In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase. Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze.
It means no worries for the rest of your days.
It's our problem-free philosophy: Hakuna Matata!
Sixteen years ago, most of the world learned these little Swahili words as Disney’s Timon and Pumbaa taught young Simba to get by in life. You just have to choose to sit back and relax, and decide not to let things bother you. Take it easy. Don’t fret.
But notice how the pressure is laid on you to relax and be free from worry. Like the phrase, “Let go and let God.” It has a nice sentiment. And those who say it mean well. But it assumes that we even have the ability to let go to begin with. Actually, we do not. Our fallen nature has tendencies to worry and feel overwhelmed, consumed, and burdened. Sin has you backed into a corner, and helpless, unable to let go.
Yet Christ comes as your Champion. He frees you from the burdens that weigh down on you. He lifts you out of the tight spots and sets you free from the corners the devil has backed you into. You don’t even have to “let go” to begin with! He takes care of it all, freeing you from all the baggage you were holding on to. No pressure of “letting” about it. Out of His boundless love, He rescues you from it all and places you into a new position of “no worries.”
So now that you are a baptized Christian, does that mean you will never worry again? Or that somehow your faith is inferior if you do? Hmm…will Liam never worry? I think not. There is worry for almost every Lutheran school, that there will be enough funding to provide for salaries, utilities, and supplies for the children to be educated and their faith nurtured. There is worry about unemployment benefits running out. There is worry for the cousin or spouse or friend serving in the military. There is worry for the parents of a baby born 12 weeks early. There is worry over the crumbling of a friend’s marriage. There is worry that you cannot provide for a larger family, and so you artificially limit the number of children in your household. There is worry for the 90-some year old spouse in the nursing facility. There is worry for the grandmother whose Alzheimer’s is progressing.
The devil, the world, and your sinful self are piling the worry on you. If you, in some twisted way, enjoy the worry and find satisfaction in uncertainty, you set yourself against the Lord. If you say, “I can handle this, I don’t need anyone else, even God,” you are settling into that worry. If you take the worry further into disbelief, you defy God. Repent of opposing the Lord in your worry.
Yet, just like Liam, as His baptized children you are loved and cared for. Our Father reaches out to you in love through His Son, and places the burden of your yoke on Him. So don’t be afraid that as you get bogged down with that worry, God is condemning you.
No! He is not condemning you. He is reaching out to you, His dear child baptized into Christ! He is pouring out His comfort, giving you godly assurance of His love and forgiveness and strength. He is supporting and sustaining you in the face of these stressors.
As much as the devil tries to pile fears and stresses on you and torment and annoy you, he cannot win. “O little flock, fear not the foe who madly seeks your overthrow; Dread not his rage and power. And though your courage sometimes faints, His seeming triumph o’er God’s saints Lasts but a little hour.” Yes, the devil tries his worst, but he cannot overcome Christ.
Jesus says: “No worries!” as He fends off the devil for you. And when He says, “No worries,” He is not telling you that you have to do something or decide something. He is giving you the ultimate in reassuring comfort. He is soothing you with His healing words, blessing you with His presence, His care, and His Word. He is giving you a calming peace, encouraging you and assuring you that He is taking care of everything.
“No worries!” You are baptized into Christ, and are His child. Washed from worry and cleansed from concerns, you are forgiven, rescued, and saved!
“No worries!” You are being forgiven even now, as you have His sweet Gospel placed into your ears through Holy Absolution and His preaching. He fills you with His amazing life-giving Word.
“No worries!” He is about to fill the worry in your belly with His Bread of Life and cup of salvation. Jesus spreads His feast before you and pours into your cup that overflows, and you are given the peace of the Lord.
No matter what you are facing or enduring, today our dear Lord Jesus embraces you with His Gospel and declares: “No worries.” Amen.
2 comments:
Nice sermon. I thought, "Yeah, I can see Rich preaching that."
So, do you preach from this as a Manuscript, or is this more of an "outline"? It would only take me about 5 minutes to read that. Of course, if my sermons were that short, my people would love it.
Thanks.
I do preach from the manuscript. I have slowed down in my delivery from my earlier years in preaching. (Boy, does that statement make me sound older!)
But, bear in mind that I am also preaching a little shorter for people in our NON-air conditioned church to be able to concentrate, and be done before any heat strokes. :-)
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