Trinity 15
Text: Matthew 6:24-34
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,
What is it you do when you first wake up in the morning? Do you roll out of bed? Do you contemplate the day? Do you say a little prayer?
As I reflected on my upbringing, my grandparents normally awoke and shuffled their way to the kitchen to turn on WCCO News Talk Radio; they wanted to get caught up on the world. My parents always had the newspaper delivered, so they went to the front door, secured the paper, and went to their respective chairs to read.
But my guess is that a good chunk of us reach for our phone first thing as we awake, as it sits within arm’s reach on a nightstand. It’s obviously been there for the past six to eight hours; now there are many notifications, texts, and emails needing your attention.
This digital exercise has become the morning routine for many.
What does this reveal about man?
We are abundantly dependent upon our phones; they have become and are addictions for us. They are there as we go to sleep, and they remain as we arise.
Recently, my wife and I began a book entitled The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. The book presents a scary reality for us today and how technology is affecting the health of many, in particular Gen Z-ers, those who were born between 1997 and 2012. They are the first generation being completely raised in the smartphone era.
Haidt says in his book, “Gen Z became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, [and] unstable.”
Reflect on that, the first generation to be pulled “into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, [and] unstable.”
The research reveals that young men who have access to smartphones and the video games they possess have become increasingly aggressive. Young women have become increasingly depressed as they sit on social media, comparing themselves to the likes of their friends and influencers one selfie at a time.
The results have been the more one immerses oneself in social media, the lonelier, more agitated, and depressed they become.
And the statistics don’t lie.
Nearly thirty percent of young girls aged 12-17 have experienced bouts of major depression, while the boys range between ten and fifteen percent.
This has all led to another sad truth, which is that suicide and self-harm among children have likewise risen to frightening levels, especially among boys.
All while the time youth spend with friends and other children outside of school has torpedoed to record lows.
Children do not have interactive play and community with one another.
Why has this all happened?
Because our youth (and many adults) have been called into an alternative and addictive reality that leads them away from the very people God has placed into your lives, and it sits right there in your pockets.
Think about it: how many of you can avoid pulling out your phone if it vibrates right now? How many of you would glance at your smartwatch if you were wearing one to see an alert?
What this reveals is not only that we are addicted people, but worse, if our technological addiction is not satisfied, it is met with anxiety – an anxiety that has begun to ravage not only the younger generations but all generations.
So, what is anxiety?
It’s a feeling of worry, dread, and fear that overcomes a person.
And in line with the Gospel reading this morning, this anxiety comes when we do not trust God our Father to care for us and our needs in this life.
Jesus said,
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Money would be more appropriately translated here as mammon, and mammon is not only a person’s wealth but their property as well.
Jesus draws a line today by saying the true and faithful Christian either trusts in His heavenly Father or in the things and needs of this world.
In the end, this Gospel reading is about the First Commandment, “You shall have no other Gods.”
What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
So, this all gets down to a simple yet profound question: where is your trust and faith?
Is it in God, the Father and Creator of all?
Or is it in you, yourself, and His creation?
Look how Jesus uses creation to teach us to trust in His Father as He writes,
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Martin Luther drives home the point by adding,
“[Jesus] is making the birds our schoolmasters and teachers. It is a great and abiding disgrace to us that in the Gospel a helpless sparrow should become a theologian and a preacher” (AE 21:197).
But that is precisely what the birds of the air, the flowers of the earth, or the falling leaves of a tree teach us: God continues to care for them throughout all the seasons of their lives.
And He cares and provides for you, too.
Remember how we learned from the meaning of the First Article of the Creed,
“He will richly and daily provide you with all you need to support this body and life…He will defend you against all danger and will guard and protect you from all evil…He does this out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy.”
This is pretty comforting, isn’t it? You have a God who cares for you, loves you, and desires to grant you His mercy and forgiveness.
But it’s easy to forget this if we are not consistently connected to His Word of peace.
It’s for this reason we are all in need of a rewiring of the heart and mind.
We need to disconnect not only from the devices but from the things of this world that drive us to anxiety and isolation.
What keeps you in a feeling of worry, dread, and fear?
Is it that your guys are playing Fortnite without you? Or did your friend’s selfie receive more likes than yours?
Or is it the notifications of emails, texts, and alerts you can’t respond to at this very minute?
Maybe you are sitting here and thinking to yourself, I have no idea what pastor is speaking about, but I do find myself anxious and fearful. Then what is it that causes you to feel this way? Is it a doctor’s visit? The presidential election? The loneliness of an empty house?
If this is you, then hear these words from St. Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7, NKJV)
We need to rewire our brains and hearts to depend first and foremost in our Creator – our heavenly Father.
We need to pray to Him for the peace that calms the needs of this life. Because by prayer, we exercise our faith in God, thus keeping the First Commandment.
Even more, look how He cares for your needs today, not just of the body but, most importantly, your soul. He sent His only Son to take your place upon the cross; He died that you might receive His mercy, that is, His forgiveness and life.
A life now given to guard your heart and mind in your Savior, Christ Jesus.
This is an overwhelming joy no phone, radio, or newspaper can deliver to you.
My friends, are you worried or depressed? Come and to this altar be united as one family in the life of Christ as He feeds you with the food of everlasting life.
Do you ever experience sleeplessness? Does your mind race in the wee hours of the night? Clothe yourself with the sign of the holy cross and remember your Baptism.
Because none of you have been called to be children of this world or any other alternative universes, no, you are more valuable than that, so have faith in Jesus and know you are children of paradise. +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
***The book highlighted in this sermon is The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt. You can find it by clicking here.
