Readings
Old Testament
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth
was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a
wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there
be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and
God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and
the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning,
the first day.
And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let
it separate the waters from the waters.’ So God made the dome and separated
the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the
dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and
there was morning, the second day.
And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one
place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry
land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.
And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation:
plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear
fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation:
plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit
with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening
and there was morning, the third day.
And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the
day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days
and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light
upon the earth.’ And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater
light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule
over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning,
the fourth day.
And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and
let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ So God created
the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind,
with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God
saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply
and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind:
cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’
And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and
the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of
every kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness;
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds
of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’
So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon
the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed
that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its
fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and
to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything
that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’
And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was
very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.
And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested
on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the
seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work
that he had done in creation.
Genesis 1:1–2:3
Psalm
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, •
for his mercy endures for ever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods, •
for his mercy endures for ever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
4 Who alone does great wonders, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
5 Who by wisdom made the heavens, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
6 Who laid out the earth upon the waters, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
7 Who made the great lights, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
8 The sun to rule the day, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
9 The moon and the stars to govern the night, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
10 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
11 And brought out Israel from among them, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
12 With a mighty hand and outstretched arm, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
13 Who divided the Red Sea in two, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
15 But Pharaoh and his host he overthrew in the Red Sea, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
16 Who led his people through the wilderness, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
17 Who smote great kings, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
18 And slew mighty kings, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
20 And Og, the king of Bashan, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
21 And gave away their land for a heritage, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
22 A heritage for Israel his servant, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
23 Who remembered us when we were in trouble, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
24 And delivered us from our enemies, •
for his mercy endures for ever;
25 Who gives food to all creatures, •
for his mercy endures for ever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, •
for his mercy endures for ever.
Psalm 136
Epistle
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing
with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with
eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation
was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one
who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from
its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children
of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains
until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first
fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption
of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not
hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not
see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans 8:18–25
Gospel
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.’
Matthew 6:25–34
Sermon on Second Sunday before Lent
‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its
own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’
This statement from the gospel reading is contrary to our ordinary understanding
of being prepared, isn’t it? Don’t we plan to avoid the things which worry
us? Don’t we ready ourselves for things to go wrong?
Don’t we pay insurance premiums to set our minds at rest for the future?
Insurance carries the worry of tomorrow just so we don’t have to. But Jesus
was not an insurance salesman, was he? No, Jesus is speaking about something
more profound than insurance. Jesus was propelling us into the realm of
meaning. I think Jesus speaks about the core of human life – hope.
Let’s get back to what Jesus has said to us. We should “not worry about
tomorrow,” and it is always quoted with “the lilies of the field” – in
fact, this passage as a whole turns how we live upside down, doesn’t it?
Human being is made to worry, some would say. Why else do psychotherapists
and psychologists have so much business?
I shouldn’t make so light of this fundamental character of ourselves. We,
in fact, do have a great deal to worry about, and don’t we do a great job?
Global warming, tension in the community, immigration, the threat of war
– both internal and external – and then personal worries, how well our
children and grandchildren do in their exams and the rest of their lives,
how we will cope with loss (of job or of loved ones). All these worries
weigh us down and take us away from being like the lilies of the field.
But – are we really made to worry? Why do we tear at this and that like
dogs with bones? Why do things seem so important that we lose sleep over
them? We concentrate so hard on things we cannot change, and to what effect?
– That is right, our anxiety avails us nothing,
But why are we anxious about the future? – Why does humanity take out all
those metaphorical insurance policies (as well as the real things)? I think
it is because we care, and this care is bound up in hope.
We throw ourselves into the future, even if we live in the past. Our life
is centrifugal, ever being thrown away from the present into the expanse
of the undiscovered country. This is what human being is, ever projecting
itself away from the present into the unknown and the uncapturable. I would
say even those who live in the past are grasping at the future through
the prism of what has been experienced – they are living their lives on
that trajectory from past into a future which they see as echoing their
past, what they know as their own.
Jesus tries to calm us down with this saying, he tries to make us live
in the present, without fear for the future or a longing to live in the
past. Jesus wants us to take hold of life in all its fullness.
That is our goal, to show the fullness of life as we live it. This is our
fundamental care in life, our ultimate hope. – I could go on about the
philosopher here, but I won’t because he only tells us in more contemporary
language what Jesus is saying here – “Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
We need to learn to cope with today, never mind tomorrow, for “tomorrow
will bring worries of its own.” – I think Paul says somewhere that God
will not give us too much to bear. I think Paul is absolutely right here.
We can, I am sure, cope with anything, as long as we stick to today’s problems.
Paul is confirming what Jesus says here, isn’t he? And the philosopher
confirms Jesus’ prophetic words of consolation. “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?”
We know that the philosopher is right, but we don’t take any notice of
him, do we? We also know that Jesus is right – if only we could live by
his words. We know that “Today’s trouble is enough for today,” but sadly
because of our cares in this world, we stack up even more worries than
the day requires. We have our lives – worries will do nothing for or against
it.
In our faithful living, when we live out the summary of the law as Jesus
gave it to us, we transform our lives into the balanced moment of the present.
Here we stand remembering the past while we hope for the future – I say
that worries do not enter into that moment. It is pure care and care roots
us to that spot of peace and harmony.
If I care for my sick mother, I am not worried about the bills coming in
and how to pay them. No, I am with my mother, anointing her with the balm
of a son’s love. She is as resplendent as Solomon in all his glory and
the lilies of the fields. I am entranced in that love. Nothing more and
nothing less. And so I should regard each and every person whom I meet.
This is not a “care-free” mode of existence, but it is not a life of worries
and troubles. Rather, it is a life full of care, abounding in the life
of the love of God, neighbour and self in the very present. What more could
life be?
I will “not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its
own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” And I will deal with today’s
trouble by carrying out that law of love and the worries and troubles will
fade away, because the only thing in life is love. How is love augmented
by a million dollars? How is love diminished by debt? Does poverty add
or subtract a cubit of stature? Do riches provide a hair without grey or
cover over my bald pate? – Not at all! and that is Jesus’ point. We can
live the good life when we found it on the summary of the law here and
now.
In the moment we look deep into the other’s eyes, we see what is real,
not the fancy spectacles surrounding them. We enter into the reality of
life in all its fullness when we delve beyond the worries of today and
forget about tomorrow’s, when we reach from the depth of our hearts to
the other’s heart, never mind the ephemera surrounding our worldly lives.
Our lives extend from past to future, and it all combines in the moment
of hope, where love propels all action. – There is a strand of theology
which speaks of “realised eschatology” – where the future is in the present,
that the second coming of Jesus Christ is today. There are no troubles
for us in the present. In light of that future event here and now, why
worry about the troubles of today or tomorrow? Why worry when Jesus is
here and we love?