March 24, 2020
Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve begun to see threads about what we’ll do next… will all this change our society; how will we do church, can this change our society?
And I don’t want to say that those aren’t important questions. They are. At the same time, I can’t help but think we have other questions, most of us, that we’re more focused on each day.
Should I go to the grocery store for food today? Do I need to wear a mask? Who is giving out the best information? And for our folks in Florida. . . should I stay or should I go home?
Jesus is telling his friends, in this story, to do the stuff that has to be done first, first. He’s saying that worrying – not taking stock of reality and being careful – but worrying does no good.
As to who to listen to – it looks to me as though the people we should be paying the closest attention to are our Governors… Governor Baker in Massachusetts, Governor Raimondo in Rhode Island, and I’ll throw in Governor Cuomo in New York. Governors Baker and Raimondo give us the best and most reliable news of what’s going on in our area.
Governor Cuomo gives us the sermon for the day. He is a remarkable speaker; I find his daily briefings to almost be sermons on the importance of self-sacrifice, the value of community, and our hope for the future. Today, he was saying that we are doing all this – staying home, closing stores and businesses to protect the most vulnerable among us. He said that each one of us matters; we are all important. What we are doing is hard. We don’t know what we, as individuals, will face tomorrow. But, he says, together we will make it to the other side of this.
God bless those leaders who will help us make it to the other side!
Don’t forget to send in your offering. Nancy slept well last night, but we want to keep that going!! Mail your offering to the church at 5 Gibbs Avenue, Wareham. Thanks
Today’s Prayer List:
- Doctors, nurses, all medical personnel, as they struggle to keep up with the endless flow of patients.
- People who are worried, who don’t know whether to come or go, who aren’t sure what the best choice is for them to be safe today or tomorrow.
- Those who were thrown out of work, who wait for unemployment, worry about money for mortgage, rent, or food
- Donald Hall – ill at Tobey Hospital. Donald can have phone calls; he’s in room 225, and he’d love to have cards.
To add a concern to the daily list, email me at pastorchild02914@gmail.com
Blessings always,
Pastor Virginia
To Believe is to Care. . . To Care is to Do 