Stop Worrying!

Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). Amen.

Have you earned a degree from the University of Anxiety? You may go to sleep worried that you won't wake up. You may wake up worried that you didn't get enough sleep. We may worry that the experts will discover that lettuce was fattening all along. We worry that someone's mom used us as a bad example for her kids.

Today we are discussing worry. Maybe you're like me. I'm blessed that I'm not a big worrier. Yet, I always get an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach before we leave for a big vacation or when I'm sending my teenage daughter home on a plane by herself ... or anytime I take my kayaks somewhere (that's a story for another time).

Maybe you're like my lovely wife. She's getting better with her fear of heights, but she was still closing her eyes and white-knuckling the door handle as we drove up Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park this week.

What do you worry about? Moms worry about their teens out late on a date. Dads worry about providing for their families in this economy. Teens worry about fitting in and being popular. Young adults worry about paying off loans, getting a job, and finding a spouse. Senior citizens worry about retirement, health, and their grown children.

Whew! That's a lot to worry about! And I'm only scratching the surface.

Jesus knows how much we worry. He knows how worry consumes our minds. It ruins our mental health. It wrecks our physical health.

Jesus knows that worry comes from a weak faith or a minimal faith. He says, worry is "of little faith" (Luke 12:28). Worry is essentially a lack of trust in God. Last week we heard Jesus teaching about greed. This week Jesus teaches about worry. Greed and worry go together. Greed can't get enough. Worry is the fear we won't have enough.

Jesus knows what damage worry does – to our faith in God, our relationships with others, and our outlook on life. That's why he commands, "Stop worrying!" It's not a suggestion. It isn't a simple statement. It's a command, "Stop doing this!" "Stop worrying about your life," he says (Luke 12:23).

Wouldn't you love to just slam on the brakes and stop worrying? Just like that. Worry today. No worrying tomorrow. You worry about the physical and emotional weather that pelts you here in Wyoming. Could you use a strong shelter from the pelting of life's harsh elements? God offers you that. The possibility of a worry-free life. Not just less worry ... but no worry.

Let's be realistic. We can't stop worrying just because we're told to stop worrying. Jesus knows that, too. So he gives us reasons why we can stop worrying. "I tell you, stop worrying about your life, about what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear" (Luke 12:23).

Jesus says don't be anxious about food or clothing. Most of the world is anxious about having food or clothing for each day. We're blessed in America that we have lots of food and even more clothes. So, we worry about having better stuff. Good food, healthy food, food that delights the senses ... and we become gluttons without realizing it. We have clothes, but we want the items that adorn our bodies to be comfortable and noticeable – jewelry, tattoos, boots, hats, bikes, trucks, homes, income, investments, etc.

Jesus gently lifts our eyes from the things of this world to look up to the things of the world to come. Instead of focusing on things we put in or on our bodies, we look to the body of the Son of God. The Son of God who adorned his human body with humility, dust, and bloody wounds.

The first way to stop worrying is to lift your eyes from the food that goes in your body and the clothes that go on your body. Fix your eyes on the divinely human body of your Savior, Jesus Christ. If God loves you enough to take care of your eternal soul by sending his Son to be the Living Bread from heaven, he loves you enough to take care of your earthly needs with daily bread (John 6:51).

Jesus continues, "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have no warehouse or barn; and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds" (Luke 12:24)! You are not the result of some random occurrence of events that took billions and millions of years to get to you. You are the result of God forming and fashioning you in the womb of your mother, begotten of your father. You have been wondrously and wonderfully knit together in your mother's womb. God spoke at creation and called everything into existence – the ravens, the wildflowers, and the grass of the field. Yet, God got his hands dirty forming Adam out of the dust. He performed surgery making Eve out of Adam's rib. He molds your parents' DNA to uniquely create you. That's something that can't be claimed by the birds of the air or the lilies of the field. Another reason not to worry is that you are quite literally the handiwork of God.

Jesus continues, "And who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan? Since you are not able to do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. If this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith" (Luke 12:25-28)? We can accomplish nothing through worry. Why worry about the things you can fix? If you can fix them, then work on that and move on. Why worry about the things you can't fix? If you can't fix them, then give them over to the Lord and move on.

