Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text is the Holy Gospel reading which has already been read.

Dear friends in Christ, if you've ever seen the cover of Mad magazine, you can probably envision the famous face of Alfred E. Neuman, with his jug ears, a missing front tooth, freckly nose, and one eye lower than the other, with the caption under his face, "What—Me Worry?" The founding editor of Mad, Harvey Kurtzman, reported that he first spotted Neuman's face on a postcard, and immediately he knew it would be perfect for his own magazine. Kurtzman described the boy's image this way: "It was a face that didn't have a care in the world, except mischief." Sometimes when my own son is up to no good, I start to think he bears a striking resemblance to Alfred E. Neuman.

The KJV translation of our Gospel reading seemed to suggest a "not a care in the world" attitude when it said, "Take no thought for your life...take no thought for the morrow." This could be misunderstood to mean that we should be thoughtless or careless about our life, or that it would be sinful to carefully plan a meal or go clothes shopping, or that it wouldn't be God-pleasing for us to plan for the future by saving money or buying insurance.

The ESV translation is closer to the meaning of the Greek word Jesus uses; it says that we are not to be anxious about our life, or anxious about tomorrow. But that doesn't capture the full meaning of the word. In addition to anxiety, it also means to devote an excessive amount of attention or concern to something. So I think the best single word to translate what Jesus says is "worry," because it can communicate two aspects of our Lord's teaching. There is nothing wrong with thinking about what we'll eat or drink or wear, or how we'll pay our bills tomorrow, but it is wrong to worry about them or worry over them.

Let me define how I am using those two phrases, "worry about" and "worry over." To "worry about" something means to be anxious or fretful about it. To "worry over" something means to be overly concerned with something, to fuss over it, perhaps be obsessed with it, devoting an inordinate amount of time, effort, or money to it. So you might worry about losing your job or developing cancer, but you might worry over a hobby or sport or job by devoting too much attention to them at the expense of your duties to serve God and love your neighbor as yourself. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus is saying that we should be free from anxiety because of God's care for us, but then in the use of our time and resources we should have our priorities straight and not let secondary distractions get in the way of our seeking God's Kingdom and righteousness above all other things.

Jesus defines the situation this way in the Gospel reading when He says, "No one can be a slave to two lords; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and ignore the other. You cannot be a slave to God and to Mammon." The ESV translates this phrase as "You cannot serve God and money," but "Mammon" is a better translation because it is a broader term. "Mammon" is not only money but also food, drink, clothing, cars, houses, electronics—in other words, earthly possessions.

One of Satan's favorite tricks is to tempt us to replace God with Mammon so that we become slaves to money and possessions rather than obedient servants of God. The devil's first step is to get us to redefine needs, wants, and luxuries. The Bible defines our basic needs—what we need to be content—as having clothing and food. Throughout the history of the world, many people have been deprived of those basic necessities. Some members of the audience Jesus was addressing in the Sermon on the Mount would have truly been unsure about where their next meal was coming from, or where they would get new clothes if the shirt on their back wore out. Remember the story of the feeding of the four thousand, when the crowd was with Jesus for three days and had nothing to eat, and Jesus fed them so that they wouldn't faint on the way home.

This sort of situation is almost unthinkable today. We can hardly imagine the anxiety of being unsure about basic provisions, a type of stress that must have really eaten away at you. We simply take for granted that we will have plenty to eat and wear, and have somewhere safe to live. Today we don't subsist on stale bread, dried fish, and water, but our diets have more variety and flavor than what a king would have had two thousand, or even two hundred years ago. So when Jesus says not to be anxious about what we will eat or drink or wear, perhaps our first reaction is, "Well I'm not worried about those things; I have plenty and I'm not going to run out!"

In fact, each of us has far more than the Bible says we need, and most of us have the wants and luxuries of TVs, electronics, cars, air conditioning, and all sorts of Mammon. It's not wrong to have such things because God has given us material possessions and all sorts of foods and drinks to enjoy, as long as they are received with gratitude. But one problem is that we tend to redefine those wants and luxuries as genuine needs so that we are discontent and complain about our lot in life if we lack them, which is sinful and we must repent of that. Yet the larger problem is when we devote our lives to Mammon rather than to God, when our jobs or hobbies or possessions distract us from seeking God's Kingdom and righteousness.

