Bible Text:

“And why do you worry…”               (Matthew 6:28)                                      

This past week was an uncertain week for many of us. All week long we heard news about “unspecified but credible” threats of terrorist attacks. Out there somewhere, unseen, was an unknown and unnamed enemy.

 However, we were told, go ahead and party. Do your thing. Fire up the grill. Watch the fireworks. The FBI, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the President all said essentially the same thing. Go ahead and enjoy the 4^th of July, but be careful, because out there lurking in the shadows, someone, or some terrorist group, is waiting to do you in.

 Elaine and I recently saw the film, “The Sum of All Fears,” starring Morgan Freeman and Ben Affleck. The premise of the film is that the nuclear core from an old bomb has been found in the Middle Eastern desert. Terrorists are planning to use the core to make a strike on America. Despite every caution and every protection, the strike takes place. “The Sum of All Fears” becomes a reality.

 What are we supposed to do with this kind of news? What are we supposed to do with daily or periodic threats? Seasonal threats? Holiday threats? This is not like Pearl Harbor in 1941, as devastating and frightening as that was. This is not even like the intercontinental ballistic missile threats of the Cold War. This is different. This is a new kind of evil and one very hard to articulate and understand. 

A clergy colleague tells about a family from New York City who came west to visit relatives whom they had not seen in years. While they were there the conversation got around to all the crime and corruption in New York City and how dangerous it is to live there. “How can you stand living there all the time?” one of the relatives asked. “Aren’t you afraid of being mugged or robbed or maybe even murdered?” 

The New Yorker responded, “Oh no, it’s not that bad. You get used to it. It’s probably not much worse than you have right here in your city.”

 The other fellow responded, “Oh, I doubt that. We’ve got some crime here, but nothing like you folks have there in New York.” The conversation went back and forth like that for a few minutes and then the West Coast person asked, “Say, by the way, what is it you do in New York City anyway?”

 Came the response, “Well, actually, I’m a tailgunner on a bread truck.”

 The kind of evil we face today is strange, twisted and almost incomprehensible. And the spillover effect is very clear. The stock market is in a deep funk, experiencing constant jitters. Personal debt is on the increase as people spend more money recklessly, perhaps believing that there is not any assurance of a strong future. Charitable giving is flat for the first time in a long time. It’s not necessarily down; it’s just flat. Airlines are in trouble. People are afraid to fly. I saw a reprise of a cartoon from years ago where two boys are sitting on the curb and one says to the other, “What are you going to be if you grow up?”

 What are we supposed to do with this kind of news? Are we to advocate the creation of a massive security agency? Consolidate the CIA and the FBI and the Department of Defense? Should we spend huge sums of money on high-tech security at our airports and national monuments? Should we keep fighter aircraft in the air over our major cities at all times? Will these things save us or reduce the stress of worry?

 In ancient China the people wanted security against the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the Great Wall. It was so high they believed no one could climb over it. They also thought nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the Wall’s existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall, or climb over it. Each time, they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. 

What are we supposed to do with the terrorist threats? Many of you are familiar with the glib wisdom of the character named Alfred E. Neuman, from “Mad” magazine. Neuman has some interesting quotes. He says, “People go on vacation to forget things, and when they open their bag they remember what they forgot.” Another of his famous quotes is “In retrospect it becomes clear that hindsight is definitely overrated.” Perhaps the most famous quote from “Mad” magazine is Alfred Neuman’s question, “What? Me worry?” 

However, that is certainly glib counsel. Where does faith enter the picture? Many evenings I watch Brian Williams on CNBC at 10:00 to catch up on the news. Periodically he has a Roman Catholic priest and a Jewish rabbi in a segment which he calls “Drawing on Faith.” He asks questions about what to do in the face of terrorism. Their responses, in my judgment, are pretty vague. There is not much depth.

 What is a follower of Jesus supposed to do? Jesus put it very simply: “Do not worry about tomorrow.” Or, putting it in the form of a Master-full Question, “Why do you worry about tomorrow?”

 What does Jesus mean? Should we not be careful? Of course we should. Should we relinquish some freedoms we now enjoy? Perhaps that will be necessary. Should we be aware of the news? Yes, I think we should. “Head in the sand” is not a solution. Being oblivious is not a virtue.

 But should we worry? Jesus says “no.” Why do you worry about tomorrow? This is not a glib or simplistic teaching. There’s some wonderful news here. Refresh your memory with me regarding that news.

