Matthew 6:19-34                                          3rd Sunday of Lent

 Here’s a picture of our lives. (Image on screen of person entering closed closet space when open door to light is right there.) I’ve got a few song lyrics for it. “Looking for love in all the wrong places.” Or “I can’t no satisfaction.” But where are we looking? Yes, it is easy to get discouraged in our current state of affairs.

 We’re in sliding into a full-blown economic recession. We have more global enemies than friends. The housing market in Southwest Florida is the pits. Gasoline prices keep climbing, which will ultimately raise prices of everything. People work longer hours, have less job security, and less disposable income. 10% of homeowners are seriously threatened by foreclosure. Medical expenses have risen astronomically. We used to talk of Yuppies. Young upwardly mobile people. Now it seems everyone is downwardly mobile. Duppies. The national savings rate among Americans is a negative number. There’s more competition than ever for kids to succeed in school, score well on tests so that they can get into colleges, which are far less affordable and provide no guarantee of employment on the other side. No wonder so many teens are depressed. It’s not a world of hope because our hope is misplaced. We’re looking in the wrong places for hope and peace of mind. There is peace when we put our trust in God. No matter our circumstances, God is worthy of our trust. There is another way, full of light and hope.

 Hear the word of the Lord:
 

 ^NRS Matthew 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²² "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; ²³ but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! ²⁴ "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. ²⁵ "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? ²⁶ 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? ²⁷ And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,
²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰ 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? ³¹

Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' ³² For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
 

 Whatever text I’m preaching, that becomes my own personal struggle. I think it God’s way of keeping me humble. For example, the week I preached on finding strength in the scriptures, I was very distracted in my own scripture study. The week I preached on practicing piety, I had trouble going into the study to pray. This week I’m preaching on trusting God in all circumstances, and I’ve been a nervous wreck most of the week.

 So I don’t know what’s happening with you and your sense of trust in God’s provision, but I’ll tell you, I need this scripture right now. I need to know that God will feed this flock, that God will provide for the needs of this congregation. All I can do is direct you to the Lord of life. Put your trust in God, not in my leadership. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. That’s what I’m trying to do. Psalm 42 says: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted with me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise the Lord, my help and my God.”

 I’m not especially worried about what I’m eating or drinking or wearing. Sometimes my children might wish I worried a little more about what they’re going to eat and what they’re going to wear, but I don’t. Those things are just not very important. But I do worry about tomorrow, and I’m guessing you do also. In addition to worrying about the healthy and vibrant development of Peace Church, I worry about paying for four college tuitions. I worry about not having enough energy and time to adequately care for both my family and my church. I worry about my children not getting enough of me. I worry about how we will take care for our parents as they age.

 Dotty and David Thomas moved back to Sarasota three years ago to care for her aging mother Virginia Clark. After months of a roller coaster ride with renal failure and congestive heart failure, which required a move from assisted living to nursing care and finally to the hospital, Virginia died yesterday. Friday as I visited her, she was still making a great effort to be hospitable and interested in others. Her breathing was so labored, it was painful to watch, so the medical professionals offered more morphine to make her comfortable. Every time a nurse or doctor came in, Virginia found the energy to say “thank you.” We had a conversation about how tired she was and that she was ready, and that Dotty was willing to let her go. We prayed together and then I sang a verse of Amazing Grace. Shortly thereafter, Virginia became unresponsive, and less than 24 hours later, she died. Spending time with Virginia at the end of her life helped me realize the loving protection of God and how needless is it for me to worry.

 It made me wonder: how would I handle it, when my own mother dies, when I die? How will you handle it, when your oxygen levels go down and it becomes difficult to breathe? Will you approach death with courage, as Virginia did? I hope that the faith you are building now will allow you to approach death with deep trust in God? “Your heavenly Father knows what you need.” our scripture says. Nobody loves you more than the Lord of heaven and earth.

 There’s plenty of opportunity for worry. You worry about the security of your future. Your children or grand children are in troubling situations. You are worried about their safety, their emotional stability, their success or failure, their choice of friends, their circumstances out of their control. But look at the birds of the air. God’s taking care of them. Aren’t you of more value than the birds? They push the little ones out of the nest and trust that they will fly. Strive first for the kingdom of God, and all these other things will be given to you. If we chase the other things first, then our priorities are mixed up.
If I worry about college money instead of my children’s faith development, then I’ve got it backwards. What they really need is faith in Jesus Christ and the sustaining power of a growing trust in God.

 Sometimes as a maternal pastor, I worry about this church not developing as quickly as I think it should or wish it would. But the only thing that really matters is that we are growing in our faith, trusting God, living faithfully, reaching out to others. The rest is up to God.

 If anything gets in the way of our trust in God, then it must be moved. Apparently Jesus thinks wealth is likely to be in the way, to be a hindrance to our faith. Money, either the burning desire for it or the consuming desire to preserve it, can become the god (little g) in which we trust. So our scripture invites us not to store up treasures on earth, but store up treasures in heaven.

 All of us need to live more simply so others can simply live. Our checkbooks and debit cards show us our values. “What people call growth, may really be accelerated decay.” (Dan Fiscus)  We don’t take time to consider the lilies, or even to consider serious friendship, because it takes time. We are too busy maintaining our standard of living. “Since 1948, the level of productivity of the U.S. worker has more than doubled. In other words, we could now produce our 1948 standard of living in less than half the time.” But we don’t. (Juliet Schor)  Instead of more time, we have chosen to have more stuff. And at what cost to human life? We have an economy that is so out of whack, we’re not sure what to do about it. I don’t know that we’re not solving any problems by giving everybody a tax rebate and inviting them to go out and spend it. What about saving it? What about giving it away – to your church? What about changing our lifestyles, taming the consumerism monster.

 God loves you so much that God does not want you worrying over all the little things that loom so large. They are important but not crucial. What matters most is living a life of faith. You can trust your life to God. You are not in control of it anyway. Your loving embracing protecting Parent in heaven knows what you need. Be like a child and trust. Be like Christ. Live one day at a time. Have less. Give more. And trust completely. Seek the heavenly treasure of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, generosity, and self-control. And be free like a bird to fly away.

 Prayer:

 Thank you, God for calling us to the freedom of simple trust. We offer you our lives. And we pray that you’d lift all anxiety about the future, regrets of the past, and heavy burdens in the present. Embrace us with your love, and help us to have faith in your provision for us so we can live in the joy of full discipleship.