Thursday, February 13, 2025  

Today's Scripture
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

I confess that when I read this beloved passage, my first thought is of Alfred E. Newman, the silly, counterculture icon of Mad magazine when I was in college and whose motto was “What, Me Worry?” It was funny because clearly he had a lot to worry about. Of course we worry: about our financial viability, our health, our success. We worry about our nation and about the peace of the world, which seems more elusive than ever. So when Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life,” he’s either totally naive or else he’s saying something profoundly important. We Christians vote for the latter.

What we mean is that while we are working as hard as we can to secure our future, we know that only God can get that done ultimately. We know, don’t we, that you can never have enough of anything to be totally secure. Jesus invites us to settle down, take the broad view — “consider the birds, the lilies” — and trust God with our futures.

The really important business about you and me has already been taken care of in God’s gift of love in Jesus Christ. What we ultimately need, more even than food and drink, has already been given to us. Thanks be to God.

Prayer
Thank you, dear God, for the security I am given in your love. I worry a lot about the future — my own, my family’s, my country’s, the world’s. Help me to experience the promise that you provide what I really need and that in your great love I am free to face the future and live into it without fear or anxiety. Remind me throughout this day that I live in the midst of the abundance of your love and that you know my needs better than I do. Thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written by John M. Buchanan, Pastor Emeritus
September 21, 2007

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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