 NO EVIL CAN OVERCOME GOD’S GOOD 

First, no evil can finally overcome God’s good. We are not just one nation under God; we are one world under God. God is in charge. The song has it right. God’s got the whole world in His hands.

 Paul says it best for me. In Romans 8, Paul writes, “Nothing in all creation can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That is to say, nothing in the created order can erase or destroy God’s will for good.

 Is this basic stuff? Yes. But it’s important to remember.

 IN LIFE AND IN DEATH

 Secondly, the message is that God is with us in life and in death. Do you understand that? Can you live that news? There’s a wonderful story about the late Cardinal Cushing of Boston who was called to the side of a man who had collapsed on the floor of a department store. The cardinal, then a priest, asked the man if he believed in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The man opened his eyes and said to the people standing around, “Here I am dying, and this man is asking me riddles.”

The matter is not a riddle. God is with us at every moment. A Christian believes that totally. Are you battling life-threatening illness? God is present. Are you going through the pain of a divorce? God is present. Are you experiencing physical decline? God is present. Are you dealing with terrorist evil? God is present. God is with us in life and in death.

 Remember the picture from last September 11^th drawn by an 11 or 12 year old child? I think the child was a son of a United Methodist minister. It shows the Twin Towers in flames and the arms of Jesus reaching out to those who are perishing in the flames.

 There’s a great story out of Columbine High School in Colorado this past month. The graduating class from Columbine this year were freshmen in April of 1999 when tragedy struck. They were the last class at Columbine to witness what happened that day. They survived and they endured. They went on with their lives. They did their homework and went to Homecoming. They took their finals and spent time with friends. They went to proms and they went to parties. But their class motto speaks a great truth about life:

 We enjoy warmth because we have been in the cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. We can experience joy because we have known sorrow.[i]

 What an incredible statement of hope and promise from our youth. Jesus says to every one of us, “I am warmth in the cold, I am light in the darkness, I am joy in the sorrow, I am life, even in death.”

DO AS MUCH GOOD AS WE CAN 

Let me add one more thing from Jesus’ teaching as well. We use our God-given energy to do as much good as we can for as long as we can.  

The Christian Century this past week called for a new Marshall Plan in relation to the battle against terrorism. After World War II, the United States turned victory into opportunity for relief of countries devastated by the war. That plan was known as the Marshall Plan. 

Instead of worry, let us spend our energy to help the starving and battered world. It’s the best way to fight terrorism: do a lot of good. And when you’re doing, there’s little time for worry. 

Again, Paul says it well in that same chapter in Romans 12. He says, “Do good to your enemy. Love those who hate you. By so doing, you will heap burning coals on their heads.”

 For us as a church community that means mobilizing our tremendous energy for good… doing good so that those battered and beaten by the world have hope and light. 

That’s why our youth were at Allegheny Vacation Bible School this past week. That’s why they’ll be going to a work camp in West Virginia this coming August. That’s why we have an emphasis here upon hands-on missions.

 A retiring clergy colleague wrote in the final pastor’s column to his church a few weeks ago these words: “If the Christian faith is anything, it is a sense of promise. The future is an open invitation to become what we never thought we could be. It is an excitement which believes that there are horizons yet to be explored.”[ii] 

Do as much good as you can for as long as you can.

 A Native American boy was talking to his grandfather. “What do you think about the world situation?” he asked. The grandfather replied, “I feel like two wolves are fighting in my heart. One is full of anger and hatred; the other is full of love, forgiveness and peace.” 

“Which one will win?” asked the boy. 

To which the grandfather replied, “The one I feed.” 

It’s hard to be afraid when we are bent on doing good in Jesus’ name. It’s hard to be afraid when we are spending energy for good. We overcome evil with good. That is God’s plan, God’s design, and God’s intent in those who follow Jesus.

 Why do you worry about tomorrow? The answer to that question lies in some fundamental, enduring principles.

·         No evil can overcome God’s good

·         You and I are held in God’s hand at all times

·         Doing good focuses upon the future because love casts out fear.

 The hymn we are now going to sing is a kind of Christian Independence Day hymn for me. I think it’s especially appropriate this year. It is especially appropriate in America right now. Listen to the words.

    What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

   What a blessedness, what a peace is mine.

   Oh how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

   Oh how bright the path grows from day to day.

    What have I to dread, what have I to fear,

   I have blessed peace with my Lord so near.

      Leaning on the everlasting arms.

 We come today as a people who are learning to lean upon the everlasting arms. And in learning to lean, we put fear to rest.