Do not be anxious about your life. Counter-cultural words indeed. Because it is almost as if the world these days is designed to keep us in a perpetual state of anxiety, worry, and fear.

It is almost as though media, companies, the government, and even some churches want us in a constant state of anxiety.

Interestingly, our Teacher himself points us to nature. To our Heavenly Father's glorious creation and his ongoing provision within it.

We are not nearly as in control of the span of our lives as we might like to think.

And our Lord reminds us of this. In fact it is a comfort: our lives are already in the hands of our gracious Father. All we need to do is to consider the birds of the air to see that God is benevolent and merciful.

If life indeed is more than food and drink, if indeed the body is more than clothing, would it not also be true that life is more than a vaccine? And the body is more than a mask?

Of what value then is your life? Of what value is your body? Look to the cross of Jesus: He died for you. He rose for you too.

Our Redeemer lives, and this profound truth underscores the entire message of hope and resurrection that we hold dear. Even as we face the sorrow of death, we are reminded that death is not part of God's original plan, nor is it the end. It is sin that brought death into our world, but God, in His unfathomable love, pursued us even unto death. By becoming man in Jesus Christ, God took upon Himself our sin and our mortality, so that through His death, He might destroy death forever. This is the core of our faith and the reason for our hope. As we remember Matt today, we celebrate not just his life but the eternal life he now enjoys with our Lord. Matt's faith was evident in his actions and his words, and it is this faith in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, that assures us of our own resurrection and eternal life. This message of forgiveness and life in Jesus is what Matt supported and believed in, and it is this message that we continue to proclaim, so that by believing, we might have life in Jesus' name.