Lectionary Reflections on Matthew 6:24-34<\/em><\/strong> A Dialogue Between You and Jesus <\/strong><\/p>\n Stage Notes: <\/em><\/strong>You are present at the Sermon on the Mount and feel emboldened to interrupt Jesus as he attempts to teach. It goes something like this: <\/em><\/p>\n Jesus: <\/strong>\u201cYou cannot serve God and wealth\u201d (Mt. 6:24b).<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> Why not?<\/p>\n Jesus:<\/strong> \u201cBecause no one can serve two masters. A slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other\u201d (6:24a).<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if I agree with that or not. It seems overstated.<\/p>\n Jesus: <\/strong>\u201cDo not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.\u201d<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> Seriously? Isn\u2019t your advice a little na\u00efve? I do need to plan ahead and know where my next meal is coming from and make sure my family is clothed.<\/p>\n Jesus: <\/strong>\u201cIs not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?\u201d<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> Yes, when you put it that way, but . . .<\/p>\n Jesus: \u201c<\/strong>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?\u201d (6:26)<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> Yes, but . . .<\/p>\n Jesus:<\/strong> \u201cCan any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?\u201d (6:27)<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> No, I guess not, but . . .<\/p>\n Jesus:<\/strong> And why do you worry about clothing?<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> Well, because I need to be appropriately dressed for various occasions and at least try to be somewhat up to date.<\/p>\n Jesus:<\/strong> \u201cConsider 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\u201d (6:29).<\/p>\n You:<\/strong> Why do you keep making these nature analogies? Those are flowers. I\u2019m a person. <\/strong> You: <\/strong>It would be nice to think so, <\/strong>but don\u2019t you think worry serves a useful function sometimes?<\/p>\n Jesus:<\/strong> \u201cTherefore do not worry, saying, \u2018What will we eat?\u2019 or \u2018What will we drink?\u2019 or \u2018What will we wear?'\u201d (6:31)<\/p>\n You: <\/strong>All right. I get that you\u2019re not going to budge on the worry issue. But tell me this: <\/strong>what am I to do with all that mental free time I used to spend worrying?<\/p>\n Jesus: \u201c<\/strong>Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well\u201d <\/strong>(6:33).<\/p>\n Jesus used the wrong questioning technique if he wanted to live a long time. <\/em><\/p>\n Traditional Rhetorical Questions <\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re like me, your favorite kind of question is the rhetorical kind, the one with the obvious answer you don\u2019t have to study for the night before. I call them \u201cduh\u201d questions.<\/p>\n The sages of Proverbs used rhetorical questions to teach the young about the dangers of sexual temptation and the availability of wisdom as a resource to combat it.<\/p>\n
\nFebruary 27, 2011<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nJesus: \u201c<\/strong>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?\u201d (6:30)<\/p>\n