Wise Trust

Sermon preached by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas

February 27, 2011; 8 Epiphany, Year A

Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

(Matthew 6:24-34) Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, `What will we eat?' or `What will we drink?' or `What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."

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“So, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worry of its own.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

I love that last line.  “Today’s trouble is enough for today.”  It has a dark mood to it.  Very Scottish.  I remember some years ago on our annual observation of St. Andrew’s Day, one of the members of our Ozark Highlanders Bagpipe and Drum Corps read a Scottish translation of the beloved 23^rd psalm.  I especially liked the rendering of the opening of the last verse.  “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of me miserable life.”

“So, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worry of its own.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.”  “It’s a jungle out there,” sings Randy Newman in the theme song for the TV show Monk.  It’s a show about a police investigator with obsessive compulsive disorder.  Because he is so paranoid about cleanliness and bugs and disorder, he sees things that the rest of us miss.  That’s how he solves crimes.  But his life is also sadly circumscribed by fears that are so irrational that they are funny on a television show.  Not so funny for real people with OCD. 

Last week in my 10:00 prayer class I taught about praying in the jungle.  Well… praying with nature.  I invited everyone to go outside and let something in nature catch your attention.  Then let it speak to you.  Observe it.  Think about it.  What does it tell you?  Pray with nature.

People are often drawn into the divine mystery by our awe at the wonder of creation.  When we are in the woods, or especially in the wilderness, we can sense the wonder of it all – sunrise and sunset, the fecundity of water, how life expresses life. 

One of my favorite writers Gerald May tells about his initial anxiety on his first experience of intentionally going into the wilderness alone.  He started in an almost paranoid state.  He packed insect repellent and a first aid kit.  He read up on snakes, poisonous plants and how to keep bears from attacking you.  His whole approach was defensive. 

But after he had some experience in the wilderness, it was as if the mountains and forests were sending him a message.  “It was a message of gentleness, almost of hospitality.  There was a truly welcoming atmosphere to the woods,” he said.  So he relaxed and adopted a more hospitable attitude.  “Aware of the possible dangers yet open to the gentleness and gifts that the wilderness might offer.  Since then,” he writes, “the wilderness has been my friend, one I treat with respect.  I do not huddle in my tent for fear of snakes or bears, but neither do I run through the woods without looking where I am going.  …All I need is to keep my eyes open, my senses alive.”  He adds this:  “I think all of life is this way.  If you protect yourself from all danger, you’ll never really live.  On the other hand, if you believe there is no danger at all, you may not live too long.” [1]

Gerald May makes a distinction that I think is important.  He asserts that “the essential goodness of life is trustworthy, [but] not all specific things in life are trustworthy.  Although God is trustworthy, not all of God’s creation can be trusted to treat us kindly all the time.  …It is foolish to trust that a snake will not bite you or a scorpion not sting you.  That does not mean that the snake or the scorpion are bad creatures – only that they need to be treated with respect.” [2]

Your life deserves to be treated with respect.  Be alert and alive to the goodness and potential within you and within your circumstances.  Keep your eyes open and your senses alive.  Respect also your own experience and what it can teach you.  We all learn from our mistakes and our hurts.  Gerald May says, “Wise trust ...accepts that pain may come.  It tries to avoid injury, but it is willing to endure pain if it is inevitable, and to learn from it.  And then, with eyes and ears open, it takes the risk again.” [3]  We learn from the wilderness, and then we go out to live in it again.

So someone hurts you.  Betrays you.  You may say, “I’ll never trust you again.”  What does that mean?  “If we mean “I’ll never trust you not to hurt me again,” it is a wise statement.  We cannot help hurting one another.  If it means “I’ll never love you again,” [or worse, “I’ll never love again”] it is foolish; to avoid loving to keep from being hurt is like trying to stop breathing so you won’t catch a cold.”

We can be aware that everyone and everything doesn’t have our best interest at heart, while still opening ourselves with reverence, awe and respect for the whole of life.  “There is benevolence and danger in all creation and all creatures, including oneself.  …Wise trust chooses life, not protection.  It sheds its armor so it can run free with clear eyes and open senses.  It comes out of its burrow so it can play in the sunlight.” [4]

So how do we live in this wonderful and sometimes dangerous world?  “Do not worry about tomorrow…  Today’s trouble is enough for today.”  Accept today, as it is.  With its own particular troubles, and, yes, it’s own particular graces.  It takes some surrender.  I am not the CEO of the universe.  I am not even the CEO of myself, for I too am a mystery.  Relax respectfully into the day, into the moment.  Like an animal in the woods, listen and look to see what the next moment will bring.  We are on an adventure.  A wilderness adventure. 

As we sometimes say in our closing blessing, “Go into the world in peace.  Be of good courage.  Hold fast to that which is good; render no one evil for evil.  Strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all persons.” 

If we are willing -- open and awake – life just happens.  “It is given.”  Here’s how Gerald May puts it.  “God is endlessly, irrepressibly and unconditionally loving, always calling us home.  But in that love, God leaves us always free to accept or decline the invitation.  God treats us with absolute respect.  God may beckon us gently or challenge us fiercely, but God will not make us puppets and pull our strings.  We may delude ourselves into thinking that we should control our lives and destinies, but God suffers no such delusion.  …Love does not control.  Love frees.” [5]

So live freely.  “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink…  Look at the birds of the air…  Are you not of more value than they?  Consider the lilies of the field, ..even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these…  Therefore do not worry, …but strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

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[1] Gerald May, Simply Sane, New Expanded Edition, Crossroad, NY, 1993, p. 148

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid, p. 149

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid, 151-2