“DON’T WORRY, Be Happy SEEK…”

 What is the most clichéd and superficial thing I could stand here and say to you this morning?  I suppose it could be a lot of things, but here is one distinct possibility:  (play on CD a few lines of the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin)

 It was 20 years ago this summer that Bobby McFerrin’s song spent two weeks at the top of the pop charts. This song was anything but trivial.  It won three “Grammies” including Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Performance; the first all a cappella pop song ever to win such esteemed awards. 

 McFerrin took the song title from an expression regularly used in personal correspondence by a renowned Hindu philosopher named Meher Baba, who died in 1969 and who signed his messages with “Don’t worry.  Be Happy!” 

 But long before this 20^th century Hindu philosopher, there was a famous 1^st century Jew who said something very similar, and we see it and hear it in this morning’s gospel from Matthew 6:    

 25 “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat and what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. “ 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.”

 We chuckle a bit when we hear McFerrin’s simple song, that some call a song of denial.  But what is our response to these similar words of Jesus?  Do they make us chuckle - or choke?  Four times in ten verses we hear Jesus say “Don’t worry.”   How many times have you said in the course of everyday conversation, or had it said to you by another, “Don’t worry?”   But how do you do that?  How do you not worry?  I don’t know about you, but I stand convicted by these words of Jesus. Don’t worry?  I do it all of the time. Worry seems to be a part of my DNA and a dysfunctional part of living.  Most of us would love to worry less, but also most of us know that you don’t simply turn worry off like you turn off a light switch. 

 The word for worry in Greek, merimnao, means “to be full of distracting anxiety.”  Worry does not mean terror, sudden fear or intense fright.  The Bible has another word for that - phobeo.  Dozens of times in the Bible we hear the imperative to “fear not”; or “to not be afraid” (phobeo)

 In Exodus, caught between the sea on one side and Pharaoh's advancing army on the other, Moses says to a horrified people, "Do not be afraid!"  

 Caught in a deathly squall in their vulnerable little fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to his terrified disciples walking on the water and he says, "Do not be afraid!"

 These are examples of fear, sudden terror or intense fright - “phobeo.”  But that’s not what Jesus is talking about today. The word used is merimnao; that is to be full of distracting anxiety.   Anxiety is a form of fear for sure, but it is not the same thing as intense terror or sudden fright.  Rather worry is more like background music that can play on day in and day out indefinitely; insidiously controlling; deviously distorting.

 “Do not (be full of distracting anxiety) about your life… says Jesus.

But is it just that easy? We all know too well the consuming power of worry.  Distracting anxiety is like the headache that won’t go away no matter what you do or try.   Distracting anxiety can produce negative results.  Distracting anxiety about material things can lead to selfishness, hording and greed.  Distracting anxiety can produce the bitter fruit of defensiveness, isolation and an unwillingness to take risks and try new things.  Distracting anxiety can makes us less loving, less hopeful, less generous, less compassionate, and destroy one’s peace of mind.  

 How do we turn off the background music of worry?  Can we?  Is it even possible?   We all know only too well the futility of trying hard not to worry. It’s impossible.  But you know, I don’t think it is so much a matter of turning off worry.    I think it is more a matter of turning something else on! 

 Unlike the song, Jesus does not say, “Don’t worry, be happy.” That’s not what he says.   The song comes off as trite and impossible to attain.  Rather Jesus says, “Don’t worry and strive first for the kingdom of God…”   The word for strive is frequently translated “seek.”  I like that word.  It’s not “Don’t worry, be happy.”  Rather it’s “Don’t worry, seek…”   Seek is an action word, not a passive word.  To seek is to intentionally move in a different direction than the worry.  I would be so bold as to suggest that seeking the kingdom of God in the face of worry is sticking it right back in the face of all that makes us worry!  

 For the Christian, the greatest antidote for worry is to actively seek after the values of the kingdom of God, rather than allowing oneself to be consumed and controlled and eaten alive by the values of the world.  For me, what this passage gets down to is just this: In what do I invest:   for my happiness, fulfillment, and sense of purpose in life?  In what do I invest?

             If I am invested in a self-indulgent life-style of luxurious material things, I will be full of distracting anxiety about losing it.  That should come as no surprise. 

             If I am invested in always looking good and putting up a good exterior image I will be full of distracting anxiety about the things of the exterior persona like fashion and everything it takes to project a certain image.  I will be also full of distracting anxiety about failure, trying new things and taking risks.  That should come as no surprise. 

             If I am invested in maintaining the status quo in my life at all costs, then I will be full of distracting anxiety about any kind of change; anything that threatens to upset my carefully constructed life, and I will become protective, defensive, isolated and cut off.  No surprise there! 

             “Don’t worry, seek (the kingdom of God) (and all these other things will be added to you; which means will find their appropriate place)   

 When you get down to it, this is an invitation to follow Jesus and adopt his way of life as the antidote for worry.  It’s an invitation to follow him down a different road in the face of worry.  As I open my life to the gospels and see the kind of person Jesus was, I begin to see how he brings the kingdom of God into our very midst, even into our worrisome lives; and I see how he is the antidote for worry. 

 When I am filled with distracting anxiety about my material things, I hear Jesus invite me to loosen my grip on my stuff even more; to sell what I have and give it to those poorer than me.

 When I am filled with distracting anxiety because I feel that somehow I have not been blessed, he tells me to go and be a blessing to someone else. 

 When I am worried because my station in life is at risk, I hear him say, “the last shall be first and the first last.”  

 When I worry about what my adversary might do to me, I hear Jesus tell his disciples to turn the other cheek; to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. 

 When I am stewing in a pot of distracting anxiety over those who are different from me whom I fear, dislike and disapprove of, I hear Jesus tell a story about throwing a great party and inviting all those nasty folks over to my house so I can get to know them better, and who knows what might happen next? 

 “Don’t worry. Be happy?”  I don’t think so.

 Don’t worry, seek the kingdom of God.  Maybe another way to say that is: “When you worry, seek the kingdom of God and one who brings it.”  It’s the Good News.  It could make a transforming difference!