This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Luke’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 8 February 2026. The Lectionary Bible Reading was Matthew 6:25-34.

NB. This is my 100th sermon since I arrived in Paphos!

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen

Do Not Be Anxious

Who of us have never suffered from anxiety? Jesus gives us a command not to worry in Matthew 6, and he repeats it no less than three times: vs25, ‘Therefore I tell you do not worry,’ vs31 ‘Do not worry,’ vs34 ‘Do not worry.’ Jesus can’t make it any clearer than that.  You may say, that is easier said than done – and that would be true. But Jesus never commands anything which, by his grace, we can’t do. Neither does he leave us floundering wondering how we can obey his command for he also gives us some down-to-earth instructions on how to handle anxiety. Before looking at those, it might be helpful to consider the causes of anxiety.

The Cause of Anxiety

It’s said that 6% of the population are affected by anxiety at any one time.  But when we talk about anxiety, we could be referring to a number of different things. We all know what it’s like to stressed when feeling unwell or at the prospect of going into hospital, or when taking an exam, or when we have to face a crowd, attend a job interview or find ourselves outside of our comfort zone. My anxiety levels go up every time I preach a sermon or officiate at a wedding or a funeral – or chairing three sessions of Diocesan Synod as I did this week.

Anxiety affects our sleep, our appetite, give us a feeling of dread, cause panic attacks, how we relate to people – we can easily become quite ‘tetchy’ can’t we? It can even lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. However, psychologists agree that as part of our biological coping mechanism, some anxiety can do us some good – a little more adrenaline pumping through the system can make us more alert which can be an advantage at certain times. Generally speaking, when things go well, anxiety goes away.

But worry was as relevant a topic in the Old and New Testament as it is today. Proverbs 12:25, describes it in this way: “Anxiety weighs down the heart.” It therefore comes as something of a relief to discover that Jesus addresses the issue of anxiety/worry. You could argue that the focal points of worry that Jesus identifies are all too familiar today.

They represent the three great themes of any society: What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? (25&31). According to most analysts, Western culture puts increasing amounts of energy into these concerns, which seem to fuel so much advertising, and magazines and TV programmes. Our culture has become so preoccupied with externals that we’ve allowed unreasonable expectations to emerge within us, to the detriment of our spiritual well-being.

In his book  Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope, Johann Hari suggests several causes of anxiety, and these include: Lack of work, people, social status, self-respect, values, the future. And if your whole identity is bound up with lifestyle – which might be your occupation, your income, the area in which you live – you’re heading for problems.

Jesus argues that consumer driven anxiety is profoundly trivial and asks: ‘Is not life more important?’ (vs25). Jesus doesn’t imply that material possessions are sinful. The problem is that, more often than not, we find our significance and security in material things. We look to what we eat, what we drink and what we wear to provide us with the sense of security and significance which God is meant to provide us with.

A great deal of faith is being placed in what we eat, what we drink and what we wear – but very little faith is being placed in the God who provides such things. In other words, we have become so smitten with the gifts that we have forgotten the Giver.

Managing Anxiety

The root of our worries as believers is given in vs30 when Jesus addresses the anxious ridden as those of ‘little faith’. Now we need to be clear what Jesus means when he talks of ‘faith’. Another word for faith is ‘trust’. It is ‘what’ or ‘who’ you are trusting in that matter. This is where the teaching of Jesus comes into its own. Jesus isn’t urging us to close our eyes to the difficulties we face and simply ‘whistle a happy tune’. He isn’t offering a discipleship that can be bolted onto our existing ambitions without changing them. He offers no halfway house but calls us to a radically different set of values.

To turn our backs on the superficial and selfish concerns of secular materialism and focus our lives on the priorities of the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus urges us to retain a due sense of proportion and provides a way of escape, a threefold strategy that will release us from the treadmill of consumerism.

Firstly, we should consider ourselves the crown of a creation that is cared for. Jesus encourages us to lift our eyes from materialistic obsessions to the birds of the air (vs26) and the lilies of the field (28-30).

Whenever you listen to a nightingale … you are listening to an excellent preacher … It is as if he were saying “I prefer to be in the Lord’s kitchen. He has made heaven and earth, and he himself is the cook and the host. Every day he feeds and nourishes innumerable little birds out of his hand.”

John Stott

He is making the birds our schoolmasters and teachers. It is a great and abiding disgrace to us that in the Gospel a helpless sparrow should become a theologian and a preacher to the wisest of men.

Martin Luther

Secondly, we need to consider ourselves to be no longer governed by life’s normal priorities. In absolute contrast with the obsessive scurrying of the ‘pagans’ Jesus calls us to be separated. And, by having a kingdom perspective, food, drink and fashion will be kept in their place and we won’t allow them to become our ultimate concern. After all, vs32: ‘Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.’

Jesus promised that our essential needs will be met, without having to waste energy in worrying. Jesus asked: who of you worrying can add a single hour to his life? (vs27). We now know, of course, that the reverse is true. Anxiety and stress can lead to increased blood pressure and heart problems, to raised levels of stomach acid and risks of ulceration, to sleep disorders etc.   Worry is, essentially, a failure to trust God.  And for disciples to be of little faith (vs30) hurts God greatly.

Thirdly, we need to discover the eternal focal point for life’s energies. In Matthew 6, Jesus is calling us to a new set of priorities, priorities that are neither sensible nor realistic in a society built around selfishness and consumerism. What comes first, Jesus declares, is the Father’s kingdom and righteousness (vs33). God’s ‘righteousness’ means his ways of purity and justice, and it’s a call to practical obedience.

Then in vs34 he speaks about anxiety regarding the future. Jesus encourages us to turn our backs on materialistic concerns and focus our thoughts on the kingdom of heaven. And whilst that can be a difficult first step the benefits, literally, are out of this world. The things that God sets before you today are the things that should have your attention. With all your strength and effort, do everything God gives you to do knowing that God promises to give you the strength you need to face each moment. So, work and trust. And when you are worried, go outside. Look at God’s provision for the little things of creation. He values you more than birds and grass. And go outside of yourself. Dive into His promises that He delivers to you in His Word. Promises that will never fade or fail.

There is, in the life of the fourteenth-century German mystic Johann Tauler, a remarkable story that shows something of the attitude Jesus was looking for in his disciples. One day Tauler met a beggar.

‘God give you a good day, my friend,’ he said.

The beggar answered, ‘I thank God I never had a bad one.’

Then Tauler said, ‘God give you a happy life, my friend.’

‘I thank God’, said the beggar, ‘that I am never unhappy.’

In amazement Tauler asked, ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well,’ said the beggar, ‘when it is fine I thank God. When it rains, I thank God. When I have plenty, I thank God. When I am hungry, I thank God. And, since God’s will is my will, and whatever pleases him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?’

Tauler looked at the man in astonishment. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.

‘I am a king,’ said the beggar.

‘Where, then, is your kingdom?’ asked Tauler.

The beggar replied quietly, ‘In my heart.’

And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Philippians 4:7). Amen.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.