Me Worry?

Psalm 131, Matthew 6:24-34

I noticed that William Elder, the retired illustrator for MAD magazine died this past week. Did any of you ever read MAD Magazine when you were young? When I was a kid, my friends and I would sit around reading MAD. We’d cackle with all the intellectual profundity and cultural refinement of middle school boys. You see, MAD parodied almost anything and anybody under the sun; so we loved it. And often on the cover of the magazine was MAD’s clueless mascot, an odd-looking boy with a goofy one-tooth-missing grin. Alfred E. Neuman was his name. Do you remember his catch phrase? Yep, it was, "What, me worry?"

"What, me worry?" Well, yeah, we do worry, don’t we? We worry about bills to pay, family relationships, the country, the world, the economy, health concerns, pets, homes, church, the environment, taxes, exams, careers, dating, life, death, eternity. You name it. Most of us probably worry about something from time to time. And our worry seems justified, doesn’t it? As a bumper sticker proclaims, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs–you clearly don’t comprehend the situation." (Tom McGrath in The Christian Century, May 20, 2008, 20.)

Let’s begin by remembering what Jesus did not say. Jesus did not tell his disciples not to grieve about tragedies in life, such as cyclones, earthquakes, and tornadoes. "Don’t worry. Be happy. Trah lah lah." And Jesus did not tell his disciples not to plan and be organized. That’s dumb. Instead, Jesus spoke to his disciples and us about a pattern of life that is not consumed by worry. Jesus gave us strategies for warding off worry.

Jesus said, "Nobody can serve two lords. You’ll either hate the one lord and love the other. You’ll either adore the one lord and disregard the other. You can’t serve God and wealth."

Again, it’s important to remember what Jesus did not say here. He did not say, "Don’t make money." He did not say, "Don’t save money." And he did not say, "Poverty, and only poverty, will do."

Instead, Jesus set up a crucial question, "Who is your Lord–God or your money and possessions?" Will you be faithful to God, the Creator of heaven and earth, or to the god of stuff? And the problem is the god of stuff (money and possessions) is a harsh master. This master always demands more and can never be satisfied. This master calls our personhood into question. "Am I wealthy enough, do I own enough, have I achieved enough to be worth something?" The god of stuff is a god that makes us destructively competitive and fearful and lonely like old Mr. Scrooge before Christmas.

Jesus reminded the disciples of their choice between two masters. And then he took them (and us) on a springtime walk, a nature tour. Our guide said, "So don’t worry about your life–food, drink, body, and clothing. Look, really look at those birds. God takes care of them. You’re worth a lot more than they are. Besides, can you live longer by worrying more? And look, really look at those flowers over there. King Solomon wasn’t clothed as gloriously as they are, and they don’t even work at it. And they’re just flowers–disposable. So quit worrying–food, drink, clothes. Instead, do this. Get serious about doing God’s work. Practice God’s justice and mercy, and the other things will take care of themselves. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Today’s got enough trouble to keep you busy."

I think Jesus’ words suggest at least three strategies for battling worry.

About eleven or twelve years ago, when I was serving another congregation, we’d taken a youth group on a mission trip to Washington, D.C. (It’s the same trip we’re going to take in a few weeks). One day, we were given a free afternoon to explore the city. So we walked all over town taking in the monuments and museums. Now strangely enough, after a few hours we needed to find a public restroom. No restroom appeared. But somebody pointed us toward a large, official-sounding government building ahead. I think it said something such as Department of the Treasury carved into the granite outside. About six of us went to the side of the building and walked through double glass doors which immediately closed behind us. Then one of the girls opened a second set of glass doors. An alarm shrieked. Lights flashed. The kids turned and tried to run out the way we’d come, but the doors behind us had automatically locked. Then the doors in front of us also locked. Trapped like rats! And here came armed guards. They appeared to be concerned. And I thought, "Great. The headline’s gonna read, ‘Local youth group shot while robbing government building.’" But I looked at one of the youth leaders beside me, a young woman. And do you know what she was doing? She was laughing. She was laughing so hard tears were rolling down her checks. She just thought it was the funniest thing ever. And it was. It just took me a while to get it.

It seems to me one of the strategies Jesus implied in his teaching was to fight worry with humor. I think he had some fun with the disciples on their nature tour. He basically said, "Okay, take a good look at the birds. See ‘em working hard, building barns? I didn’t think so. And take a long look at those beautiful flowers. See ‘em working up a sweat, working their little flower fingers to the bone? Not so much. Do you get it? Don’t be so serious about things, stuff, ego. Lighten up. Trust God. Do you get it?" Do we get it?

Along those lines I think Jesus’ words suggest a Christian practice for those times when humor doesn’t seem to help very much. Maybe what we face seems too daunting, too painful, too frightening for humor. Then what? Jesus said, "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." How might we do that?

As you may know, once a month, I see a spiritual director who listens to whatever is on my heart and mind, talks with me, and prays for me. Over the years, he has suggested some prayer techniques I’ve found especially helpful for battling worry. I invite you to try some of these techniques with me now, and, if you like, jot them down to try in your own life. We begin by sitting upright, feet on the floor, eyes closed. Breathe in slowly for four beats. 1-2-3-4. Breathe out slowly for four beats. 1-2-3-4. Imagine breathing in the Spirit of God. Imagine breathing out and letting go of worry. Do this for a minute or two. Just concentrate on your breathing. As a worry comes to mind, notice it, then set it aside and return to concentrating on your breath. This is a "breath prayer." Now, since we often worry by imagining one problem leading to another problem leading to another problem, here is a helpful phrase to repeat very slowly as you breathe. "I’m okay . . . now. I’m okay . . . now." So, as Jesus said, "Don’t worry about tomorrow." In other words, concentrate on today. Live in the moment. A variation on this prayer is a "release prayer" or "light prayer." As you slowly breathe in and out repeat this prayer, "I release my worry about ___ to the Light." Or you may pray, "I release my worry about ___ to God or to Christ." So the next time you wake at 2:00 a.m. worried about something, instead of turning on the television, try one of these prayers and tell me what you think. The key is to practice these prayers over and over in our lives until they become part of our very nature and being.

And that leads to a third gift from Jesus’ words. The last few weeks we’ve been doing communion visits with folks in the church who can’t come to worship. It’s one of the great quiet privileges of our shared ministry to meet with people who have lived their long lives in faith. We visited one woman who will be 100-years-old next month. She going to be embarrassed to read these words when this sermon comes in her mail, but she is one of the saints of the church. Time, health concerns, deaths of loved ones, all the trials of life have not turned her bitter. She’s joyful. She does not try to impress us with her life (though we are impressed). Instead, she welcomes us like family and she listens and encourages our ministries as if her life of service, including missionary work in Ethiopia, were of no consequence. Where does such a person come from? Where? Such a person is shaped by prayer and service over time. Such a person is fashioned by God. Imagine spending a lifetime not worrying about protecting stuff or building ego. Imagine spending a lifetime striving "first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness." Imagine coming to the end of a day or the end of a life with the peace and gladness of having focused on God’s justice, mercy, and love. Imagine how wonderful that would be. Better yet, don’t imagine. Let’s do it.

It’s really about which master, which lord, we choose to serve, isn’t it? We can choose to serve the god of stuff–a heartless, relentless, ravenous god of more things, more me, more ego. Or we can serve the Lord Jesus Christ who once said, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Oh so light. Amen.

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