Jesus doesn't want us to lose our place in the Kingdom either by anxious unbelief or by making Mammon an idol, so He speaks some gentle rebukes and comforting words to keep our priorities straight and sooth our worries. He says (and this is my translation of the Greek): "Do not worry about or worry over your [y'all's] life, what you eat or drink, nor your body, what you wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

Jesus uses several arguments to strip away all our worries. First, He points out that for a human, worrying about or worrying over food and clothing is wrongheaded because there are much more important things in life than these. It is a characteristic of animals and pagans to obsess about food and shelter, but as disciples of Jesus we know that our life is to be committed completely to the love of God and the love of neighbor, not the love of food and clothing. A little later Jesus will say that our heavenly Father knows that we need these things, so He will take care of them for us and there is no need for us to be anxious. So we can use and enjoy food, clothing, and all sorts of Mammon, but must recognize that they are merely tools God has given us to use, not ends in themselves.

Jesus then uses a couple illustrations from nature to teach us how anxiety-free our lives could be if only we would trust our heavenly Father completely. First He says, "Take a careful look at the birds of the air—notice that they do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and your [y'all's] heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you [y'all] more valuable [to Him] than they are?" The answer is, "Of course!" You are so valuable to God that He sacrificed His only-begotten Son on the cross to win eternal life for you. If He would do that, and if He would feed the birds without them having to work for it, then He certainly will provide for you (of course, it is understood that we need to work for a living and provide for ourselves, but this passage means that God will provide the way for us to have food and clothing).

Then Jesus reminds us of how pointless worrying is, and how pointless the accumulation of much Mammon is, when He asks, "And which one of you [y'all] by worrying can add a single foot to the journey of your life?" God has predetermined how long our life is; our times are in His hands, and so worrying can't at even a single millisecond to the length of our life. So why worry about something as mundane as clothing? Jesus says, "Pay careful attention to the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither work for a living nor spin [clothing]. And I say to you [y'all] that not even Solomon in all his splendor had clothes as nice as one of these flowers. So if God dresses the grass of the field this way—plants that are alive today and tomorrow are thrown into the oven—then how much more will he do the same for you [y'all] little-faiths. Therefore do not worry, saying, "What should we eat? Or what should we drink? Or what should we wear?" For all these things the pagans are seeking. For your [y'all's] heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."

Take a careful look at the lilies, O you of little faith. If God cares enough to clothe them in beauty and make so many other beautiful creatures in the world, then surely He will feed and clothe you.

So Jesus strips away all our cause for worry about earthly needs by assuring us that our heavenly Father, who has adopted us as His children in Baptism, knows exactly what we need. He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, even when your little faith can't understand why. Jesus drives away all our anxiety and obsession with Mammon so that in its place He can insert Himself with all the good gifts of His Kingdom. Jesus says that instead of worrying about your life or fussing over Mammon, "Seek above all else the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you [y'all]."

And the Good News about this Kingdom Jesus is talking about is that being part of this Kingdom relieves not only earthly worries but the biggest, most consuming worry of all: whether we will have eternal life with God in heaven or whether we will be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. In truth, that is what our biggest concern in life should be. The devil does a great job of distracting us with Mammon and the anxieties of day to day life so that we think this world is all there is, but Jesus pulls us back to reality by telling us that above all other things, we should be seeking God's Kingdom and righteousness.

But the problem is that we are sinners, and sinners by definition are unrighteous and must be excluded from God's Kingdom because they cannot survive the presence of Holy God. Another time Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." For our sin, we deserve for God to destroy our soul and body in hell. But don't worry! God loves you and wants to save you! He did not even withhold His beloved Son but sent Him to take up our human flesh, live a life of perfect love and obedience of God, and then suffer for your sins on the cross. Through it all, Jesus never worried, because He knew that His times were in His Father's hands. And because of His perfect faithfulness to God, Jesus was raised on the third day, never to die again.

And now Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit out into the world through Word and Sacrament to call people to faith in Him, to incorporate them into God's Kingdom on earth, the Holy Christian Church. So by Baptism into Christ, you care clothed with Christ's righteousness, which covers all your guilt and breaks down all barriers between you and God. Not only does your heavenly Father provide for all your day to day needs, but most importantly He has procured a permanent place in God's heavenly Kingdom, which will have no end.

And because of this, you have no need to worry about anything or worry over vain things. Instead, keep on seeking God's Kingdom and righteousness in the Holy Scriptures, in Absolution and the Lord's Supper, and then in taking up your cross each day and following after Jesus, in imitation of His love. Jesus has set you free from temporal and eternal worries so that you can enjoy the life of faith in God and love of your neighbor as yourself. As St. Paul says in the Epistle reading, "as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." This means that we shouldn't worry over or about our own life and possessions but that we should move away from selfishness into selflessness, using our life and possessions for the sake of God's Kingdom and the service of our neighbor.

Jesus removes our anxieties so that He can replace them with joy. In conclusion, take to heart what St. Paul wrote about anxiety and joy when he said, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-7). When you are firmly guarded by God's love and rejoicing in Christ's promises, you can even employ Alfred E. Neuman's motto: "What—Me Worry?" In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.