The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you. Amen.
Black Bart was a professional thief. His very name struck fear, as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line in the 1800s. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the dangers of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883, he robbed 29 different stage coach crews. Amazingly, he did it without firing one shot, because he hooded his face. No victim ever saw his face, and that hood struck fear into the hearts of everybody who became his victim. He never took a hostage, and he was actually never chased by any posse. Instead, by virtue of the hood, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims.
In the case of Christians, fear keeps Christians from thinking and acting like Christians. This week’s gospel lesson continues where last week’s gospel left off. There’s a close connection between Part A last week and Part B this week. Last week, Jesus gave a warning not to root one’s identity into possessions or worldly status or earthly concerns, and in service to that, he told the parable of the rich fool. And this week’s gospel reading is about worry and fear over our earthly existence. Jesus himself ties the two readings together. Last week’s was the opening argument — contained an argument of heavenly concerns versus earthly concerns. This week, he goes on to provide supporting examples of what he’s talking about, and a conclusion.
So last week’s reading ended this way: “Such is the one who stores up treasures for himself and is not rich in relation to God.” This week’s begins immediately on the heel: “For this reason” — or translated, “therefore.” Therefore always shows a conclusion to the arguments that came before: “Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat, nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. For life is more than food, and body more than clothing.”
In other words: don’t think and act like the rich fool in the parable. Don’t strive after possessions like the rich fool of the parable. Don’t make idols out of created things like the fool of the parable. Don’t become paralyzed by fear like the man who wanted to know what he should do with all of his wealth. He wanted to make sure he had a good, easy, fearless life, an easy life. You don’t need, by the way, to be encouraged to live the easy life — only to live the difficult one. And don’t root your identity in what you have or what you do, for all these things, as the author of Ecclesiastes says, are vanity. Your identity in life is to be about your place in the kingdom of heaven, as a child of the heavenly Father. We are simply to put our trust that God, our heavenly Father, cares for us and will provide what it is we need.
It’s one of the modern problems we have: people trying to find themselves, their own identity. Therapists of every kind trying to help people develop their own self-identity. And only if they’re actually Christians and understand Christian theology and human nature do they try to persuade their clients, their patients, that the first thing they ought to do is to root their identity in their baptism, in their conversion, and in their status as Christians who believe and trust in Jesus Christ, and rely on the heavenly Father to take care of us according to — Jesus tenders as examples of God the Father’s trustworthiness — the ravens, the birds of the air, the flowers, and the grass in the field. He says, “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap. They have no storeroom nor barn.” That’s a direct, right-pointed jab at the fool who built the barns — and yet God feeds it. “How much more valuable are you than the birds? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, but I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and gone tomorrow and thrown into the furnace, how much will he clothe you? O men of little faith!”
The human creature is different than all the other creatures, living things in the earth. That’s the thing that the materialists of our day don’t understand. They just see us as a more sophisticated beast produced by chance of evolution. But God said, “Let us make man in our own image; male and female he created.” Genesis 1:26. God the Father did not send his only-begotten Son into the flesh as a man to save unclean spirits or animals. Christ came to die for humanity, sin in general, and your sin in particular. Romans 4:25: “Christ was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
Now, having destroyed any reason for us to strive after or trust in our own works, our whole material possessions, our social status, or our physical well-being, Jesus simply goes to the heart of the man. “O men of little faith,” he says. Fear, anxiety, and striving after things and status is evidence of a problem with our faith.
Now think about how the world operates and what Jesus is teaching. The world deals in fear, doesn’t it? And social status. Politicians, social influencers, social engineers, government officials, industry leaders, teachers, preachers, news reporters, opinion writers, so-called experts in every field are constantly telling us the sky is falling. We’ve had a century-plus of the sky just falling, and still the sheeple, the masses, believe it — that the sky is falling. Even worse, they believe that we, or at least the governing elite, have the ability and the power to change it. That is, to be gods over nature. You see, they need you to be afraid — to be very afraid — so that you will trust in them. That you’ll give them your money, your loyalty, your obedience, and your unquestioning trust that what they’re telling you is simply true. They know, and you don’t. In their world, the world they want you to live in, God has nothing to do with the fate of the planet, of humanity, of you. They are in charge of you, the planet, and the fate of all history. They believe they can control nature. No — I’m going to correct that. Let me say it another: they want you to believe that they can control nature and change the laws of nature and of human behavior. In other words, they want to be gods. Jesus stands in opposition to all this: worry about temporal and earthly things, and all this god-making we do by virtue of our fear. Your Father knows the things that you need. And then he goes on — Jesus the Counselor: “But seek his kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Fear not. A better translation: it’s actually continuing action. Stop fearing. Stop being afraid.
