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Bobby McFerrin, son of the late operatic baritone Robert McFerrin, is known for his unorthodox singing techniques.  Influenced by jazz, this a cappella vocal performer and conductor is capable of singing four octaves in both normal and falsetto registers.  His method of singing allows him to create polyphonic effects, meaning, he can perform both the main melody and accompanying parts of a song—in the same song. Many pieces of his work have been recorded with no accompaniment or overdubbing. 

Over the years, he has been a regular guest conductor for symphony orchestras throughout the United States and Canada, blending classical pieces with his own unique vocal improvisations. At least once, he has ended the concert conducting the orchestra in an a cappella rendition of the “William Tell Overture,” in which the orchestra members sang their musical parts in McFerrin’s vocal style, instead of playing their parts on their instruments.  His rendition of “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” accompanied by cellist Yo Yo Ma is an amazing delight! –and one of my very favorites. His ten-person ‘Voicetra’s rendition of “Common Threads: Stories from the [AIDS] Quilt, is not only educational, but also healing.

Bobby McFerrin is dynamic, creative, accomplished and renowned. However if you were to ask the average person if they know his music, they would most likely say no, that is until you ask about his 1988, “one hit wonder,” “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” –There’s a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don’t worry be happy—now the tune will be stuck in your head for days!

I have often wondered how this song captured the heart of so many so quickly and how it continues to hold our attention in some seemingly profound way. Yes, the tune is catchy, but I suspect it is the words themselves that hold our attention. Don’t worry, be happy. These words have an authentic calming effect. Who doesn’t want to live happily and free from worry.  So we tap our feet, click our fingers, sing along and indulge ourselves in happiness for a while—at least until the song is over and the worry begins to creep back in.

Worry is an internal uneasiness often caused by uncertainty about something that often remains vague or distant; yet it is very real.  It is an inner sense that something is not quite what it ought to be, or something has not gone as we had hoped.  Specialists tell us worry can cause a physiological, behavioral, psychological and spiritual reaction all at once. It affects our whole being.

When we worry, it is hard to think clearly. Our muscles become tense and our hearts beats quickly. We don’t express ourselves clearly or do things as effectively or comprehensively as we would like. Worry causes us to second guess ourselves and sometimes lose confidence in our ability to do what usually comes naturally.

I have a friend in New Hampshire who used to worry so much that functioning in her usual routine became impossible.  She worried twenty-four hours a day about everything and nothing at all. When she finally got tired of it, she decided to schedule a specific time in her day to do nothing but worry. To this day, from 6:00 to 6:30 pm that’s what she does, she sits and worries whether she needs to or not.  The rest of the day, she soars. What helped her? A fundamental shift from the notion that “God never gives us more than we can handle,” to an understanding that “God remains with us, guiding us and loving us no matter what life gives us to handle.” Freed by—not burdened by—God, her worry and her life became manageable.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear…Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Holy God, give us the bread we need—daily!

Today’s reading from Matthew relates to the third pillar of Judaism. The first pillar is the Law; the second is Worship; the third pillar, the one we give focus today, is Service or “deeds of loving kindness on God’s behalf.”

These verses are filled with wisdom like that found in the book of Proverbs.  The first section begins with the verses that helped to focus our stewardship campaign this year—“where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The next section speaks about the eye as a window that lets light into our being—allowing us to examine our convictions through the lens of God’s wisdom. The remaining section challenges us to “consider” and acknowledge the God of abundance—to see God at work in the world. Thus, the basic questions become, what and/or who, shall we serve? Will we give our attention to our possessions and what worries us? Or, will we give our full attention to God and God’s realm, extending a hand to those who hunger and thirst and seek peace. 

Worry not only makes us miserable inside, it wreaks havoc with our relationship with one another and with God—and sometimes affects our ability to see what really matters.

Fred B. Craddock, a renowned preacher and teacher, translates the Greek word for “worry” as “split attention” or divided concerns. He says, “rather than give our full attention to God and to our disciplined path to seek God’s ways, we often keep our eyes on too many “things” at one time.” This problem of “double vision,” --our insistence on serving two masters--says Craddock, “remains at the center of Jesus’ teaching.” 

The words in Matthew’s gospel were most likely directed to his immediate disciples, the ones who had left homes and families to become like Jesus – traveling teachers who lived a life of volunteer poverty.  The twelve decided to move away from cultural values into a life of trust and obedience of God.  And yet, they, like us, often worried in ways that made their faith wane and their hope tremble.  So Jesus taught them (and us) to chill out and then to look, to really look, “at a world where God provides for all things freely and lavishly, -- Creating a world where anxiety plays no part, where worry need not be a reality.”

“Worry,” Craddock says, “is a distortion that dries up the springs of gratitude, for no one can be greedy and grateful at the same time; worry closes the door of hospitality to strangers, and it refuses to open the purse before human need, causing us to trust money—rather than God—with one’s own personal future…” What are the things that absorb most of our attention?  What causes you to worry? The economy? Iraq? Afghanistan? China? Myanmar? Your family? Your well being?   …What offers you life?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will God not do much more than clothe you.  Have faith!

These words speak to all people who sow, reap, toil, spin and store things in barns; to all people who worry about the radical life of faith the gospel expects, especially when our faith is hesitant or needs reassurance; to all people who seek to consider God’s care for all creation; to all people who see that their life is not based on what we do or how we worry, but on God’s pure splendor! These words speak to all who seek to give our full, worry free, attention to God.

“Don’t worry, be happy?”  I suspect, or perhaps more accurately—hope, that even Bobbie McFerrin, in all of his creative splendor, would say yes (yes…and…) there is something more.  Yes, life focused on seeking God’s ways is not about worry. Yes, life with God is more than happiness. There is a stillness, a stillness, in knowing God—a stillness that gives focus to our faith and grants peace in our world.   

It is one thing, and not a good thing, to limit our view of Bobbie McFerrin’s creativity to a “one hit wonder.” But to limit God and God’s realm to what worries us, is to miss the grandeur of God’s province and God’s grace. Look at all of what God is doing in this world God created. Don’t just focus on the parts you favor with worry. There is so much more.

On this Memorial Day Sunday, when we pause to honor those who gave their lives while serving our country, we also pause and remember that we continue to seek peace in this world for all God’s people.  The absence of peace indeed makes us worry. Current wars make us cringe, not happy.  So we seek God’s face, God’s splendor that we all might dwell in divine stillness.  God says,

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.  

This, this, is what will make you worry free and truly happy!

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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