Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

To what have you allowed yourself to become conditioned? Anxious Bondage or Confident Trust?

Many a parent, teacher, and even motivational speaker has asked a similar question followed by the illustration of the elephant and the rope. Perhaps you know the illustration. It has varied tellings, but it’s something of this sort:

A young boy and his family head to the circus. And like many children, the animals are of great interest and enjoyment. Having watched some of the shows, the young boy goes to get some cotton candy at which time he catches a peek behind the big tent to see an elephant. Such a huge creature the elephant was. And much to the boy’s surprise, the elephant was staying in place with nothing more than a chain around its leg - and the chain was secured to nothing more than a stake pounded into the ground. Why was this elephant staying? It could certainly pull up that stake and be free!

The boy would later learn that the elephant, at a very young age and much, much smaller was tied up with the same chain and stake. At that young age, the elephant couldn’t escape. Now, as a much larger and mature creature, the elephant was still in bondage to the conditioning that it was tied down. Though reality would have it the elephant could escape at any time, the bondage of their conditioning held them right where they were. Just the feeling of the chain on its leg kept it in place.

So, again, here’s a question for you: To what have you allowed yourself to become conditioned? Anxious Bondage or Confident Trust?

In no way am I insinuating that any of you are elephants, but what I am encouraging you to think about, through the context and teaching of our readings this morning, is what exactly is it that makes you go about your days? To what are you tied? What motivates you to get up in the morning? What gives you the drive to live your vocations as husband, wife, employee, student, teacher, friend, brother, sister, grandparent, teammate, citizen, what have you? And within that paradigm of going about your days, if truthful with yourself, are you anxious about the many ways you’ve allowed yourself to be tied in bondage to the lies of idolatry, or are you confident in the truth that the Lord will, indeed, bless you as He has the birds of the air or the lilies of the fields of which, to Him, you are of higher value?

Anxious bondage. Another way to think about this would be constant worry. Always having the who? what? when? where? how? and why? of the day running through your head - keeping you tied to the just right of what needs to happen according to you. And to cut to the chase, this worry is a form of idolatry. It’s produced, fueled, and successful in one’s mind and life through the various forms of bondage one creates to the means of the world. In the end, this bondage creates worry. And this worry keeps you tied to a stake. Tied to, “will I ever be good enough,” “will I ever have enough,” “will people recognize me enough” mentality that keeps you in bondage to yourself and the idols you’ve produced. Worry is the worship given to the false god of mammon, an unbelieving anxiousness and focus on the things of this world. This worry replaces true faith.

You worry about the things of this world because, dear sinner, they are your god. The thrust of the conviction from God’s Word this morning is that you cannot serve God and money - Mammon. Mammon is the better word here over money as mammon describes the over-encompassing reality that the amassing of stuff - not just money - is that after which we chase in this life. And you know as well as I do that when the focus is on the comforts of the creature rather than the blessings of the creator - the amount of this or that over the blessing of simply having any - we are tied to a flimsy shackle that imprisons our soul. We cower in anxious bondage to the temporal means that decay in our very hands. “The miserable love of Mammon makes people enemies of God.” (Luther)

This is where we find the widow of Zarephath as Elijah obeys the command of the Lord and resettles. We find the widow preparing her perceived lack and final bit for the last meal before facing death. Her anxious bondage only allows her mind to focus on the perceived less of what she thinks she needs. Yet as the Word of the Lord continues, we find a lacking heart of bondage impacted by the truth of that very Word. Elijah instructs her to use what she has without the anxious bondage of what appears to be not enough and make a cake out of confident trust. She is to use what she has for good. And she does. In this response to Elijah, the widow of Zarephath served God. That is, she believed the Word of the Lord spoken by Elijah that the bin of flour would not be used up nor would the jar of oil run dry. And indeed, it did not. God’s Word moves this widow from anxious bondage to confident trust.

As ones in bondage to our anxious worry of the day, we may be quick to dismiss the blessed reality of the lesson we have in the widow’s faithfulness. Don’t. Repent dear children of God and know that you too have the same God serving and giving and providing and blessing you as she. He who feeds the birds and clothes the flowers will certainly provide for your daily needs. In fact, He has already provided for your eternal needs, clothing you with Christ's righteousness in Baptism, and feeding you His body and blood for your forgiveness and nourishment of your soul.

That’s the whole point of today’s Word from the Lord. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33) Bondage to that which we long in this world is futile, temporal, fleeting, and fails us time and time again. Though we may obtain some, there’s always more we wish to have. The way of mammon is a never-ending desire. But the way of the Lord is a peace that surpasses all understanding - the Lord has given all we need.

No, it may not take away all the struggles and strife. There will certainly be those memories and circumstances of which keep our minds in a sort of temporary bondage. We are human. The real experiences of this life can hurt as much as they provide joy. There’s much we face, as just commemorated yesterday in this country that we simply cannot grasp or understand. And so long as we go about life trying to figure it out, we will be in anxious bondage. There is much in life we simply don’t need to figure out.

The peace of God, the love of Christ Jesus for you, dear sinner, is the most precious gift and possession you have. You have been claimed. You have been redeemed. God providing for you is not primarily about what you have now. Rather, it’s about what’s He’s given you for eternity. You are but a stranger here - heaven is your home. Allow not the world and her tantalizing idols of an ideal life to keep you in bondage to misery. Rather, live firm in the truth that you are a child of God and go about your days in confident trust.

Yes, some days will be harder than others. Trying to figure out how to “not be anxious about your life” will take some work. Why? Because the grace and mercy poured down upon you by your loving God is greater than any desire and temporal need you think to have. But in faith, you remember your baptism, repent of your sin, and confess the Triune God as your creator, redeemer, and sanctifier. As such, though unsure many times of how you go about your day as a content child of God, contentment is the peace of mind knowing that sufficient is the day - you need not worry about the next.

Dear friends, be free from the chain of anxious worry and live with the joy of confident trust. Be not the one who stands chained behind the tents of this world conditioned by your idols. Our Lord has already provided your eternal needs, clothing you with Christ's righteousness in Baptism, and feeding you His body and blood for your forgiveness. With such confidence, you are liberated from worry and freed to do good with your stewardship of material resources. You are free to live life as a child of God.

Anxious bondage drives us further within ourselves. Yet confident trust in the Lord’s mercy and grace brings contentment and the realization that no matter the amount, the style, the means, the circumstances, what have you - all things work together for good for those who love God. You are better than you deserve dear Christian. You are forgiven for all your sin. Amen.