Even without worry, the ravens are fed, the wildflowers grow, and the grass is alive – even in the high desert. So, why worry whether the same thing will happen to us? Even with all our worry, we cannot add a single hour to our lives. In fact, worry seems to subtract hours from our lives.

Jesus continues, "Do not constantly chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about it. To be sure, the nations of the world chase after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need them. Instead, continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:29-32). Our God knows how our hearts must cling to something for certainty, security, sustenance, and salvation. We have been created this way.

As sinners, we can be like Abraham who was anxious about having an heir, so he slept with his maidservant, Hagar, who gave birth to Ishmael, or he thought he would need to make his manservant, Eliezer, his heir. As saints, we can be like Abraham who had the faith to believe God's promises for that heir of Jesus Christ. We hear in our Epistle lesson, "By faith Abraham also received the ability to conceive children, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was past the normal age, because he considered him faithful who made the promise. And so from one man, and he as good as dead, descendants were born as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand along the seashore" (Hebrews 11:11-12).

Abraham was seeking after the kingdom of God. God then added other things to him as well. God wants you to seek after his kingdom. His kingdom treasures will help you stop worrying about this world's pleasures.

The kingdom of God is found and claimed by you here at Lord of Lords in Word and Sacrament. Here is the Water of Life, poured out on you and your children from this font.

Here is his ordained servant, washing sinners clean with the words of absolution as they go out to live in an unclean culture.

Here is the Sacrament of the Altar to nourish your soul to strengthen you for holy living in an unholy society.

Here eyes are lifted from circumstances and situations to the bloody cross, the empty tomb, and the heavenly throne of our Savior.

Here weak knees are made strong to bear the burdens of our vocations.

Here the broken are made whole by the God who calls planets into existence and who knits our bodies together in the womb.

Here immoral souls are claimed and changed with immortality.

Here the timid receive power from on high. Not to conquer the world, but to have faith in what we hope for and confidence in what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). Faith that Jesus has conquered sin with his redemptive sacrifice, has crushed the Ancient Serpent under his bloody heel, and defeated death with his glorious resurrection. It all happens here. It's proclaimed here. It's given to you freely here. Here is where God gives you his kingdom. When you seek after these spiritual kingdom blessings, God will add to you other physical earthly blessings, as well.

Jesus concludes, "Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:32-34). This is not a command to sell everything and live like a monk, nun, or beggar. Jesus is teaching that as Christians we are not to be engrossed with the things of this world. We can live as minimalists as we maximize the treasures that Jesus has won for us, given us, and promised will never be taken from us.

We stop worrying when we allow faith to overcome our fears, the Almighty to crush our anxieties, and worship to replace our worries.

She seemed to lose everything. Her husband left her for another woman. She was left to raise her three children on her own. It was difficult to afford basic things like food and clothes. Carting kids to school and after-school activities was difficult. Then there were the unexpected medical costs. Life was tough.

Maybe you've been in her position. Maybe, even with far more, you worry. You worry about the rising cost of food, clothes, housing, and utilities. You worry about paying your bills and preserving your savings.

She used to worry like that, but now she sees things differently. She was blessed to speak with her pastor. Her pastor reminded her of what she already knew. But it's easy to forget God's promises in the middle of Satan's poundings. Her pastor reminded her that Jesus left heaven to live in her place, to walk in her shoes, to fight against the temptation to worry and every other temptation she faced, and to overcome. She was reminded that even Jesus' closest friends and his heavenly Father abandoned him when he needed them most. For her, for you, and for me, he died, giving up everything to give us everything. Then he came back to life to assure her that her worry, lack of trust in God, fears and failures were all forgiven. He came back to life to promise that this life is not the end. Those who trust in him will live with him forever in heaven, where there is nothing to fear and no temptation to worry.

That news changed her life. She still works hard to meet the challenges she faces every day. But now she knows that she has an eternal home waiting for her. She has a loving God caring for her. She doesn't need to worry. Whether things are tough or life is good, she has learned to focus on God's Word, God's promises, and the treasure God won for her in heaven. Her focus on heavenly treasure drives out worry.

You can learn from this unnamed woman, you can learn from named Abraham, and you can learn from the teachings of Jesus. Stop worrying. Amen.

We can also learn from the Old Testament saints. The writer to the Hebrews says of them, "They were longing for a better land—a heavenly one. For that reason, God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:6). Amen.