Saint James UCC of Hamburg, NY

Psalm 63:1-4; Luke 12:22-31

Preached by Rev. Robert Matlack
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This morning we celebrate Baccalaureate Sunday and this milestone in the lives of our young people. They are or have just graduated from High School or College and are moving on to the next stage of their life. On this occasion I think it's important to stop and reflect on what will be important to each of you as you move on to the next stage of your journey - and what is it that is important to each of us, gathered here today, at whatever stage of our journey through life we may be.

Psalm 63 offers us the yearnings of a faithful heart. The psalmist is probably in the sanctuary where he has beheld the majesty of God and experienced God's gracious help. He now knows himself to be safe and under the protection of God. It is in that context that the psalmist offers God thanks and praise, and speaks with a faith that will endure, and guide him through all that life holds.

In the midst of the problems, the dangers, and yes, the temptations of life, the psalmist knows that God's love is better than life itself, that the fulfillment of the soul comes through God. He has discovered that whatever the ups and downs of life, whatever the difficulties and stresses that he faces, it is God who is the source of his security and his hope, and so it is to God that he offers his thanks and praise.

We know that as well - at least we've all heard that many times before. Intellectually we know it to be true. Yet we also know that it can be very difficult to live out. There are so many things to worry about, so much that preoccupies us... we might be facing a serious health concern, or wonder if our job will still be there next month or next year, we might be worrying about our kids and the temptations that they face, we might worry about whether or not we'll get in an accident, and the list goes on and on. From major concerns to minor we find plenty to worry about. Some of the concerns are immediate about things that are happening right now, while others are about the future as we worry about what could happen.

It is in that context that Jesus speaks to us imploring us to trust in God and not to worry about food or clothing. We hear those words, but it's tough to really hear, to really follow. How can life be that simple? You see, we know that we need to think about these issues, to prepare ourselves, to plan, so that we're not caught unprepared. So what is it that Jesus is saying to us?

I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is much more important than food and the body much more important than clothes." When we hear those words, we hear Jesus reminding us that there are more important concerns than those we often spend all of our time worrying about. We give them far more time and energy, far more of ourselves than they deserve.

He is telling us not to spend all of our time and energy worrying about the little things, not to focus our lives on worrying - so that we miss those things that are far more important in life, those things that fill our soul, and provide meaning to who we are and how we live.

Yes there are things that we need to think about, to plan for, to prepare for, and perhaps even by our planning to avoid. Jesus is not saying that we should never plan ahead, never consider those problems that might arise.

What Jesus is saying though is that they need to be kept in context. It's so easy to make those problems, those concerns bigger than they are. It's so tempting to spend far more time and energy on them than they need or deserve. There are far too many times when we make those worries far more important than they deserve to be. They can even become the focus of our lives. We can make them so important that they push out everything else, even God...

Jesus reminds us that God takes care of the birds and the wild flowers. They too have their ups and downs in life, their better times and their more difficult times, but God provides them with what they really need. The birds find food, the wild flowers are clothed in beauteous splendor. God does provide!

God does the same for us. Those things that we really need will be there. They won't always be the things that we wanted or come in the way that we expected or wanted them. God will provide us with those things that we really need - not necessarily with what we want.

Rather the guarantee that Jesus offers us is that He will walk with us through all that we face in life, that God loves us, that God cares for us, and that God will walk with us. We are not along. Trust in God, for all that we truly need is provided.

Through the ups and downs of life, God is there walking with us. Through those difficult times of pain and loss, God is there walking with us, providing someone for us to lean on when our strength is not enough. Through those happy times, when magically everything seems to have worked out the way that we hoped, god is there celebrating with us, and deepening our joy.

When Florence Nightingale was asked the secret of her rich and useful life, she replied: "I had faith; that was all."

She discovered an important secret - a secret that has the power to enrich all of our lives. It is our faith that will guide us into tomorrow with hope and trust, knowing that as the psalmist says, that God's "constant love is better than life itself". It is faith that will fill our hearts and souls and sustain us through the tough times in life. It is faith that gives us real joy and enables us to offer God our thanks and praise.

Remember that secret as you face the new things that lie ahead, and remember it as you encounter the familiar, things that you have experienced before. Whatever we might be facing, may God grant that we might walk through today and into the future that tomorrow holds in faith.

Amen.