He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, 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, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! And do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Yesterday we considered Jesus’s parable of the rich fool, which precedes this passage. It’s good, even important to consider that with what follows. Hoarding in significant part is tied to a sense of insecurity. It seems natural to do so when one sees the possibility of economic fallout up ahead or has experienced that. Probably many of those who came out of the Great Depression here in the US were known for their thrift and conservative spending, not bad things in themselves, along with hoarding for not a few. That might merely be a part of one’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), certainly nothing to condemn anyone over.
At the same time, all of us must be wary of just where we put our confidence. If it’s in the capitalist free market, then there can never be full assurance that all will be well. A good community in the heart of love for one’s neighbor as oneself, will at least see to it that all are taken care of, that no one is left behind. Ultimately Christ-followers believe one’s trust should be in God. But that does not at all alleviate the necessity of peoples doing what they can to help each other.
None of that is diminished in the least in what Jesus says above, yet it was in a setting in which Rome’s rule was galling, debilitating for the average person and family living in Judea and Gallilee. The vision of God’s rule/kingdom that Jesus brought in harmony with the Old Testament prophets cast a vision in which all are taken care of, no one is left behind. In the meantime, while that vision is beginning to be seen and realized, Jesus’s disciples are to totally trust God, that God as their Father(/Mother) will take care of them, will meet all of their needs. That indeed, even “the kingdom” is theirs. And that they’re to be generous in the very same way that God is generous to them.
God’s goodness is everywhere. And we are recipients of that. We’re to seek that first, a goodness that is for all. Where our heart as followers of Jesus is supposed to be.
Jesus community 