Some of you may recall a song, 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley with the lyrics 'don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing, is gonna be alright' (to hear it, click here). The gospel reading for the Second Sunday before Lent from Matthew reflects the sentiment of 'do not worry', but in my experience this is very difficult to do. We hear more and more about the ravages of stress and anxiety in our society and how people are suffering. So what's the answer? Certainly not telling someone not to worry. I don't believe that is at the core of Jesus' message. What we can take from the reading is a set of actions to help us through our anxieties and they revolve around us understanding exactly who we are. We are not the clothes or material objects that we surround ourselves with. We are not the defined by the restaurants we eat in or the education we have had. We are, each one of us, fearfully and wonderfully made. Each of us is unique, special and valued in God's eyes and we do not have to do anything special to win God's love. So perhaps we should take time to rest in that knowledge and know that nothing can separate us from the love of God and speak to someone we trust about our worries and get help if we are feeling overwhelmed.
Rev'd Nigel