Jesus knows that our natural state is one of perpetual fear. We are anxious people. We’re worried. We’re afraid of all those things that can hurt our bodies — all those physical things that can hurt. We’re afraid of that stuff that can damage us emotionally or psychologically or even spiritually. We are worried that we will lose our things, our relationships, our standing in our various communities, and even our little faith. Human beings are gripped by fear even when they are confronted by holy beings that mean us well, that come to proclaim good news. The same Greek word used here for fear — phobia — is the same word that appears in the announcement to the shepherds on Christmas Eve: “Do not be afraid — stop fearing — for behold, I bring you the good news of a great joy which shall be for all people.” It’s the same word — “stop fearing” — that calmed the prophet, the priest Zechariah, when he was concerned, when the angel came to him to announce the coming of John the Baptist. It’s the same word — “stop fearing” — when the angel appeared to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to the Messiah. It’s the same word Jesus used when the synagogue man who had a daughter who was dying received the news that his daughter had died, and Jesus said to him, “Don’t be afraid” — that is, “stop fearing.” And when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, what did he say? “Stop fearing.” You get the pattern. You don’t even have to have a life-threatening thing happen to you. It’s our natural state. We’re constantly turning and spinning and working. We’re trying to avoid anything that might give rise to that fear that dwells within us all the time.
The NASB translates the Hebrew word for “afraid” — it occurs 119 times in the Old Testament. There’s a second word that’s also translated “fear” in the Old Testament: borah, which is a Hebrew word, 121 times. That is, 240 times we’re told something about fear in the Old Testament. Phobia in the New Testament appears 200 times. You’re now at 450 times the Bible addresses questions of fear or speaks of it. The first mention of fear in the Bible is in Genesis 3:9-10: “The Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, for I hid myself. I was naked and hid myself.'” Fear, anxiety, worry, and the like are the result of sin and living in a world scarred and marred by sin, where bad and dangerous things can happen to us at any moment. The Lord understood the nature and the power of fear. He said to his Old Testament church, to the prophet Isaiah: “Fear not.” Why? “Because I’ve redeemed you. That has given you salvation. I have called you by your name. You are mine.” And if we are his, ultimately we cannot lose. We cannot be hurt.
In the context of the gospel reading this morning, there was no immediate threat of any kind that would give rise to a sermon on fear. No one’s well-being in that crowd that was listening to Jesus preach was being threatened. No type of physical death seems to be present. No sudden appearances of demons or angels. Nothing except Jesus standing in the midst of a crowd teaching the people about the nature of true Christian faith. In the heavenly mind, Jesus was addressing ordinary, everyday, simple fallen life in a simple, fallen, sinful world. “For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek.” Why? Because it’s here. “But your Father knows that you need these things.” See, it’s another example of daily bread. Jesus is talking about the ordinary life, where sinners and saints dwell in the earthly realm.
We are a people who live in fear even though God is working all things that happen in our life to the good, to those of us who love him. Luther said of fear: “Whatever fear still assaults us is either a temptation of Satan or a remnant of the old sinful nature. For in Christ there can be nothing but supreme assurance and joy.” Right. Consider the lily of the fields, and then think about how you behave versus a lily of a field. Again, Luther: “There stands flowers of every kind, decorated in the most beautiful manner, that no emperor or king is equal to them in decoration. But a flower has its color and beauty, and is a natural and a living thing. And it is not to be understood — is it — it is not to be understood that it grows by mere chance, for if it were not God’s special order and creation, it would never be possible that one would be so much like the other, having the same color, the same leaves, the same number of petals, the veins, and other measures. Is it not a sin and a shame, then, that we children of God doubt whether God will actually provide for us our clothing?”
Jesus tells you that you don’t need to live in fear, for your Father has chosen to give you happily the kingdom of heaven. In the waters of holy baptism, God is giving you the kingdom, and also the Holy Spirit, that you may believe and trust in Christ for salvation, that you may live by faith like all those saints spoken of in the epistles. And he has given you the Holy Spirit that you may believe also in all of the promises given to you as a child of God. St. Peter was given to write on this topic: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God — and his might, he can take care of all those things that you’re afraid of — that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.” Think about that: the infinite, eternal, all-powerful God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — cares for you. And if he cares for you, then there’s nothing in life or in your moment of death that can truly harm you. God provides for you in all your needs, your support, your body and your soul, and your life. The Lord our God is our Father, the Son of God our brother, the Holy Spirit our enabler and comfort. So if God rains on the just and feeds and clothes the unbeliever, how much more for you?
In addition to all this, he not only cares for you, he cares for the birds of the air and the grass in the fields and the flowers. You don’t need to toil or spin. You’ve been given a greater glory than the lilies, and King Saul. You have been clothed in the righteous robe, the brilliant robe of Jesus Christ. You will be revealed with him in his glory in the light of the world to come. Galatians 3:27: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ Jesus have put on — have clothed yourself, excuse me, with Christ.” Or Colossians 3:4: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.” A more glorious state than even the lilies of the field.
Jesus concludes with these words this morning: “For where your treasure is, there your heart is also.” If your treasure is your status as a child of God the Father and brother or sister to Jesus Christ, instead of possessions or your status or the condition in this world — if you invest yourself in God’s Word — there’s nothing to fear. The only people who want to live in fear are the unrepentant unbelieving, who will be judged on that latter day in their sin. But to you, the children of God: there’s nothing to fear. Your sins have been forgiven. The problem has been taken care of. And no matter what happens in this life, you have a glory that exceeds anything that you can find on the planet marked by sin. The life of the world is coming to claim you, and your glory will soon be revealed. For your sins are forgiven.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.