Christ Lutheran Church. Cleveland, Ohio. Pentecost 9. 8/10/25. by: Rev. Lynn Podoll. Luke 12:22-34
“Don’t worry about it.” “DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT!” That phrase can mean a lot of different things, depending on who is saying it, the situation, the tone with which it is said, and a lot of other factors. It can be a way of deflecting attention from something you would like to avoid talking about. It might be a way of changing the subject.
We all can agree that there are plenty of things in our worlds that are worrisome. There are all kinds of troubles. There is plenty to worry about. My mom worried a lot, and if she didn’t have anything to worry about, she’d be worried.
So along comes Jesus in today’s Gospel reading, saying to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or about your body, what you will put on.” (Luke 12:22) And later, “And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.” (12:29) “But teacher,” a Sunday School boy asked, “my Daddy and Mommy have to go to work, so we can buy food, so I can eat, don’t they?” The teacher wisely replied, “Yes, Eddie, that’s true, but there is a difference between planning and worrying.” Eddie said, “Oh, yeah, I guess there is.”
A closer look behind the words “do not seek…,” (v.29) show us that, yes, physical needs are important, but they should not preoccupy us. And worry is worthless waste.
Jesus begins these statements with the word, “Therefore….” That word always signals a connection with what went before, which, in this case, is last week’s Gospel reading. That is the story of the rich farmer who had a bumper crop and nowhere to store it and made some foolish plans. That text ends with Jesus’ words, “So it is with one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (12:21) It is those who are rich toward God who are called on to “not be anxious…”
When someone says, “Don’t worry about it,” it may be because they do not understand. But Jesus makes a point of saying that for the believer, the opposite is true: “…your Father knows that you need them.” (v. 30) We first note that we are not dealing here with some vague, distant deity; it is the Father Jesus is talking about, and the Father understands. He not only understands us, he responds accordingly. He also understands that we do worry; for better or worse, that is part of our reality.
Without the words “…your Father knows that you need them,” much of this passage would just be moralism – true, but useless and ineffective, since by nature we do the opposite of what Jesus has commanded here.
In another scenario, if someone says “Don’t worry about it,” we may think that the person just doesn’t care about us, especially if it is said as the person is walking away. We may get the impression that he or she just doesn’t want to deal with the matter that concerns us so deeply. It is easy for someone to say that who doesn’t have any “skin in the game,” as they say.
When we are dealing with the Father, though, we know that he understands and cares about us. He is the head of our spiritual family. Even more so than a human father, he knows our needs better than we do. Jesus speaks of how God takes care of the ravens and then adds, “Of how much more value are you than birds!” (12:24) The Father does not walk away from his children and our worries. Rather he walks into our lives and our worries in the person of his Son. If others walk away, God in Christ walks toward us. He sent his Son into our world for us. He does have “skin in the game” in the person of the incarnate Son of God.
Besides that, what have we ever gained from worry and anxiety? Well, we might have gotten an ulcer or some other manifestation that our body’s systems are out of whack. Jesus asks, can worrying add a single hour to your span of life? We all have to agree that nothing good ever came out of worrying, no matter how much of it we have done. But we still do it.
Instead of worrying, Jesus says, seek the Father’s kingdom. (v. 31) As you know our Lord talked about the Kingdom a lot throughout his ministry. In fact, in Mark’s Gospel, his first recorded words are, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) And exactly what is that kingdom of God that we are to seek? There may be a lot of ways of thinking about it. But it amounts to this: God’s kingdom is those places, times and ways that God rules over his people’s hearts and minds and lives.
This kingdom involves a community of faith. Jesus does not invite us to just seek a kingdom of me. God’s kingdom consists of all believers in Jesus, present, past, and even future. It is never just an individual thing. I’m talking about that heretical notion that “my faith is just about Jesus and me.” When we are called into the kingdom, when we are called to follow Jesus, we are always called into community. This kingdom is composed of the community of faith, the communion of saints, the people of God gathered around Word and Sacrament. This is where God gives us his greatest gifts, “the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.” (Small Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar, question 3) All of God’s other gifts pale in comparison. And yet, how much do we think and even worry about those other gifts? Jesus calls his disciples and us to shift our focus away from the things of this world to the glorious riches he has in store for the Father’s beloved children.
And if we have any doubt about what God desires for us, Jesus adds, “Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (12:32)
“Seek his kingdom,” Jesus says. But at the same time it is not our seeking that finds the kingdom of God. No, “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He brings us to his kingdom. He brings his kingdom to us. And that happens through the work and life and sacrifice of Jesus our Lord. And the Holy Spirit presents it to us in the great mysteries of Confession and Absolution, Baptism, Holy Communion, and in the sharing of his Good News with one another through the Word and through words.
God has planned this kingdom from eternity, and he has planned that you should be part of it. As St. Paul reminds us at the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians: “…he chose us in him,” that is, in Christ, “before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” (Ephesians 1:4) And in Christ, we are!
Jesus then issues a radical call to use our resources not only for ourselves, but also to help other people. That, he says, is how we “provide (our)selves with money bags that do not grow old with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” (12:33) How does a person keep money and possessions from dominating his life, placing a strangle-hold on his soul? Someone pointed out a long time ago that it is really pretty simple: you give it away. Is this a radical solution? Yes, but it works, because it allows us to focus on “the good portion,” that Mary of Bethany chose when she sat at the feet of Jesus. (Luke 10:41) In the words of Jesus, “Sell your possessions and give to the needy.” (12:33) And pray for God’s wisdom in that!
Jesus concludes this section with an observation so obvious that we can’t refute it, and yet it is a “sin that clings so closely” (Hebrews 12:1). How do you determine what is most important to people? Look at what they spend the most money on. Look at what they spend their time on. Listen to what they talk about the most. That may well tell you what their idol is. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (12:34) I suspect if we could all read each others’ thoughts it would be very clear what our idols are, and that would be embarrassing!
But our Father’s care for us is so deep, so profound, so beyond imagining, that he still loves his children – us – sinners all — that the shed blood of his Son washes us clean from our sinful thoughts, our idols, and, yes, even our sin of worry. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen