"Undivided Attention"
a condensed version of the sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Somonauk, Illinois.

PODCAST of "Undivided Attention"

Superheroes

This summer we’re watching some blockbuster superhero movies on the big screen – Maybe you’ve heard of a few of them:

• Iron Man (This one may be the best superhero movie yet made!)
• The Incredible Hulk
• The Dark Knight

Each of these promises to be exciting, entertaining and money-making. All three tell the story of a superhero and their hidden, secret identity.

I’ve learned that it is not universally true – but for the most part, every superhero needs to have a secret identity.

It’s the duality of the their personalities that makes them so engaging. Understanding the flaws and the struggles of the characters makes their superhero selves somehow more believable.

• Tony Stark – Iron Man -- is arrogant and has an alcoholism problem
• David Banner – The Incredible Hulk – deals with panic issues and has problems having meaningful relationships with anyone. He doesn’t get that his superhero identity can help people instead of destroying everything.
• Bruce Wayne – Batman (The Dark Knight) still lives with the horror of seeing his parents murdered when he was a child. His answer of becoming a vigilante fuels his superhero journey.
• (In a related, yet non-secret-identity superhero movie coming this summer – Hancock – the hero is so flawed that he spends time in jail to get his priorities straight!)

The characters have some serious flaws. In seeing how imperfect these characters are, I think that we can see the possibility that anyone, flaws and all, can have times of super heroism. 2004’s animated movie, The Incredibles, turned that premise into a hilarious and well-made story about secret identities and superhero identities. I remember one of the lines from the movie – relating to the controversy of secret identities. "It’s time for their secret identities to be their only identities."

That idea seems to fit in with this week’s Bible reading from Matthew 6:24-34. It’s not about superheroes, but there is a lot about duality in there.

Let’s look at some of the ideas:

• No one can serve both God and money
• Have faith instead of worry
• Seek God instead of the things you usually worry about
• Live for today instead of worrying about tomorrow.

There are many issues we can turn our attention away from and then towards God.

• From greed to generosity
• From selfishness to altruism
• From a lust for power to a desire for justice

But here we run into a problem. Inspiration to reset our priorities in regards to these things is present in our passage today. So is something else.

Anxiety.

There’s a little gem hidden in the meaning of the verses that describe worry.

• The Greek word translated as worry is "merimnao" – to be anxious about.
• It comes from the word merimna, which means "distracted"
• And that word comes from another: merizo, which means "divided"
• This word we understand as worry or anxiety literally means "divided attention" It’s as if Jesus is telling the listeners, "Taking your attention away from God is what is causing all this worry." Jesus is calling for full devotion to God instead of divided attention to God and everything else.

But there's still this word -- this state -- this condition. Anxiety. You can’t just decide not to have it.

• Some would say that when we’re anxious we need to address where our fears are and take action to correct the problem.
• Others would say that if we distract our minds away from the fear and instead focus on God through prayer our anxiety will dissipate.
• Still others would say that the anxiety comes from a chemical imbalance that can be addressed through medicine.

And there is validity in all of those ideas. But these words of Jesus don’t seek to debate the right medical diagnosis or to tell a person how they do or do not feel. These words are part of the running theme of Jesus offering comfort to those listening.

I don’t think anyone has the true ability to never worry about their lives. (Would that be a superhero power?)

I think this passage understands that. I think Jesus understands that. The passage calls for genuine devotion to God – and at the same time recognizes that all people worry. I think that reality invites us to bring all that we are – worries, flaws and all – in our journey of faith.

We don’t have to hide our identities. We don’t have to have our "church selves" and our "regular world selves." God knows us just as we are and God loves us just as we are. God’s love is unconditional and God’s grace is everlasting.

Take comfort in seeking first God and God’s righteousness. And take comfort in knowing that throughout our lives we have God’s undivided attention.

Close with prayer.

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