February 5, 2023 Communion St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
First Lesson: Psalm 112:1-9a
1 Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are steady; they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
Second Lesson: Matthew 5:13-20
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Last week a member came into church expressing a general anxiety about life. Another person chimed in before worship with a similar sentiment. I have wondered all week about the source. I think three years of trying to avoid COVID is anxiety producing. Not being as social and supported as we have been most of our lives it takes its toll. The political and financial circumstances can set one’s nerves on edge. I thought well maybe I need to preach a sermon on anxiety. I think you know by now I don’t usually start with a topic when it comes to preaching. I let God’s inspiration speak to me through the passage and be led from there. So, I was surprised when the passage this week lent itself to the idea of anxiety and a couple ideas of how to respond.
Before we dig into that, I want you to close your eyes and think of a time you were anxious. Maybe starting a new job, moving to a new city, struggling with a new life problem. Do you have a moment when anxiety consumed you? Maybe you were plagued with sleepless nights, shortness of breath, or unending worry on that mental hamster wheel that you wish you could just find the exit ramp. How did you respond to this feeling? Do you wish you had more tools in your tool kit to handle this kind of stress? I want us to look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to consider our anxiety.
Jesus ends this section of his sermon with an anxiety inducing statement: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (v. 20). First off what does he mean by righteousness? Do your actions show forth God’s justice? Are you moving through the world with integrity and God’s purpose? It would be like me saying unless you were the most righteous person in our church you would never enter heaven. Let’s be clear, I am not saying that. God’s grace and the abundance of God’s love would preclude that notion. Yet here Jesus is saying this statement to his disciples. Why? Jesus is setting clear expectations about what it will be like to be his disciples. One commentator writes, “Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is no easy feat. There is an expectation for a certain excellence in faith, a requested resilience in belief, a mandate for decidedly determined disciples that very well might trouble the faint in heart” (Working Preacher, Karoline Lewis). Anxiety anyone?
Of course, Jesus does not say this to create anxiety. But like most things we worry about, anxiety is a byproduct not the desired product. I remember the time during my divorce when a therapist said I was anxious. I was in complete denial. Me, no I am not an anxious person. But he gently showed me how my anxiety was affecting my life. Admitting my anxiety, was quite freeing and empowering so I could respond rather than deny it’s existence.
Anxiety often manifests because of fear. Fear that I am not good enough, fear I will not do it right, fear others will think poorly of me. But one of the best ways I know about thinking about fear is the acronym- FEAR False Evidence As Real. Fear, false evidence as real. Fear is based on false assumptions, which we worry over. Our anxiety makes situations bigger than they need to be, or things that we worry about are actually false, just our minds working overtime.
So what does Jesus say about how to handle these stressful situations? Jesus encourages us to be the salt of the earth, Light to the world and to lean into the law and prophets. Each one of those helps us move through our anxiety in encouraging ways. Jesus is calling us to be our authentic selves, to shine in the world rather than hide, and to trust in God.
We deal with anxiety by being our authentic selves. “You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus said. Salt is used for flavoring and preserving food. But it also can be used for cleaning a drain, healing a bee sting, getting the smell out of your shoes. Jesus is saying to be your authentic self, embrace your saltiness and share it with the world. Because if you are not you, who will be? If you are not your salty and tasty self, you are not being your authentic self.
Salt is a way of describing your true self. Here is a scene from the book I’m reading: “You remember my grandma Lydia, don’t you? Your great-grandmother? I nodded. “Back in her prime, Lydia Popper was a force to be reckoned with. Got her salt from her grandmother, she always used to say” (Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, p. 119). She got her character, her strength, her salt, from her grandmother. You are the salt of the earth, let your saltiness give you courage, embracing who you truly are!
You are the light of the world. Here Jesus is encouraging us to share our gifts and let them shine for the world to see. So, if you are a singer, then sing with gusto. If you are a dancer, then dance your heart out. But if you worry about how you sound when you sing, or how you look when you dance, you limit who you are and get trapped by anxiety. Jesus calls this hiding our light under a bushel. One commentator writes, “The “bushel” Jesus mentions here is not a unit of measurement as (we) may assume. Rather, Jesus refers to a vessel big enough to cover a lamp. He describes a light not snuffed out but covered up. The light is not extinguished. It is rendered ineffective (Working Preacher, Amy Oden). Anxiety renders our light ineffective. Anxiety is the bushel. Bushels can only block out the light when we put them there. How many times have we become paralyzed by fear? When have you hid your light under a bushel? The bushel is our way of self-limiting, of telling ourselves we can’t, when we can, and God wants us to shine our light. Once we can deal with our bushel of anxiety covering up our light, then we get to share our light like a city shining on a hill. We get to let our light so shine that it shines a light on God’s love and our purpose is in the fullness of God’s light.
You are the salt of the earth, be your authentic self.
You are the light of the world, don’t let anxiety be the bushel that hides your light from the world.
Finally, Jesus reminds us to lean into the law and the prophets. These teachings from the ten commandments to the promises of God’s love and Jesus’ abundant forgiveness all help us to trust in God. To have confidence in the God who provides water in the desert, freedom from slavery, and hope in the life to come. The law and the prophets reassure us when we are in a place of anxiety. There is comfort in knowing God’s word is never changing and it points to a God who truly cares for us in our anxious times. We are to invite God to hold us in our scared moments and love us more when we feel like the world is too big.
In closing I want to share a prayer from Francis de Sales He was a bishop in Geneva during the reformation, certainly a time of anxiety.
“Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;
rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow; the same understanding Father who cares for you today will take care of you then and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering or will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations” (Be at Peace). Amen.
