St.John's Church - An ecumenical partnership serving the needs of the Grove Green and Weavering communities

I am sure like me as you look back over your life you can see the highs and the lows which is also shown in the natural world by the coming and going of the seasons. We have times in our lives when we feel on top of the world and full of confidence and yes a sense of the Holy Spirit touching our lives. We also have the times of emptiness and concern when worries creep in. In fact in these times we are often seeking God’s help more and in such times are growing spiritually. Today’s readings show clearly how we can do nothing without God’s help and that we need to ask his guidance every step of the way. That is so easy to say from here but much more difficult to work out in everyday life. Just recently I heard someone say that our faith would collapse if we did not have doubts, and that really spoke to me. Because all the time I am questioning I am asking for God’s help. I am sure we all fall into this process at some time in our life.
Let us listen as I re-read from ‘The Message’ Luke 12:22-31
This message is given to Jesus’ disciples. It arises from his previous teaching to the crowd but this is not teaching for the masses. It is to His own that Jesus says, ‘do not be anxious about your life’. The believer may take reasonable forethought for his needs, but he is not to worry about food or clothing. Life is bigger than such things Ch 12:15.
We look again at nature (vv26, 28-30) birds find food and the grass is clothed with colourful flowers. They do not worry as God provides for them. So neither need you worry. God cares for you even more than for them. Jesus reinforces this with a reference about the ravens. Ravens do not engage in agricultural activities, but they do not lack for all that, God feeds them. There is possibly significance in the fact that ravens were seen as unclean (Luke 11:15). God makes provision even for these unclean birds. And Jesus goes on to remind his hearers that they are of more value than birds.; Then Jesus reflects for a moment on worry verse 27 ‘Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If God does all this for the flowers that disappear so quickly how much more will he clothe his people? ‘O people of little faith,’ Jesus said, shows that some of the disciples had shown anxiety. It is needless. Anxiety by itself never achieves anything. Experience teaches us that, doesn’t it?
The things we concern ourselves about and get all het up about never come out the way we expect them to. The point is driven home. If people are unable to change what God has planned why should we be anxious about anything? God who takes care of our growth will take care of all our needs.
Jesus commands (not advises) his followers not to worry. Worry is a great inhibitor of action, to live worrying is to miss what life is all about. The disciples are not to seek food, drink and clothing. This does not, of course, exclude legitimate effort, but it does prohibit concentration on these items. ‘You must not set your heart on what you eat, drink or wear’ Jesus said. Similarly the disciples are not to be of anxious mind. Worry about food and clothing may befit the nations of the world, but it is not proper to God’s people, your father knows that you need them, and He who knows the need will supply it.
Jesus asks his friends to consider what is really important. Life is more important than food and clothing (v 25). To forget this is a faithless outlook. God, who controls the great issues of life, can surely provide for his children’s everyday needs.
From the negative Jesus turns to the positive and instructs the disciples how to live. They are to seek His kingdom, which points to a concentration on all that the kingdom involves. Disciples have pledged themselves to their master. They must accordingly spend their time in doing His work and seeking His kingdom. This will mean trying to produce in their own lives conduct appropriate to those who have accepted the rule of God. It will also mean trying to bring others into a like way of living, for it is in this way that the kingdom grows. Jesus adds the information that when his followers concentrate on the kingdom, these things shall be theirs as well. When people truly honour God, God honours their faith. His servants may not grow wealthy as the world understands riches, but they will not lack. Jesus speaks of the Father’s gifts to his people. These are not wrung from him as though He were unwilling to give: it is His good pleasure to give. His gift is the kingdom that He tells us to seek.
As we seek His kingdom we must be prepared to be honest with ourselves and with God. Honesty is an essential ingredient to prayer and lament: it clears the air and enables us to see properly and hear clearly.
Have you ever been blamed for something when it was really the fault of the person who blamed you? Imagine that the person whose fault it was unknowingly gave you a chance to get back at them in some way. How would you react?
We heard in our 1 Samuel reading of Saul and David’s timely or untimely encounter when Saul goes into a cave alone and David and his men are hiding in the back of the cave. The timing appears great to David’s men, it is as if King Saul is being handed over to David, but David feels the timing is wrong. He knows that despite the circumstances he should wait for God’s timing. His actions indicate that he still hopes to mend his relationship with Saul. Saul’s response appears sincere, but subsequent events suggest that he did not really respond genuinely to David’s generosity.
We probably recognise that revenge is not a good motivation for doing something. If David’s men had urged him to act out of revenge the situation would have been easy to assess. What made the situation more complex was that circumstantial evidence strongly suggested that this was God’s leading. David recognised that it wasn’t. Why? Because he understood that this was man’s way of doing things not God’s. He knew that if he was to be God’s faithful King in Israel, crucially he would have to be unlike the Kings of other nations.
There are times when circumstances might strongly suggest that God is leading us to do something. Of course we should take circumstances seriously, but they shouldn’t be our final criteria for whether or not it is right. If it’s not in keeping with God’s nature and His commands, then it’s not likely to be right. David was called to spend longer in the wilderness than his followers would have liked. We too might need to be patient.
I am sure this word patience rings bells with all of you here at Christ Church as you have had to wait the calling of a new minister. But God has been at work and all the concerns and uncertainty have I am sure identified new gifts in the church family. Flowers have blossomed and new gifts have been granted. God’s timing is the right time and all our worries and anxiety are part of our faith being challenged and teaching us to rely on God in different times and that we are not losing ground in God’s sight, but his timing is the right time.

Amen