what follow are the two "sermonettes" given today
First reading: Matthew 6: 25-34
Do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
First Reflection: Don’t Worry!!
A quick
search of the BBC News website this week resulted in almost 11 thousand stories
which contained the words worries.
A quick
trawl through the first couple of pages had a fairly consistent theme, the new
reports on worries focussed on finance, pollution, road safety, the oil price,
business and health.
Now if
I were to ask you all to list your top six worries I have a strong suspicion
that it would be fairly easy to have them slip into those same six categories.
Is my
job secure; will my pension be worth anything; are my children safe; will I get
the care and treatment I need; can I afford to travel and can I actually get at
my money when I need it?
It
seems a reasonable set of statistics, and indeed a reasonable set of worries,
doesn’t it?!
When we
look at today’s gospel reading we discover a deep, mysterious truth; 2000 years
ago life may have been very different; technology as we know it did not exist
then; communications were verbal; most people did not read or write; healthcare
was basic and life expectancy low.
Yet,
the worries were similar: security, health, food, are as essential for life now
as they ever were.
Jesus
knew all of this of course, but he pared it right back.
He
didn’t quite say “Get a grip guys!!”
But
from the tone, and the comparisons, that may well have been his meaning.
If you
lost all that, but still had your loved ones
Still
had your friendsStill had your community around you
You would suddenly discover what is really important
What is
really essential in your life
Because
it’s not the possessions we have that give us joy, or satisfaction, or security
or hope
It’s
not these things which make us happy
They
may help with the comforts
But
what we really need
Is to
know we are loved
To know
we can love in return
And to
know, that through Jesus Christ we are closely connected to God, and God knows
us, loves us, cares for us – God understands what we need
So do
not worry about tomorrow
And do
not worry about today
Enjoy
life
Relish
it
Live,
love and laugh – God is in control!!
Second reading: Matthew 7: 1-8
Second Reflection: Don’t Judge – Everyone is Welcome!
Don’t
tell me what to do until you have got your own life in order!!
Hypocrisy
– in all its various forms is a sure fire way to get us riled
Being
told where we are going wrong by someone who, in our eyes at least, is not
doing a great job themselves, is difficult to take.
I am
not sure if it is comforting or disappointing to know that even now two
thousand years later the same problems; the same misunderstandings, the same
issues are still causing us concern and still causing people to feel outcast or
marginalised or excluded.
Think
about how you live
What
you do
Who you
know
In
every situation, whether you know them well, or a little you only know a tiny
fraction of what has happened to create that situation. Even with our closest
friends we don’t know the whole story.
And
yet, we still feel that we are in a position to offer an opinion, or advice, or
a solution....
To my
mind before we ever offer an opinion, there are three questions we need to ask:
Do you
know all the facts?
Do you
know the personal circumstances?
What
would you have done if faced with such circumstances?
If you
cannot truly answer the first two, you will never be equipped to answer the
third.... and if you cannot answer the third then you are in no position to
offer unsought for advice...
If we
are quick to jump in and judge others, we cannot complain when they do the same
to us
If we
set high standards for others, but live much lower standards ourselves, we are
not being fair
Instead
we need to live our own lives, and seek to be good and kind and caring.
Some
things in life never change:
2000
years ago Jesus felt the need to teach about those who were quick to judge
others without first putting their own lives in order; his answer then has
stood the test of time:
Seek
first God’s kingdom, and everything else will fall into place.
God is
our only judge
God’s
house is wherever his people are – The door to God’s house is always open –
And all
are always welcome there