Matthew 6:24-34 "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 money. 25 "Therefore I tell you, 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. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear love and trust in God above all things. What is a god? From the Large Catechism: “A ‘god’ is a term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need. Therefore, to have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in that one with your whole heart. Iit is the trust and faith of the heart alone that make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust are right, then your God is the true one. Conversely, where your trust is false and wrong, there you do not have the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God. Anything on which your heart relies and depends, that is really your God.”
2 There are only two gods. One is pretty easy going. He’ll let you call him whatever pleases you: God, Buddha, Allah, the American Dream, Mammon, or any name you can think of. As far as masters go, he’s not such a bad one to have. He isn’t too demanding, especially when it comes to letting you do whatever pleases you. He understands that times are different from how they used to be. He encourages you to be tolerant. He’ll let you worship him in a temple or a mosque, at the supermarket or the campground, with your hands outstretched or stuck in your pockets. He’s not very strict on doctrine or morals, as long as you seem to your neighbors like a good guy or girl. And he’s open to letting you have as many masters as you wish. He’s worshipped through pursuing and through getting what you need. He is adored when you worry or are anxious about what you need each day. But this master is a liar. Indeed, he is the father of lies, the devil. All his niceties and indulgences are just traps to ensnare you and make you his forever.
3 There are only two gods, and the other One is far less convenient. He has strict regulations about how He expects you to act towards Him and toward your neighbors. He demands rigid obedience: not just outwardly with your actions but inwardly with your heart, as well. He’s very particular, being the God of circumcision, and sacrifice, and sacraments. He’s painfully jealous, demanding your full attention and your unending devotion. He won’t let you know Him any way you might choose, and He won’t allow you to do whatever is most pleasing to yourself. He tells you plainly that He is not mocked, and that you will reap what you sow. If you sow to please your flesh, He says, you will reap eternal destruction. He offers life, but makes Himself known through death. He wants you to belong to Him, but if you do, He won’t let you have any other masters.
4 How can you know which is your master? To which one are you devoted, and which do you despise? Which one do you hate, and which do you love? If the first checks you write after receiving a paycheck are to pay bills and buy goods, your god is mammon. If the top priorities in your Sunday morning schedule are getting the kids to sports practice and heading to the lake for some fishing, your god is mammon. If there are things you would not be willing to give up to be a Christian—house, car, pension, children, spouse, job, hobbies—your god is mammon. If you spend your days worrying whether you will have enough food or considering how to earn just a little bit more money, your god is mammon. If the first thing to get cut from a day’s busy schedule (if it was there in the first place) is family devotional and prayer time, your god is mammon.
5 So repent. Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his life? Or a minute? No one. Which of you by working hard can avoid economic hardship? Which of you by worrying can stave off a single natural disaster? Which of you by being anxious can effect any change about anything? No one. Worry and anxiety do nothing except make you bow down to the god mammon. Repent. Repent of making the kingdom of God and His righteousness your second, third, or last priority. Repent of being like the godless Gentiles, who have no Heavenly Father to provide for them.
6 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Your life’s first priority is the reign of God and His righteousness. Where is the reign of God displayed and where does He demonstrate His righteousness? On the cross. The only righteous One, Jesus Christ—God and man inseparably joined in His person—displays the Lord’s reign over His creation by interceding on behalf of sinners. Are you not more valuable to the Heavenly Father than the sparrows? Are you not more precious to Him than the lilies? Of course. For you, He sent His son to be the sacrifice for sinners. Not for sparrows or lilies or angels. For you the Lord came to suffer and to die. For you He took your sins and paid for them in full. For you He rose and ascended. For you He has promised to return. For you He continues to provide.
7 So what will you wear? You will wear the robe of the righteousness of Jesus. In Holy Baptism, your Heavenly Father clothed you more splendidly than He decked King Solomon. He clothed you in the beautiful white righteousness of your Lord Jesus. There is no more beautiful garment. If He has so clothed you with the glorious robes of Christ righteousness, with the exquisite vestment of sins forgiven, will He not also provide you with daily clothes? If He has covered your sinfulness and shielded you from His wrath, will He not also cover your body and shield you from harm? He will.
8 And what will you eat and drink? You will feast on the Body and Blood of your Lord Jesus. This is the finest food in the world, indeed, the finest food of Heaven. And He gives it to you today. This is a feast beyond any comparison. Here you dine on Him who gives you forgiveness and eternal life. This is the delicious food of salvation. A meager crumb of your Lord’s Body and a mere drop of His Blood is enough to fill you for eternity. But He bids you eat and drink at this feast every week, so that you might be strengthened in your faith and renewed in His forgiveness. If He has so fed you with food that gives eternal life, will He not also provide you with daily bread to sustain your temporal life? He will.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Jeff Hemmer
Hope, Jerseyville
Thanks to Pr. David Petersen for ideas and expressions contained in this sermon.