Will it never stop?

Another 4-5 inches of snow fell last night - beautiful - but enough is enough!  (Already there is probably 20+ inches on the ground and this is after last week's thaw and rain.) I got up early to clear out the steep driveway before worship and my neighbor - who loves his beast - beat me to it!  And for this I give thanks to God!!!

It will be interesting to see who is able to make it to worship today:  how often it is true that on the worst days imaginable, the old and infirm find a way into the Sanctuary.  It is always a privilege to lead worship on days like this because the commitment to Christ's community is so alive.  We have one older soul who will walk with snow shoes when the roads are clogged so that she can be present.  I am humbled by such devotion.

The gospel text for this morning cuts to the chase (from Peterson's The Message):

You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both. If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. 

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

It is kind of amusing that the snow is going to impact us on the day I talk about the blessings of community - and how it is essential to show up!  (Another reminder that I am clearly not in control, yes?)  With that, let me rest in the Collect for the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany, which reads:

Most Loving God, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us:  Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.