Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Today’s Reading  |  Matthew 6:25–34
“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.

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (NRSV)

Reflection
Last week someone said to me, “You are a clotheshorse.” I wanted to justify myself by protesting, “This shirt was half-price at the thrift store,” or “These pants were a gift.” However there’s no denying that she’s right; I care too much about clothes and spend too much of my budget on them. So it is uncanny how often I am assigned to read this passage at church or, say, reflect on it for a devotion.

Scripture study provides some comfort in this moment of uncomfortable self-knowledge. One of the rhetorical characteristics of Matthew’s Gospel is its use of hyperbole, purposefully strong exaggeration. We find it often in the Sermon on the Mount. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29a). “Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Whew! It’s all overblown rhetoric to which I don’t really need to pay attention. Uh, no. Jesus, especially in Matthew’s presentation, says these provocative things to get us to sit up and listen. He wants to shock us out of our complacency, to go to those uncomfortable places of truth that we would rather avoid. He’s not telling us to ignore the responsibilities of daily life: going to work, or the grocery store, or the gym, or, even occasionally, the department store. He knows that most of us need to consider, and will sometimes worry about, what we will eat and drink and wear. What’s quite clear from this passage, though, is what the priority should be. “Seek first the kingdom of God.” No material concern should distract us from faith in a God upon whom we rely for all—or from the activity which that faith demands: justice, mercy, loving-kindness.

Prayer
O God, who cares for the birds of the sky and the flowers of the field and me, help me to keep perspective. When my focus zooms in too closely on myself and the needs I think I have, pull me back and expand my vision. Replace my worries with trust in your unconditional love and powerful grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written by Susan Quaintance, Program Coordinator, Center for Life and Learning

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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