• "But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"
• Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
• September 28, 2003
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

In the gospel today, Jesus gives an exhortation, "Be not therefore anxious saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed." Anxiety in this passage means to be pulled in various directions, to be distracted by the material concerns of life. Jesus gives us something to do instead of being anxious. He says, "and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:24-34).

The first thing to note is that the verb "seek" is in the present tense. It is a call to a continuous activity. Jesus is telling us to live life in a new way, with new goals and new motives. Many people turn to religion for a quick fix. Make me feel good today! Teach me a quick technique that will ease the pain or help me through the current challenge. Faith is often viewed as a sort of emergency procedure, a spiritual glass of Scotch, if you will.

To seek first the kingdom, we must undertake a more thoroughgoing change of priorities and behavior. We must begin to let God's will and commandments become our first priority so that they govern our behavior. For example, as we said last week, we must ask of the work we do, not merely, "How much money will I make?" but, "Is this work that gives glory to God?" And "Is this what God is calling me to do?"

Now, we can only begin to answer questions like, "Is this work that glorifies God?" And, "Is God calling me to do this?" by praying about these things in a consistent way; by reading and reflecting upon the relevant Scriptures; by listening for the answers God may give in various ways; and by listening to the wise counsel of faithful Christians who can direct us and hold us accountable. Such an approach provides no quick fix. Rather, it initiates a conversation with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit that gives us wisdom and behavioral direction only over the course of time.

A passage in Philippians links freedom from anxiety with prayer. St. Paul writes, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (4:6-7).

We talk about what we call, "the life of prayer." By the term, "life of prayer," we mean the disciplined and orderly way we go about the business of worship, prayer and Bible reading. In the tradition of the church, the life of prayer is centered on three distinct avenues of prayer. The life of prayer begins with the Eucharist. The church gathers around the altar of God on the Lord's Day. We gather to renew our Christian identity; to recall the death and resurrection of Jesus; to receive anew the grace of redemption.

The life of prayer flows out from the altar into daily prayer. In the tradition of the church, the fixed forms of daily prayer are called "the daily offices." These come down to us in the Anglican tradition in the forms of daily Morning and Evening Prayer. The heart of the daily office consists of an habitual praying of the Psalms, a cyclical reading of the Bible, canticles of praise and prayers of confession, intercession and thanksgiving. The third pillar of the life of prayer is conversational prayer, in which we talk freely to God in our own words and listen for the voice of God that speaks to our hearts. In these three general categories we find balance between the corporate, the personal and the subjective aspects of prayer.

Through these habits of prayer, we continually offer to God the cares, concerns and anxieties of life. We come to see these cares, concerns and anxieties in the larger context of God's will. We are led to confession and the experience of forgiveness. We are led to new and God-honoring courses of action.

And we are given the grace to trust God for the results in life. God does not want us to worry about how things are going to work out. He wants to be concerned about doing his will and he wants us to trust him for the results. "Seek first the kingdom and all these things shall be added unto you."

Prayer is the foundational work of the Christian life. But it works as an antidote for anxious concern about the material things of life only as we commit ourselves to it over time. Anxious concern about life does not vanish because we try for a day or two to seek the kingdom. Rather, as we commit ourselves to the life of prayer over time, we find that the experience of God's grace, forgiveness and love brings into our lives the peace of God that vanquishes anxiety as a by-product.

Most Christians who do not grow much in faith or who drift away from the faith over time fail on the level of discipline and commitment. They experience seasonal excitement about spiritual things, but they never stick with it long enough to become deeply rooted. They are like seasonal color that appears in the garden for while but then quickly fades. The Christian life aims at something more like the oak tree that slowly grows larger and stronger over time.

We can see this in the Eucharist. Someone coming to the Eucharist looking for one singular mountain top experience may well depart disappointed. But those who come faithfully to the Eucharist over time, with genuine repentance and true faith, will experience real change. The seed planted in baptism grows in gradual but real ways as it is fed with the Word of God and the Bread of Life-just as the oak tree grows gradually as it receives water and sunlight. It is this way with daily prayer and with all spiritual things.

Thus, the exhortation to seek first the kingdom is really an exhortation to live the life of prayer. The challenge is to replace anxious concern, fretting and busy-ness with habits of prayer that draw us into the life of God and lead us to do the things that please him. This involves a reordering of time and priorities. This takes work, but this is the essential work of the Christian life. As Jesus said, "Be not anxious, but seek first the kingdom." And as Paul says, "Be not anxious, but in everything pray...and the peace of God will guard your hearts in Christ Jesus."