Today’s lectionary gospel
passage touches on several themes (Matt. 6: 24-34). Perhaps the most dominant
theme is worry. It contains phrases like “do not worry about your life, what
you will eat and what you will drink” (25).
It continues with the advice
that God can provide all these things if one seeks after God, with lovely
images of birds and flowers. Yet, I find it a profoundly disturbing passage.
As I am writing this I am
sat in a comfortable chair, I have just eaten my breakfast, I will shortly
shower and then have the luxury of the choice of what clothes to wear. So, I
can read this passage about not worrying about these things lightly.
But that is not the case for
many, many people. I work with a population who often struggle with hunger and
barely adequate clothing.
Here are some figures from 2015
from the Talk Poverty organisation. These figures are for the USA:
Overall Poverty Rate 13.5% (43.1
million people)
This is further broken down,
Children 19.7% (14.5 million
children)
African American 24.1% (10
million people)
Hispanic 21.4% (12.1 million
people)
Native American 26.6%
(700,000 people)
White 9.1% (17.8 million
people)
People with disabilities
28.5% (4.4 million people)
The figures present a dismal
picture. Not only about the number of people living in poverty but about the
racial biases seen therein. If poverty figures are viewed on a global level
they are even higher.
A 2014 Pew Research Centre
survey showed that 70.6% of the population of the U.S. identified themselves as
Christian. I am sure that some of that percentage are also living in poverty.
How must it feel to read,
“do not worry about your life, what you will eat and what you will drink” (25)
if one does not have enough food to give children their breakfast, knowing they
are already hungry. How easy would it be to not worry? I can’t imagine.
Of course, there are many commendable
organisations, often faith-based, which try to alleviate poverty, feed and
clothe hungry and cold people. Many individuals support these out of their own
income. Together, all do a marvelous job ensuring basic needs are met. But it
does not change the stark facts of how many people are in this position. I’m
sure many of them constantly worry about it. I have added all these figures to
raise the awareness of this huge problem in society. I don’t want to simply
resort to trust God and all will be solved. I don’t think that is either
realistic or helpful.
So, what is worry? I read an
article in Pyschology Today to see
the good and bad side of worry,
Worrying is obviously not a pleasant
emotion, but it is actually an essential, normal, and instinctive emotion that
has been hard-wired into humans to help us survive since we rose out of the
primordial muck. We worry about something because we perceive it as a threat to
our existence and worry causes us to focus on it and protect ourselves from
that threat.
The article goes on to say
that unhealthy worry is harmful. One can become obsessed with worry and become
absorbed by it rather than it being an emotion that helps one survive.
I think examples of healthy
worry are all around us. I see it in a colleague whose baby is sick so she
takes it to the hospital, a trip which possibly saves the baby’s life. I see it
when people are worried about the ice on the road so drive cautiously to arrive
home safely.
So back to the gospel
passage. It leaves me with a number of uncomfortable questions.
Is it healthy to worry about
what one eats and drinks?
Is that a normal part of
living, loving and caring?
Is it really showing a lack
of faith and trust if one doesn’t have enough to eat or no coat or shoes?
Is the gospel only for the
middle classes?
I leave the questions as
some food for thought for this week.
(Photo: Ithaca Falls, February 2016)
