Master Jesus vs. Master Money and Master Worry
Our Jesus who says, you cannot serve God and money…
And He also says, “Do not worry…Do not be anxious.”
Begins today’s teaching with this truth: No one can serve two masters…
There is hardly a greater gift in this life than the gift of good people who have authority over you. Good masters, so to say.
Good parents who love and care for you.
Good bosses who help you and others be better.
Good teachers who want you to learn.
Good government that rewards the good and punishes the evil and is just to all.
Good pastors, older men and women in the family and the church and the workplace.
And there is hardly anything that makes your life harder than when those in authority over you are cruel,
when they are harsh with you,
when they play favorites and it is obvious that you are not their favorite,
when their disciplines are unjustly painful and the rewards are non-existent –
when they are never pleased with you,
perhaps in essence, when they want you to live a life of being afraid of them.
Some of you have jobs like this and/or know others who do.
Some of you know what it is to live in a community like this.
Worst of all is a live in a home like this, when the ones in authority are cruel.
It is a hard life to live under authority by one who abuses that authority.
It is a hard life to serve a cruel master.
Jesus’ full teaching today has us considering two especially cruel masters. One is Master Money and the other is Master Worry or Master Anxiety.
When Master Money is ruling over you, his cruel voice is constantly yelling:
“You can’t be happy. You don’t have enough of me.”
“You can’t be generous because you won’t have enough for you.”
Jesus is constantly talking about money because He knows how much money talks to you.
He knows how often our sin-filled, worry-filled, doubt-filled, greed-filled selfish flesh puts a voice to this false, cruel master of money.
Master Anxiety is also a cruel master.
And our sinful flesh and the devil constantly hear voices that ask:
“Am I and my family going to be ok?”
or “Can you believe they said that or did that?”
Or, “Can you believe I said that or did that? What are they going to think about you? What are you going to think about them” and replays what they said or did or you said or did until you are worried sick or worried mad.
When Master Money or Master Worry are ruling over us, we live a life of never being pleased with our life or others in it,
with never being sure if we are pleasing enough or have enough,
we live a life fear.
Luther says this text for today is meant to ward off the cruel masters of money and the cruel masters of anxiety from overcoming you – a reminder that God is your master, that He has all authority in heaven and earthy, and that these commands and promises in this text protect your heart from these other harsh masters.
Your Heavenly Father says, O you of little faith – Do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear.” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, 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 added to you.
Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
No one can serve two masters. If this text is to remind you that God is your master, then the whole of the Bible is also a reminder of who that Master is, who God is.
That He is good to us.
That there is no better news than that we have one over us and is over all who is good to us and loves us and is kind and gracious to us,
who isn’t harsh,
who doesn’t play favorites,
whose disciplines are meant for our good and whose rewards are far beyond anything we deserve.
For we have a master who willingly took on the form of a servant –
He came among us not to be served, but to serve and to take on the harshness of our sin and give His life as a ransom for many.
Our Master Jesus who said, “Do not worry about what you will put on your body,” took on a body, was stripped of His clothes on His cross, so that He could cover your shame with His blood and righteousness.
He who said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” clothes you with His righteousness – puts His righteousness on you.
You have put on Christ (Gal 3:27). You have been and are being clothed with the power from on high – the Holy Spirit – Jesus promises you at the end of Luke.
Our Master promises your eternal soul will have an eternal, imperishable, immortal body in the resurrection.
Do not worry about your body, what you will put on, you who are clothed with Christ.
Our Master who said, “Do not worry what you will eat,” ate with His disciples that Last Supper with full knowledge that on that night He would be betrayed,
so that you would not have to worry in your little faith about what God thinks of you or what your eternal fate it.
He is your Heavenly Father. You are His child. He tells you to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness and He is near you today to be sought and give you His Kingdom and His righteousness.
Our Master who said, “Do not worry about what you will drink,” drank the wrath of God we deserve so that He might fill you with His Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
– today with Spirit filled Words and this
– this Spirit filled, life-giving, life-renewing, life-filling, life-guiding, life-sustaining Spirit filled drink.
So, if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)
Not worrying. Not serving two masters. Loving only one master, our Heavenly Father. Being devoted to only one Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Serving only one Master, the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life.
How do we do that? You do what He says.
You do not have a cruel master. He is pleased with you because of Christ – so don’t grow weary in doing the Christ pleasing things you are doing.
You please Him when you begin to forgive, because He told you to forgive.
You please Him when you begin bear one another’s burdens, for in that you fulfill the Law of Christ.
You please Him when you pray and when you come to church because He told you to pray and come to Church.
And you please Him when you honor father and mother, love your husband or wife, encourage your children in the fear of the Lord, cook and clean for your family, work hard at your job, listen to your friend, lead a sexually pure and decent life, and give money to church, because He says to do these things.
We have only One Master – and we believe we have His righteousness, that we are pleasing to Him for the sake of Christ,
that we have nothing to worry about – because our Heavenly Father know we need them and we are His children,
and that we who are called to seek Him, have Him near, here and everywhere, now and forever.