Scripture Reflection 2.0: Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gen and I were thinking that it would be fun to take a Sunday Gospel passage and reflect on it. But instead of just writing up a mini homily, we’d throw in a millennial twist and use Web-based media and other nifty resources in our reflecting. So we read through this Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 6:24-34) and tracked down some songs, a TV clip, some quotes and a podcast that seemed to fit. How appropriate that the passage for this first go-round takes on a favorite young adult topic: worrying. And JC reminds us how dumb worrying actually is. Thanks for thinking of us, Vatican.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or 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 in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

The first thing that came to mind for me was this tune “Helplessness Blues” by the band Fleet Foxes. It really captures the “What am I supposed to be doing with my life?” angst that so often characterizes young adulthood.

Parker Palmer calls the attitude that can emerge alongside too much worrying “functional atheism.” The following passage can be found in his fantastic book Let Your Life Speak:

Functional atheism “is the belief that ultimate responsibility for everything rests with me. It is a belief held even among people whose theology affirms a higher power than the human self, people who do not understand themselves as atheists but whose behavior belies their beliefs!

“Functional atheism is an unconscious belief that leads to workaholic behavior, to burn-out, to stressed and strained and broken relationships, to unhealthy priorities. Functional atheism is the unexamined conviction within us that if anything decent is going to happen here, I am the one who needs to make it happen. Functional atheism is the reason why the average group (according to studies) can tolerate only 15 seconds of silence; people believe that if they are not making noise, nothing is happening! Functional atheism is an inner shadow of leaders that leads to dysfunctional behavior on every level of our lives.”

And the late Jesuit Anthony de Mello offers this gem:

“Think of yourself in a concert hall listening to the strains of the sweetest music when you suddenly remember that you forgot to lock your car. You are anxious about the car, you cannot walk out of the hall and you cannot enjoy the music. There you have a perfect image of life as it is lived by most human beings.

For life to those who have the ears to hear is a symphony; but very, very rare indeed is the human who hears the music.”

Lastly on this point, here’s one for the empirically minded. Stress is usually terrible for us, our sciencey friends at RadioLab say.

Jesus/rock band the Decemberists both assure us that the worrying is not exactly worth it. Things will work out. Really. In some convoluted way, with reliance on God, our life’s purpose and meaning are slowly revealed. I love how the Decemberists song “Don’t Carry It All” (introduced to us this weekend on retreat by our dear friend Michael O’Connor) places our relief in the context of community: by bearing each others’ burdens, and letting others help bear ours, Jesus’ hope for peace for us is incarnated.

Hitting on this same theme is a scene from one of the most memorable episodes of “The West Wing.” The younger character in the scene, Josh Lyman, is suffering from PTSD after being shot during an assassination attempt on the president. The White House Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry, who had faced down alcoholism and drug addiction several years earlier, uses a powerful fable to show Josh what close relationships are about.

When anxiety rears its head, may we follow those who know the way out, and see Christ in them. And may we lead the way when it is our turn.