Readings: 2 Chronicles 24:17-25; Psalm 89; Matthew 6:24-34
Yesterday, we read the story of how Joash eventually became the king of Judah and how Athaliah was deposed. Joash became a king through the help of his sister Jehosheba, who hid and nursed him and Jehoiada the priest who housed him secretly, who anointed and proclaimed him king at the right time.
After the death of Jehoiada the priest, Joash became afraid of his enemies. He stopped trusting God, started taking advice from the idolatrous princes of Judah and then he joined them in worshipping strange gods. God sent prophets to warn him but he didn’t listen. He even commanded the stoning of Zechariah the prophet, the son of Jehoiada whom God used to preserve his life and who helped him to the throne.
Joash was guilty of at least three crimes – ingratitude, refusing to trust God and obstinacy in sin. The consequence was that he was defeated by the Aramean army. He was wounded in the battle, his princes were executed and he himself was eventually slain by his own officers and denied a royal burial.
One of the worst sins against God is lack of trust because it attacks His integrity. I don’t think any of us would feel good to be told that he/she is not trustworthy. When we refuse to trust God and we begin to be afraid and worried about everything in life, we question the integrity of our God.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us to trust God and to not worry about many of the things we worry about in life – our clothing, food, provision, protection, our future etc.
The Greek word used is μεριμνᾶτε (merimnate), which means to be over-anxious, to make one’s mind restless. Jesus is not saying that we should be careless about these things – he said we should not be over-anxious. Why? Because God is our Father. He cares for us and we are important to Him. He knows our needs and He will not refuse us what we need when we need it. He is more than sufficient for us and He has proved this to us not just in His care for nature but in our lives many times.
If there is anything we should be passionate about it is His kingdom. When Jesus says we should seek ( ζητεῖτε -zēteite, which means to earnestly search for, passionately desire) His kingdom, He doesn’t only mean we should seek to go to heaven, but that we should also seek to allow God to reign in our heart, to seek the reign of God in us. When God reigns in us, His kingdom is present in us, and when His kingdom is in us, we lack nothing because we have everything (God is everything). We only desire His will, we only long to praise Him because that is what heaven is about. It is where God reigns, where there is no sense of need, no lack, and where God is praised and His will is done.
Lord, I give you all my worries and I choose to trust you. Just teach me to seek and desire your reign in my heart. Let your kingdom come O Lord, let it come.
Sermon preached by Rev Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on June 18, 2022