable – The hungry are fed. The unsheltered are sheltered. The marginalized are central. The sick are healed. The immigrant is protected.
The Kin-dom of God is inclusive – There is no longer Jew nor Greek, male nor female.
When we work toward making these values manifest, we work for the Kin-dom of God.
Second, we need to know what our role is in that Kin-dom. That requires taking an honest inventory of ourselves.
What are our gifts? Is it compassion or wisdom or fearlessness or storytelling? Do we know lots of people that we can connect to each other? Do we have financial resources to share?
What are our limitations? Terrified of being arrested? Civil disobedience is off the table. Broke? Financial support is out. No car? Visiting victims is probably not the best option.
How much of our lifestyle are we willing to sacrifice? We cannot be a part of the Kindom of God without some sacrifice. So we have to be honest about how far we’re willing to leave our comfort zone.
Third, we need to know the needs of the community we have access to?
If we are limited to our own neighborhood, look around the neighborhood. Are there children needing mentors? Are there elderly needing supportive care? Are there immigrants fearing for family here or abroad?
If we have the resources to go bigger – statewide, national or international – check out the news. Is there a protest planned at the capital? Is there legislation proposed that needs a faithful voice? Is there a natural disaster that needs relief workers?
Where these intersect is where we can have the greatest impact.
Most importantly, we need to act, even if we haven’t quite figured out all of the stuff above.
Learn to make mistakes, apologize and try again. It is far better to try and fail than to never try.
So, do something – do anything
We can start small - Let someone have that parking space. Buy lunch for the guy behind you at the drive through. Listen to the same stories over again from the lonely neighbor.
Just do the “next right thing” Every step toward justice and love and mercy and peace, is a step toward the kindom of God.
And when we’re ready to take it to the next level - find like-minded people to join
Community organizations abound. There are dementia daycare centers that would love to have people visit their clients. There are food pantries that need volunteers. There are free stores that need home goods. There are schools that need volunteers.
But if we want people who are doing the right thing because they desire the kindom of God, we’re going to find them in churches. Let’s be honest. They’re not always in the fanciest and fullest churches. Those churches often appeal to a more self-serving theology. But there are plenty of churches like this one, that would love for you to bring your time, talents and treasures to making the kindom of God manifest with them.
Today’s scripture says:
Your Father knows that you need them.31 Instead, desire his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.
When we immerse ourselves in the goodness of God’s kindom, two things happen.
First – we realize we don’t need as much as we think we do.
Second – when we share our gifts with a community of likeminded folks, they share their gifts with us too. It may not be what we think we want. It may not be how we would want it. But it will be enough for what we need.
“Worry robs us of the joy of today.
Action gives us hope and purpose.”
“PRAYING FOR STRANGERS” PROJECT ASSIGNMENT #3:
This week in our “praying for strangers” project, I want you to pray for people who are struggling financially. It can be the person who sits at the corner of Telegraph and Michigan Avenue. It can be a person you see making a choice of what to take out of their grocery order at the checkout lane. It can be a neighbor who is bumming rides to get to work. It can be recipients at the food bank or of our Backpack blessings.
Pray for those who are struggling to meet their basic needs.
Amen
Prayer
Jesus, you tell us not to worry about tomorrow. But it is a challenge. We worry about so many things, our families, our friends, our circumstances. We come before you this day with these big and tiny worries, and we lay them all at your feet.
We bring big worries about health and happiness and security for ourselves and for our loved ones. We bring big worries about the world we live in and its future existence as we continue to fail to address so many ecological problems. We bring big worries about the way people in our world are treated as less than human, exploited, tortured, helpless and abused.
God, we know that you are concerned with every aspect of our lives, so we also bring the more mundane and personal things that concern us.
Living God, reach out to all those for whom the future brings fears and uncertainties. Assure then that you are with them, even when that future seems dark and circumstances feel like they are spiraling out of control.
We pray for people recovering from floods, tornadoes and fires.
We pray for people being deported without due process.
We pray for people whose jobs are insecure.
Remind them that there is hope, there is redemption.
And we pray for your Kingdom to come.
Benediction
Trust in God and surrender your worries.
In the Way of Jesus, do what is good;
By the power of the Holy Spirit, delight in the Kin-dom of God.
Amen
