Humbled, I once again considered the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. It was a little hard to do in the midst of a Chicago winter, but I was able to use my sanctified imagination.

I reminded myself that Solomon probably did have quite a wardrobe.

I weighed carefully the line of reasoning that says leave tomorrow alone, for today has enough trouble of its own.

All these things were comforting - as warm as those Snuggies they sell on the Home Shopping Network (which I totally could have come up with if I'd been more disciplined about jotting down my ideas in the past). Comfort was what I needed, I suppose. But God didn't stop at comfort. He seemed to think I needed a swift kick of conviction, too.

Here's the section of Matthew 6:25?34 that I felt the Spirit poking me with until it cracked open my heart: "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." And here's the part of that section that was particularly convicting: "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things." In all the birds, lilies, and talk of Solomon, I had missed Christ's potent word about living as a "Gentile."

The Greek word (ethnos) that hides behind the English word "Gentiles" is most often translated as "nations." Why the decision by most translations to translate the word as "Gentiles"? Because within the larger New Testament context, this word (ethnos) is often used to identify nations that are set apart from the nation, Israel. Keeping this in mind, you begin to see that Christ is saying something quite significant: among all the nations, Israel ought to stand out as the one that doesn't worry. After all, she carries with her a story that ought to bat away anxiety every time it shows its ugly face. Her rich history speaks of a God who has broken the back of political figureheads, split a sea in two, toppled kingdoms, and started a revolution out of a remnant time and again. As for the story of the Gentiles? Well, they are the ones who have been broken, swallowed up, toppled, and rendered powerless by a nation that looks like a Chihuahua among Great Danes. It's easy to see why Christ offers the imperative "do not worry" at the beginning, middle, and end of the pericope. Israel's narrative demanded that she have a backbone. Hers was a God-filled story - quite the opposite of the Gentiles' godless tale.

Of course, all my reflections on this passage thus far are highly contextualized. As you well know, a great light has now been seen by the Gentiles, and Jews and Gentiles have become one in a grafting together of the nations in Christ. Now all of us believers share the same stunning narrative teeming with God's providence. In turn, this shared narrative means a backbone is demanded of every believer, no excuses.

As of late, I've been forcing myself to read every section of the Sermon on the Mount in the cool shadow of how it begins - namely the Beatitudes and the missional call toward being salt and light and a city on a hill. In keeping with that practice, I cannot help but offer this word to you and to those I will preach to in the months ahead: a city on a hill should not be worried, if only for the sake of the other cities keeping an eye on it. If those who have hope lose hope, what witness is there for the hope that is in Christ?

Rudyard Kipling writes, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs?you'll be a man, my Son." Should the church keep her head when all about her are losing theirs, she'll be much more than Kipling gets at in his poem. She'll be the very witness she's called to be in a trembling world filled with troubled headlines - and who knows how many headless people will suddenly find their souls by way of that witness.