Hard Knocks and Heavenly Hands

Eighth Sunday after Epiphany, February 27, 2011

Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hand.                    Isaiah 49:15-16a

Do you remember the Broadway musical Annie? The spunky red-headed protagonist and her fellow orphans sing “It’s the Hard Knock Life” as they clean the orphanage, a lively tune decrying their sad state where “No one’s there when your dreams at night get creepy! No one cares if you grow…or if you shrink! No one dries when your eyes get wet an’ weepy!” Fortunately for Annie, Daddy Oliver Warbucks enters the scene, and under his care her life changes despite some minor dramatic complications. In turn, Annie shares the love and good fortune with others leading to a satisfactory resolution and happy ending. Would that real life’s loose ends tied up as neatly as the plot of a musical!

Jesus continues his instruction for effective discipleship this week by telling the crowd not to worry about life, about food or drink, or about what to wear. He goes on to ask “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” Well, duh.

Then why do we worry? Worry isn’t good for one’s health. Stress and generalized anxiety disorders plague a disproportionate percentage of Americans’ lives. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 40 million people over the age of 18 have an anxiety disorder. A 2009 survey of the American Psychological Association (APA) stated that “47 percent of all adults report lying awake at night because of stress.” Yep, Jesus says “don’t worry,” and what do we do? We worry.

The APA offers a series of tips about how to deal with chronic stress, including setting limits, getting better sleep, and tapping into one’s support system. Unfortunately, they omitted one important part of that support system–the power of faith. Several recent studies recognize a link between faith and mental health/wellness in the lives of believers, between the hard knocks of life and the loving care of the Creator for creation. Why are we so hesitant to promote this link? It seems we as preachers and teachers are even a bit cautious in lifting up the divine role in wellness and mental health.

Perhaps it is simply aftershock from the age of reason or a reluctance to exhibit overreliance on the mystical. Are we more prone to dispense practical advice and reasoned response rather than lift up lavish imagery of our extravagant God? Might a little fear and anxiety be involved on our parts, as well?

I cannot answer for you, but what I do know is that there are many people in our congregations dealing with fear, anxiety, and pain. Look out at the faces this week. Do you see the parents worried about how they will put three children through college or the anxiety on the face of someone who has just lost a job? What about the woman who is faced with caring for aging parents and teenagers simultaneously? How will you address her needs? Look at the furrowed brow of the parents coping with their adult son’s narcotic addition. What of the couple whose marriage is on shaky ground thanks to one spouse’s betrayal? Where is the hope amidst the damage? How do we tell these people to abandon their worry?

Of course, the hope is in the unending grace of Jesus Christ and the lavish love of God. God knows our needs. Our worry and anxiety will not solve the problems we face. The good news is that we are not forgotten in our pain or deserted in our darkest hour. No, according to the reading from Isaiah, God says we are inscribed on the palms of the divine One’s hands. Not only are we held as tenderly as a parent holds a tiny infant, we are literally imprinted on the hand of God. There is no hard knock in this life that can knock us out of the heavenly hands of our Creator. Thanks be to God!

Visual

Check out this YouTube Video of Tim Hughes singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

With Youth

Read aloud Martin Luther’s words “I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess” and use them as a springboard to discuss Isaiah 49:16a and Matthew 6:25-34.

With Children

Sing the traditional spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and remind children that their names and identities are indeed imprinted on God’s hands. On a posterboard draw an image of outstretched hands and invite the children to write their names on the hands.

Photos by Nojhan, Pedro Ribeiro Simoes, and Courtney Carmody used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!