Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

Preached by Winton Boyd on September 23rd, 2007
Text: Matthew 6 (see end of sermon)

As a young parent with growing children we faced one of life’s daily dilemmas, and the source of many great family squabbles. “Who has to sit in the middle of the back seat of the car between their two siblings.” For reasons that children throughout the ages have known, our children quickly surmised that sitting by the door was far more fun. Sitting in the front was even more fun, but somewhat dependent on if both mom and dad were in the car, or on the even more rare occasion, might be venturing to the back seat themselves. I always took comfort when I saw, and heard, other families squabbling in parking lots at the grocery store, at church, at school, leaving friends’ homes, and at the doctor’s office.

One of our more genius, if belatedly so, moments in parenting came when we allowed the decision of who sits where to be made randomly and out of the realm of parental control. We hit on the idea of taking a cube and on each of the sides of the “di” but the initials of our children (3 worked well for this method!). On each of the six sides of this cube, the order was different. Whosoever’s initial was first, got first choice. They had an equal chance of being 1st, 2nd, or stuck in the middle. We would not decide, the cube would. They would not argue. If they “lost” the roll we appealed to the power of chance.

That “di” has survived one car and two mini-vans. While we don’t’ use it anymore, the fact that it still resides in the cubby beneath the radio is a reminder that balancing the needs and wishes of all members of a family or household is never easy. It might become manageable, but it will always be with us.

The theme of this sermon series is faithful living in life’s tragic gaps – standing between what is and what could be. Our great hopes and our sense of having a great work in our lives – countered by the mundane details of life – paying bills, cooking meals, doing wash, picking up after our dogs, getting exercise, fixing the toilet, etc.

I want to look at three simple questions that allow us to hold that balance and stand in that gap.

The life of faith, it seems to me, is to draw us deeper into our life’s great work, while at the same time acknowledging and recognizing the real issues of our daily lives. One of the reasons we participate in congregational life, make time for worship and prayer, give of our time and resources for the betterment of the world is that within all of us there is a simple question (surely it comes in many forms, but its essence is the same). One way of expressing it is, “ If a voice spoke to you from heaven, from earth, from an oak tree, or from a child and asked: What is the Great Work of your Life? What is the work you carry whether or not you succeed or fail? What would you say?”

1. So, the life of faith, is first of all to pull us toward our deepest and best selves.
This may be related to our fondest hopes and deepest dreams
This may be tied to our job or it may not
This can and does evolve over the course of our lives
This may be crystal clear or completely muddied
It may be multi-facted or guided by a singleness of purpose

2. Secondly, however, the life of faith acknowledges those things that weigh us down, that pull us off center.

What Jesus seems to understand is that it is often the little things that pull us off this path. It is anxiety, fretting, concern for things we have no control over. One of the ways Jesus takes this on – and of course there are MANY ways he does it – is to attack anxiety head on. Our passage today from his sermon on the mount is part of his “wisdom saying” – short and memorable words drawing on ancient wisdom much like the proverbs of the Old Testament.

If you were to count number of different pronouncements Jesus makes about anxiety and fretting over everyday things in this short passage from Matthew 6, you could identify at least 8 different ways he says this:
1) Don’t fret about food and clothing
2) There’s more to living than food and clothing
3) Consider the birds and how God feeds them
4) Can you add an hour to your life by fretting?
5) Why be concerned about little things
6) Notice the lilies
7) Don’t fret, “what am I going to eat?”
Don’t fret about tomorrow

It is not that these daily issues don’t matter or aren’t important – but that they don’t pull us away from who we are at our best. If “sin” can be defined as “missing the mark” – we see that it is often the very little things that pull us off center.

You may have read State Journal columnist Bill Wineke’s words in yesterday’s paper, “Indeed, few of my sins are interesting. Most of my sins involve my not living up to my own standards, of taking the easier, softer way when a little more diligence would make a difference in how I relate to others.”

3. Finally, the life of faith, thirdly, is knowing the questions we live with
As a young adult – reconciling my childhood of privilege with a hurting world was my question.

Noted author, lecturer and priest Henri Nouwen ministered to millions through his books, his professorships at Yale and Harvard Divinity school. He wrote about 20 books and frankly, they all had the same theme – how to be a faithful Christian with all of his own personal insecurities, self doubt and self centered ideas. It was his ongoing question – and his willingness to share it became a gift to many – not because they had the same question – but because they grew from seeing someone deal honestly with their own.

If we think back to seat choosing cube – we remember that the order of my children’s initials could be different each time we rolled the cube. All three were accounted for, but in different ways.

I like the image of the cube for our spiritual life not just because all three are always present, but because at different times in our lives, each of these questions has a different weight or influence or presence in our lives.

Who we are when we are our best selves – most in touch with the Spirit of God within?
What are those things that weigh us down and pull us off center spiritually?
What are the ongoing questions we live with?

I invite you to take a moment to think about these questions – and if you want to take it home to make a cube, you can do that. If you want to leave it flat and see that it is in the form of a cross – and that these questions are part of the essence of our faith, you can do that. Amen

Matthew 6

This text from Jesus comes the heart of his “Sermon on the Mount” – a core block of teaching wisdom in Matthew’s Gospel. Like another story about two women who follow Jesus (Mary and Martha) these words life up Jesus’ call to live with a great sense of trust and purpose even when the mundane issues of life can be overwhelming.

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 (Mother) 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 its 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.