Or, hear it, as a downloadable mp3.
In reading books by the masters of spiritual discipline, there's one quality they write about that we of this era find nearly impossible to really grasp. It's called 'detachment'. But what does that have to do with living? We worry about having more stuff. We fret about getting ourselves enough power so that we can fend off any enemy, or at least cover our backside when needed. What will I eat? What will I wear (and how do I accessorize it)? Where will I live? Will I live?
Jesus asks us to stop pushing long enough to start looking around. "Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes", Jesus says. He should know; he owned no land, grew no food, wore only the simplest of clothing, and his shelter was provided by people in the area of his ministry. His life was a daily experience of trusting that God would provide whatever material and bodily needs that would arise.
There is a reason behind this 'detachment', this independence from the stuff of this world, freedom from worry, and even from fear of losing your life. It puts all trust into the hands of the real provider of all that is - God. "Look around", Jesus is saying. The birds benefit from what God gives, and so do the lilies. You can't get enough power to relieve you of fear, nor can the fact of having goods spare you of the biological need to eat or be clothed. But if you know and trust that God amply provides, worry and endless striving make no sense. Jesus calls on us to seek after the right thing -- the Kingdom. The Father knows about the rest, and will see to it that you get it.
Lord, thank you for not abandoning me like so many others have. Now help me to be true to you and to your kingdom. Amen.
There's also a downloadable Lent and Easter PDF file with lots of stuff about Lent, and Lent devotionals. Other downloads include PDFs on Holiness and on Prayer.