Anxiousness

Even in the midst of her deadly illness, soon to overwhelm her body, still at least verbally it was as if Jean got up out of bed and welcomed me to her room.

My anxiousness melted away.

She chose not to dwell on the illness, but instead

she wanted to talk about the church,

she wanted to hear what was happening elsewhere,

she wanted to hear about my children whom she had never even met!

And it wasn't for show; this is who she has been.

Perhaps she didn't think of it this way, but her words and actions are in accord with Paul's words:

Let your gentleness be known to everyone. ....And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

In spite of all of the things that were happening with her, she was still operating without anxiousness.

And then there is the situation with Joseph and his brothers.

Joseph had every reason for bitterness when he was sold into slavery, but it did not consume him.

Later on, when he had the perfect chance for revenge with both power and opportunity,

he chose not to follow that path,

and instead told his brothers who are now frightened to death of him, that although they had meant to harm him, he observed that it gave him the opportunity to do good, to save their lives from starvation.

It is a wonderful parallel to the way in which the Lord God treats us.

We who have been given so much, day after day, very often use things and relationships with other people thoughtlessly, selfishly, squanderously.

But God will make use of it all anyway.

Somehow... he will turn even a tragedy into a kindness, in ways that we cannot imagine.

Remember Martha and her anxiousness when Jesus came to eat at their house?

She was rushing from here to there

and resenting sister Mary who was listening to Jesus.

“You are anxious about many things, Martha” says Jesus, “instead, concentrate on the one important thing.”

It is a constant sorting-out process in which we are engaged.

What is important; what is not.

We heard it this past Sunday in the challenge from Joshua: Choose this day whom you will serve....

We hear it in Micah the prophets famous words:

What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.

And Jean, in her own way was saying something congruent with the prophet when she observed:

“People won't remember your golf score;

but they will remember how you played the game.”

Were you just and fair?

Were you kind to those around you?

Did you honor God?

And then there are the times when we can't do anything, when the problem is just too large for us to handle.

It could be an illness, an accident, a strained or broken relationship, or whatever....

even then, anxiousness shall not overwhelm us.

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; says Paul, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

What kind words those are!

What a gracious thing for God to do!

What a wonderful thing for us not only to know but to join in doing!

And Jean has a quote that fits here also:

“When you don't know what to say,

say the kind thing, do the kind deed.”

It is a precious memory we hold:

that God treats us this way,

and that Jean and the rest of us are invited to live this way also.

White is the color for this occasion.

Not just because Jean favored it, but because the church has always used it as a sign of the kindness of God to us.

In Holy Baptism the Lord God takes us and declares us part of his household, the body of Christ, washing us clean, covering us with the blessing of the Lord Jesus.

White vestments, white candles, white flowers and clear water are always reminders of this.

And what should we do because this is true?

We follow in the path of the kindness of God.

Jesus reminds us that we cannot add anything to our life by anxiousness, and instead calls attention to the flowers of the field which last but a short time...but during that time, oh what a great time it is.

The flowers are about the serious business of producing the next generation;

but they are also doing it with joy, with exuberance, with riotous color and light, in great variety of shape and form.

I take it to be a sign of the joy of God, the inexhaustible riches of God,

the kindness of God.

The best thing for us to do right now is to turn those sighs of ours into melody,

to anticipate our resurrection song

to commit Jean to our kind and gracious God,

and to resolve to live in that same way ourselves in the days and years to come.

Let us with a gladsome mind

Praise the Lord for he is kind

For his mercies shall endure,

Ever faithful, ever sure. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.