Trinity 15 – Food, Drink, Clothing

Galatians 5:25-6:10       St Matthew 6:24-34

Look at the birds of the air…
Look at the lilies of the field…

 

In these Sundays in Trinity season there seems to be a looping back again and again as we ascend in our readings in the spiritual life.

We went through seven Sundays (Trinity 3-9) where we were confronted by the 8 principle passions of the soul (two were covered in Trinity 9).  And we are now in a second series of seven Sundays where we have references to these same passions but as we experience them at a deeper level.

Seven Sundays ago we were warned by Jesus against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing.  In this case it was those with covetous desires who would seek to take away everything from you!  And of course we were to be concerned that we are not wolves in sheep’s clothing, going through this world to take from others because of our covetous desires.

But now, having repented and been purged of a kind of gross and more obvious covetousness we are being warned again about covetousness so that it doesn’t once again take root in us, as we ascend.

The Collect from 7 Sundays ago had the petition:

“put away from us all hurtful things, and give us those things which be profitable for us.”

The Collect from today has a similar but slightly reworded petition:

“keep us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation.”

You see the difference?

The first assumes we are covetous and asks that this desire be put away in us, now we are asking that those hurtful things, destructive covetous desires, be kept away from us.

We are now being reminded that we can always backslide even as we mature in our faith.

If you’ve been following the daily readings of the past two weeks, as Fr Jean mentioned in his sermon last Sunday, the Old Testament lessons have been about the collapse first of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians and then of the Southern Kingdom of Judea by the Babylonians.  These were God’s people who had entered into the Promised Land, who had been blessed with the Law of God, with the Covenant, the wise teachers and the prophets…and yet, almost all fell away, and ultimately were all exiled from the Promised Land.  These Kingdoms of people were broken, and even the very centre, the Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians.  We read these examples that we may learn from them.

We have been brought into the Kingdom of heaven through baptism and faith; we are enjoying something of the Promised Land, something of the life of heaven!  But we are to be careful that in our heart of hearts we don’t begin to fall away again.

Today’s council from Jesus comes from the Sermon on the Mount, which is a council of perfection.  Jesus says earlier in this sermon, You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. [St Matthew 5:48]

Jesus says today, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” – “mammon” is a Semitic word meaning money or possessions.

And so he says, “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.”  Food and drink and clothing, the most basic earthly needs.

The Greek word translated as “do not be anxious” is μεριμνάω (merimnaō).  It comes from the Greek verb “merizo” which means “to divide”.  We are not to become divided in our minds, thinking two things at the same time – trusting in God’s providence on the one hand and yet then also assuming we have to make our own happiness here.  It will make us anxious.

One example of this moment of trusting in God’s providence, is when young people have to make decisions about their career choice or their choice of study.  Does covetousness, the desire for earthly possessions insinuate itself in your choices?

• This is the octave of the Feast of St Matthew – he was a tax collector and Jesus called him from that work, which was lucrative, and he simply got up and left the table where he was sitting. There was something extraordinarily compelling about Jesus, something that alone could satisfy his longing.  He left all and followed Jesus.

Discern your calling, ask God to direct you.  Do the inner search to be sure it is not mammon that is drawing you, but a serious sense of God’s calling, revealing what your gifts are and the way in which those can be drawn out for God’s glory and the love of your neighbour

Jesus is not saying we are not to be prudent to provide for our families.  But it is the spirit within us that must always remain clear.  Serve God first, and we will have enough.

Those of you who have known times when you were on the edge financially, as I have, will probably remember that it is during those times that this passage has been most helpful – where we have had to trust more in God’s providence than in times when we have been more well off.  We had enough, God provided.  We are all still here!

The Epistle gives us some interesting examples about what it is like to live with an undivided mind, and what are signs that we may have a divided mind.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Have you heard of the politics of envy?  Where some politicians attack rich people as if the fact of their wealth means they somehow must have been an oppressor of those who are poor.  If we have a negative attitude towards the rich, I think we need to look at whether there is envy involved and pointing to covetousness in our souls.

St Paul continues with a call to mutual care:

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  And then a little later he says, each will have to bear his own load.

One commentator says, “Both are true.  We are called to initiate caregiving in the Church, and not to be a needless burden to others.” [Orthodox Study Bible]

One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.  

This is a call to materially support the Church so that it can function.  There is much support in Scripture to the idea of tithing your income (giving 10%) for charities, including the church.  It is a way to tangibly show our love for God and neighbour, but it is also a practice meant to help us overcome the passion of covetousness, by trusting in God’s providence.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

There is a simple law in the universe as God has created it – if we follow our passions it will ruin us.  We can’t be a little bit covetous and mostly sowing to the Spirit and get away with it!  It is holding us back in our ascension.  But if we put our energy into serving God and neighbour, sowing to the Spirit, great good will come from it.  Seek first the kingdom of God…

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

As we walk the Christian life we have this continual temptation to become divided in our mind.  Food and drink and clothing are the most basic things.  And yet Jesus says don’t be anxious about how we will obtain them…If we seek God and His righteousness first, these necessary things will come to us.

Jesus helps us in our anxiety by recalling us to the contemplation of nature.

Look at the birds of the air! – they are fed by God’s providence.

• Think of Hagar about to perish in the desert and God’s angel provides water for her and her son.
• Think of Elijah, fleeing for his life, and sits down exhausted by a small brook and drinks water and is fed bread by a raven!
• Think of the crowds devoutly following Jesus; He multiplied loaves and fishes for them so that they wouldn’t faint on the way home.
• I imagine there are countless examples through the ages of God’s miraculous provision for people at the edge.
• I had an experience once, when I had broken relations with family and friends and was very much alone, and yet had reconverted by grace to Jesus (but not yet a part of His Church).  I was totally out of money, and credit, and went to a park and sat down in the grass.  I prayed the Lord's Prayer and when I opened my eyes there were 15 wholewheat buns in the grass around me.  I stuffed my pockets and it lasted until an unexpected check arrived from my former work.  I believe God provided.

Look at the lilies of the field! – they are more beautiful than the greatest clothing of the richest man in the history of Israel, King Solomon.

Jesus is reminding us, says another commentator, that “As the beauty of the flower is unfolded by the Divine Creator Spirit from within, from the laws and capacities of its own individual life, so must all true adornment of man be unfolded from within by the same Almighty Spirit.” [Alford]

Our ultimate spiritual hunger – is satisfied by “every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God”, as Jesus said when fasting in the wilderness after 40 days. [St Matthew 4:4]  “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me”, Jesus said to his disciples, when they came to him at the well in Samaria. [St John 4:34]  And Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall…not…hunger.” [St John 6:35]

Our ultimate spiritual thirst – is satisfied only by the Holy Spirit.  Remember the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus said she would only be satisfied by living water, welling up to eternal life quenching her (and our) thirst. [St John 4]

Our ultimate desire for beauty, is satisfied by being clothed from on high.  The clothing of righteousness, which is to be washed in the Blood of the Lamb and to put on Christ.  These things cost nothing to us but they are priceless and they are freely given to us by God.  We need only ask, we need only participate in the sacramental life and we will be adorned with beauty shining from deep within: the beauty, the dignity, the honour, the glory, that we truly all desire.

It is now the time in our Divine Liturgy for us to prepare ourselves to receive this precious food and drink and this clothing from above, through repentance and faith.

Amen +