In the season to see the title
Matthew 6:25-34
I think spring is the season that you can't miss even if you don't want to see it, even on purpose. That's why I'm so excited to see you, spring. Usually, when you say 'I miss you', the target becomes a person, but in spring this is not the case. Not people, but nature. It is a time when we must see the sky and the earth, the flowers and the wind, the darkness and the light. There is a verse suitable for us to meditate on in these seasons, the text we read today.
However, the beginning of that statement is a bit strange. He didn't say that on a spring day, but that he was doing it to those who had a hard time living day to day, to those who were ill and did not know what to do, and to those who were anxious because the future was not guaranteed. In a way, these words may sound like a message to those who are full. However, from the preceding context, it is not that kind of people who hear these words, but the disciples and the crowd (5:1, 7:28). Here, the crowds are those who have always followed Jesus, suffering from various diseases, possessed by demons (4:24), and those who have been without food for three days (15:32). And like sheep without a shepherd, they are dying of exhaustion because they have no place to turn (9:36). They were living in a situation that was many times worse than our suffering today. It means people who had to live day by day worrying about what to eat and what to wear.
However, this does not immediately make sense. The words not to worry about what to wear or what to eat are the key words (25,31,34) that are repeated over and over throughout the entire paragraph (25-34). This sounds like saying don't take care of your livelihood and be an optimist. It may sound like a saying to live a little nobler while looking for peace of mind by escaping reality. However, I wonder if this is a reasonable statement for those who are having a hard time every day. But Jesus tells us why we should live that way.
"Isn't life more precious than food? Isn't the body more precious than clothes?" (25).
Who doesn't know this? Knowing that, aren't you worried about food to save your life? Aren't you worried about clothes to keep your body from freezing? So, at this point, I think that it contradicts what you said earlier. But not. In fact, this verse makes the meaning of the immediately preceding statement not to worry. When I say not to worry here, I don't mean to stop trying at all to get something to eat, drink, or wear. Beyond that basic level, don't worry about even hurting yourself. What you eat, wear, and drink is ultimately to keep your body healthy and save it, but too much of it will damage your body and kill your life. For example, you should not do things like dieting because you are gaining weight, having surgery, not eating, and then ruining yourself because of it again.
It's important to try and work hard to solve things like what you eat, what you wear, and what you're sick of, but don't make yourself too absolute. It's about taking a step back from the situation you're in. And then you say this.
"Look at the birds in the air..." (26).
'Look' here doesn't just mean to think once in your head. It means to actually pay attention to the birds in the sky. Jesus is telling people to turn their eyes away from people who are so engrossed in their daily lives and look only at themselves. That's what you say, 'Look at the birds in the sky'. But the next statement also feels full of loopholes. Do birds really live without doing anything? If you look at animal documentaries, it is not so different from living with humans. So, did Jesus say this because he did not know that? no. Birds, like humans, have to work hard to eat and catch. So what does this mean? It is to know that birds work and suffer just like humans, but that doesn't mean they don't congratulate themselves by sitting and worrying about that. Although the effort is the same, birds do not shorten their lives by worrying and worrying about it like humans do. And then it goes like this. "Aren't you more precious than birds?" (26).
Yesterday, on TV, scenes of a house being built to lay eggs for birds were aired. You can tell by looking at their beak-only houses, but how subtle is that? And then he tells people. "Aren't you more precious than birds?" These days, I often see wild cats. In the past, rats were caught or people fed them to raise them. But these days, I just live. Sometimes, even if cats are mean, I feel sorry for them when they think, 'It's harder to live than before'. Are you still living? But are they pessimistic about their difficult situation or worry about shortening their lifespan? No. just live The phrase applied then is, "Aren't you more precious than a cat?"
Isn't it the same with plants? It doesn't stand still. You have to do photosynthesis, you have to water the roots, and you have to camp the wounds. Even if Jesus did not know these biological terms, he could not have ignored ordinary truth. It's just that the plants don't hurt themselves, worrying about what they eat and wear like people do. That's the case with petty wild grass. Even so, they were dressed more lavishly than Solomon's clothes. This was a statement that completely overturned the common sense of the people at the time. To the people at the time, splendor was Solomon, and they thought that there was nothing more splendid than Solomon. However, the glory of Solomon's splendid glory is not worth seeing.
We do not take these words as grandiose, so that Jesus 'sees the beauty of the universe from a single flower'. I am not trying to glorify the mysteries of nature. I'm not even talking about lilies. The lily is a medium between those who listen to Jesus and Solomon. Jesus first compared lilies with Solomon, and says that even Solomon was not dressed as much as lilies (29). Then, comparing the lily with the hearers, God says that 'you (hearers)' will be better clothed than the wild grass (lily) that will go into the furnace (30). After all, God dresses people far better than those things. This is the so-called syllogism.
It does not explain why Solomon was not dressed as lavishly as the lilies. This is not to say that the natural is more beautiful than the artificial. It is entirely at the discretion of Jesus. But we can see why. Solomon's splendor was possible because he seized power through conspiracy techniques, collected harsh taxes, and burdened the people with forced labor and conscription. In its splendor lies the moan and pain of countless people. But lilies are not obtained by stealing from others. Rustic, somewhat shabby, but naturally made up. The hand of God dwells there, and its beauty is that it surpasses the glory of Solomon.
Now, regardless of the current situation, people should not be angry while envying Solomon's splendor, being ashamed of his own situation, immersing himself in it, and blaming himself. Aiming for that splendor, we must not continue the evil that is caused by worrying and immersion. Now instead of doing that, we look at a wild flower and say, "Aren't we more precious than wild flowers?" to know what to do. It is to be this kind of person, and to live this life.
The courage and insight of Jesus who, with a flying spring bird and a lily flower, lowered the gorgeous Solomon to the shallowness of the world, and raised the crowds drenched in inferiority and anxiety as the subject most loved by God. , and why can't that great love be ours or mine?