Loving God, you invite us to trust you for all that is needed, and to seek your kingdom above all else.  Help us to know you well enough to be able to discern your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    The gospel that we heard today contains several sections that we have normally heard separately.  At first, it can seem as though we are hearing several unrelated teachings that are all strung together.  However, as it turns out, the part of today’s gospel that we refer to as the Lord’s Prayer is related to all of the other things that are mentioned in this chapter in Matthew.

    The first part that we heard today was about heaping up empty phrases when you pray.  At least one commentator has pointed out that the only reason you would do this is if you felt that you needed to grovel or to butter up the deity in order to get what you need.  However, when we are going to our Father, or our Daddy, who knows what we need and who loves us, groveling and buttering up and lots of words are not necessary.

    At the same time, when we think about fasting in order to be seen by others, or doing anything else religious in order to be seen by others (like giving alms), the person who does this makes it all about themselves.  It is all about me instead of all about us.  However, the Lord’s Prayer pulls us away from focusing only on me, myself and I, for we pray to our Father about our daily bread and our debts and our trials.  When we pray, we are part of a community, and we are aware of the needs of the others who are also part of that community.

    As for storing up treasures, this also relates to almost everything in the Lord’s Prayer, especially as we think about God’s will being done on earth, and forgiving debts, and looking to God for our daily bread.  I’d like to invite you to think about daily bread for just a moment in light of the manna in the wilderness (Ex. 16).  There is no better story to help us think about relying on God for what we need from day to day.

    The manna was, quite literally, the daily bread for the Israelites as they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years.  It is described as a fine, flaky substance that would appear on the ground in the morning after the dew had evaporated.  Through Moses, the people were instructed to go out each day and gather as much as they needed for their household.  They were to gather only enough for that day and not leave any of it left over until the next morning.

    However, of course there were people who didn’t listen.  They kept some until the next morning – you know -- just in case they might need it!  However, when kept overnight, it bred worms and became foul.  Then the day before the sabbath, they were told to gather as much as they would need for two days, so that they would not have to go out and gather manna on the sabbath.  In this case, the manna did not breed worms or become foul.

    When we pray to God for our daily bread, we are asking for just as much as we need – no more, and no less.  We are also praying about more than just bread, as Martin Luther taught in the Small Catechism.  In his estimation, daily bread includes everything that is needed for this life.  However, when we start talking about storing up treasures on earth, then we’re into the realm of more than we need.

    So... what might some of the reasons be that you would store up treasures? [might need it some time; want to have enough for retirement; want to be rich; sentimental value] And why would Jesus say, Don’t do that? [Possibilities: Trusting in treasures rather than in God; Heart on treasures rather than on God & others; Resources meant to be shared]

    I can’t help but think of the rich young man who came to Jesus wanting to know what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.  After a discussion about the commandments, Jesus says to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Mt. 19:21).  At that, the young man goes away grieving, for he has many possessions and can’t imagine parting with them.  In his case, his heart is set on the treasures that he has stored up on earth, and because of that, he is unable to give his heart to Jesus.

    For most of us, it would be a very difficult conversation to try and figure out what we actually need versus what constitutes storing up treasures on earth.  In the type of society that we live in, it might not be particularly wise to sell everything and get rid of our savings and forget about planning for retirement.  However, if we are to take Matthew 6 seriously, there are at least a couple of things that we need to keep in mind.

    First off, resources are meant to be shared.  The problem is not God’s providing, but human dividing!  When we pray for our daily bread, we are asking not only for what we need as individuals but for everything that is needed by each person in this community.  And so, if I’m busy piling up more than I need, I am depriving somebody else of what they need.

    Secondly, where is your heart?  Is your heart constantly concerned about your earthly treasures and possessions?  Are you worried about things getting stolen or ruined?  Do you buy all the insurance you can get, just in case?  Or is your heart set on God?  In other words, do you give thanks for receiving your daily bread?  Do you give something to others whenever you realize that you have extra?  Do you trust that God will continue to provide all that is needed?

    These are not necessarily easy questions to answer, but we cannot ignore them as followers of Jesus.  Let us then continue to pray as Jesus taught, trusting that we come in prayer to the one who already knows what we need before we ask.  Let us come, praying together with others who are God’s children for daily bread and for forgiveness and salvation.  Let us come, seeking both God’s will and God’s kingdom here on this earth, and ready to place our hearts under God’s reign.  For the kingdom, the power and the glory do belong to God – now and forever.  Amen.

Epiphany 4 (NL 1)                                Matthew 6:7-21
February 1, 2015
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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