Nature and Culture
Why do you worry about your clothes? Learn from the lilies that grow in the field: they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendour was not dressed like one of them. (Matthew 6:28ff.)
Fashion shops tempt us with beautiful clothes, sunglasses, hats and shoes. The next summer party is coming up and we’re looking forward to fresh clothes, the latest patterns and vibrant colours. And for our brother’s summer wedding, everyone needs a new outfit: the eldest needs a proper pair of trousers and a new shirt, and the little one looks simply adorable in a pretty dress, but that has to be sorted first. Add new sandals to that, and €500 is quickly gone, especially when the parents need to go shopping too. For many people, that’s too expensive. But there’s some truth in the old saying ‘clothes make the man’: clothing also serves to highlight or conceal social differences.
Jesus has nothing against shopping or new clothes. He enjoyed attending weddings and celebrations, and his appearance and demeanour also set him apart from, for example, John the Baptist, who looked rather ‘wild’. Jesus was approachable; but of course we don’t really know anything about his preference for (new) clothes.
What we read here, however, are things that obstruct faith; things that block the path to God. Here, a focus on the essentials is required. In his words about worry, Jesus addresses people in an existential way; on a level that concerns everyday life.
Elsewhere, the Parable of the Sower deals with ‘the cares of the world’, ‘deceptive wealth’ and the ‘lust for all these other things’ (Mk 4:19 parr.). In Jesus’ view, these represent the greatest obstacles to the ‘fruit of the seed’—which stands for faith—being able to ripen. Yet it is not only “deceptive riches” in themselves, but also concern for possessions and food that obscure the view of what is truly important in life: God’s care for humanity.
According to the Gospels, this care is reflected, among other things, in the beauty of nature (cf. Mt 6:25ff. par. Lk 12:22ff.). In numerous parables of the Teacher Jesus, we encounter images that draw on motifs from the realms of nature and culture. Contemplating nature and agricultural culture not only reflects hope for life; it is a sign of God’s action in the world.
Here, in the context of the Sermon on the Mount and the teaching on worry, Jesus paints a picture that draws on the aesthetics of natural beauty: flowers and animals serve as comparisons designed to highlight the value of human beings all the more positively.
However, the message concerns not only the rich, but also the poor: the poor who may be anxious about the little they possess. Jesus says: their lives too have value, even though they possess nothing. The text therefore also opens up a new perspective on poverty, because Jesus’ attention is not only directed towards acts of charity aimed at improving the social situation of the poor (Mt 6:1–4), but also, and beyond that, towards God’s salvation, which he grants to the poor by addressing and taking their needs seriously. The backdrop is the value of life, which (first or precisely) because of the gaze upon nature opens our eyes to the beauty of life.
The beauty of nature serves as a narrative backdrop. It is characterised by the fact that God provides everything (Mt 6:33b) that people need (cf. Mt 6:8, 11, 32). In this aesthetic, worry is dissolved as a life-prolonging measure, because the value of life is determined by God’s creative act.
The biblical alternative to worry is faith or trust, which characterises service to the Kingdom of God – this is what Jesus is aiming for. This encapsulates the theological point that trust in God’s care and helping hand gives strength.
From this perspective, the aim is not to level out economic activity or even to establish an economic naivety (Ernst Bloch), but rather to develop trust that is nourished by faith in God’s (creative) action and thus becomes the fundamental orientation of human life. Trust empowers, motivates and focuses our gaze on the value of life – for the poor and the rich alike.
According to the words of Jesus, it helps to bear these things in mind in order to live a good life with God. Perhaps this can lead to a mindful shopping experience: gratitude and mindfulness for creation, from which everything in this world comes. Then, with hopefully warm weather and sunshine, nothing will stand in the way of the next summer party, and the gift of life can be properly celebrated!
Aleksandra Brand