pent17mat6-19toend_20sep2015final

1

A sermon preached by Mr Antony Weiss The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – The First Evensong of the Feast of St Matthew,

Apostle, Evangelist and Martyr Christ Church St Laurence – Sunday 20th September, 2015

Readings: Psalm 34, Proverbs 3.3-18, Matthew 6: 19-34 Treasures in Heaven; Trust in God Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

(Ps 19:14 RSV). AMEN. From the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew; Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matt 6:19, 21 RSV) AND Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on… (Matt 6:25 RSV) I am not sure what stands out for you as your most memorable moments or episodes in Fawlty Towers.1 Do you remember the episode ‘The Psychiatrist’? In it two doctors arrive at the hotel, and Basil becomes concerned when he realises one is a psychiatrist. Meanwhile, Sybil flirts with a young male guest named Mr Johnson who is on the phone when she prattles on about her mother’s worries and fears. Johnson is totally disengaged from Sybil’s monologue: My mother … on the other hand … is a little bit of a trial really… you know, it’s all right when they have the life force, but mother, well, she’s got more of the death force really… she’s a worrier… She has these, well, morbid fears they are, really … vans is one … rats, doorknobs, birds, heights, open spaces … confined spaces, it’s very difficult getting the space right for her really, you know … Footballs, bicycles, cows … and she’s always on about men following her… I don’t know what she thinks they’re going to do to her … vomit on her, Basil says…

1

‘Fawlty Towers Complete Collection Remastered (DVD)’, BBC Shop, Cited 19 Sep. 2015, Online: http://www.bbcshop.com.au/tv-series/fawlty-towers-complete-collection-remastered-dvd/invt/au010629#nocache.

2

Sadly though, anxiety prevails. Research reveals that 12.5 per cent of the Canadian population, or one in eight people, will suffer from a specific phobia during his or her lifetime.2 Things are worse in the United Kingdom. More than 16 million of Britons (25% percent of the population) apparently suffer from an anxiety disorder or phobia that affects their lives in some way.3 And what about the Hikikomori? The Hikikomori are Japanese men who lock themselves in their bedrooms for years, creating social and health problem because of their fears of school pressure and failing.4 So often, anxiety is also linked to money and wealth. In an article in Forbes Magazine ‘The Poor Worry About Money. What Do The Rich Worry About?’5 Neale Godfrey reveals that a study found that the main source of stress for most people is money. Surprise surprise. It showed that financial fears took the lead ranking among four out of the top ten fears. These pecuniary worries include; always living paypacket to pay-packet, falling into serious debt, losing one’s job and becoming homeless.

The lesson from Matthew’s Gospel forms part of The Sermon on the Mount. In this evening’s section of the discourse, Jesus instructs his disciples on the true meaning and purpose of life, a life dedicated to God’s will, a life detached from concerns about wealth and ensuing anxieties.

Earlier in Chapter 5 verse 1, we see that Jesus is addressing οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, his disciples, men who are already somehow committed to their discipleship to Jesus. Our Lord intentionally addresses his disciples in the witness of the onlooking crowds in order that they too may be part of his teaching.

Jesus’ exhortation is to lay up treasure in Heaven, not on earth “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...” (vv 19-21). Luke’s equivalent Gospel account is a little more up-front and frank.

Jesus says in Luke 12, “Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Lk 12:33-34) Jesus goes on to say, “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 mammon.” (v 24).

The gospel writer has used the infinitive δουλεύειν, ‘to serve’ which comes from the Greek word for a 2

Paul Luke, The Province January 25, and 2015, ‘Trapped in Fear: The Rise of Phobias, from Spiders to Beards to Zombies’, www.theprovince.com, Cited 19 Sep. 2015, Online: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Trapped+fear+rise+phobias+from+spiders+beards+zombies/10754980/story.htm.

3 ‘Trapped by Web of Phobias’, Mail Online, Cited 19 Sep. 2015, Online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article37000/Trapped-web-phobias.html.

4 North Asia correspondent Matthew Carney, ‘Japan’s Blank Generation Locked Away behind Closed Doors’, Text, ABC News (July 7, 2015), Cited 19 Sep. 2015, Online: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-07/hikikomori-japanese-menlocking-themselves-in-their-bedrooms/6601656.

5 ‘The Poor Worry About Money. What Do The Rich Worry About?’, Forbes, Cited 19 Sep. 2015, Online: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nealegodfrey/2014/10/13/the-poor-worry-about-money-what-do-the-rich-worry-about/.

3

slave, δοῦλος. Hence ‘to serve’ is used here in this context of serving as a slave, not as a paid employee, not with the freewill to pick and choose. If we are going to serve either God or Mammon (Aramaic for wealth or riches) we have to do so as a slave, a δοῦλος. Jesus is saying that a Christian disciple cannot divide his loyalty, that is, one is either a slave to God in Heaven or a slave in total submission to one’s material possessions here on earth “where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.” (v19) Christ makes clear that storing up treasures in earthly possessions is purely temporal and that they will decay or be pilfered. Conversely, treasures packed into heaven will never fade, they will always be safe from the thief’s hands and free from being destroyed by moths or decay.

So how does this tie in to anxiety? Much of our angst comes from our preoccupation with material possessions and consumerism. The final section of this reading tells us that if one makes the right choices, that is, not laying up treasures on earth but in heaven, having a healthy outlook, there is no reason why one should be anxious. It is about trusting and handing our lives over fully to God and believing in Jesus is our only advocate and mediator.

As humanly natural as it is to be anxious Scripture persistently reminds Christians that to be so demonstrates our lack of trust in God who promises that he will graciously care for “all these things” (Matt 6:33), and as St Paul writes in his letter to the Romans “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?” (Rom 8:32) and in the Letter to the Philippians “The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil 4:5-6).

To live life in Christ is to live counter culturally, an evident statement. In Matthew’s Gospel, in teaching the disciples Our Lord is instructing them (and the onlookers and indeed us 2000 years later) to intertwine into their characters unfailing generosity, especially giving to those in need. Jesus is addressing the disciples and all his followers past and present with the intention that to be in Christ meant we must graft generosity onto our hearts and into our deeds.

So what can Christians practically do? Fr John referred today to the Archbishop’s pastoral letter to all the parishes in this See regarding the plight of Syrian refugees. The Most Rev’d Glenn Davies wrote “I am calling upon parishes all across our diocese, not only to pray for these victims of persecution, but to step up and be prepared to do whatever is within their power to provide a warm and generous welcome, coupled with practical assistance, to ensure that those who come to find safety in Australia are afforded the best possible chance to make a new start and benefit as fully as possible from the peace, freedom and opportunity that Australia offers”

4

Each one of us can take further steps, no matter how small to reach out to the marginalised and to deny ourselves so that others may share in some of the prosperity with which we are so blessed. Many hear serve at Cana and other outreach opportunities in this city. What about considering organisations such as Enough Room. There are almost 40,000 asylum seekers currently living in Australia and nearly 7 million spare rooms in Australian homes. Enough Room is a grass roots initiative that aims to connect asylum seekers with Australians who have the space to accommodate them.

So, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” (Prov 3:5-7).

Our Saviour is Christ alone “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) And from this evening’s Psalm 34, “The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.” (Ps 34: 22) Handing our lives, in complete trust, to the Lord alleviates any fears and worries. In Christ alone I pray that each and every one of us can proclaim from Psalm 34 so beautifully chanted this evening, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

+In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

AMEN.