Title: Practice, excursion to live a happy life
Practice living a happy life, picnic
Matthew 6:25-26
“Do not worry about what you will eat or drink to sustain your life, and do not worry about what you will wear to cover your body. Isn't life more precious than food? Isn't the body more precious than clothes?" (verse 25).
We eat, drink, wear, and worry about this and that in order to save our lives. But in real life, the order of the important things is reversed. I'm worried about living this one life well, but now that my worries are getting worse, I'm so stressed that I get sick and my life is at risk. In order to protect this precious life, above all else, we need to get rid of worries.
In the New Testament passages where the word "worry" (merimnao) or "worry" (merimna) is used, it means to suffocate the sprout by pressing it from above. In the parable of the sower, the seed sown among the thorns is said to hear the word, but “the cares of the world” choke the word and become unfruitful (Matthew 13:22). That is, anxiety is something that prevents the Word from living and bearing fruit in us. This also causes problems in human relationships. When Martha presented Mary to Jesus, Jesus said to Martha, “You are anxious and excited about many things” (Luke 10:41). So, Jesus said, do not let our hearts be weighed down with “the worries of the world” (Luke 21:34).
But if you don't worry for even a moment, things don't seem to work properly, so how can you live without worrying? Jesus' teaching on it is surprisingly simple. And it's natural.
“Look at the birds in the air. You do not sow, you do not reap, you do not gather in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them” (26a).
We often make fun of people with bad brains by comparing them to birds. Birds are such a thoughtless animal. Maybe Jesus is telling us to let go of what we worry too much about. To see a bird is to live simply like a bird. It means don't cover your head. If you give up your thoughts and just fill your stomach with worms, you are truly happy to be able to fly happily in the sky and live like a chirping, thoughtless bird.
There is a book called <Exercise to let go of thoughts> by a Japanese monk named Ryunosuke Koike. When people wake up with too many thoughts tail-to-tail, defilements arise, so in order to get rid of this defilement, you have to stop thinking and just focus on breathing or focus on the taste of food when you eat it. Also, I have to sensibly feel that I am alive here and now by listening rather than casually listening and observing rather than unintentionally seeing. It is said that if you do this, your troubles will disappear and happiness will come. The ancient meditation technique this man speaks is the same as the way Jesus spoke today when he said, “Look at the birds.” Jesus tells us to look at living things like birds, to feel alive there, and to see God's nurturing hand in the way we live in such a healthy way without worrying about the world. And you said this.
“Aren’t you more precious than birds?” (26b)
Jesus is not telling a new story. Our attention is always on us, more precious than those happy birds. In a literary way, this is analogous to fishing. When we agree with Jesus, Jesus snatches us away. When you see a bird, without tools, it just bites a branch and builds a house on the tree, but it also lays eggs and raises its young. There is no farm and there is no warehouse, but she is very healthy and pretty. As he was admiring how mysterious it was, Jesus said, “You are more valuable than birds. So, how many things are prepared as gifts in your life?” This is what you are saying. The moment you are caught by Jesus like this, the worries of the world will disappear for thousands of miles. And when I go out on a picnic, I see that there are many more mysterious and moving things free of charge than I have packed in my bag. It's about knowing that. And that's how you live your life.