Do not be Anxious

 

Jesu Juva

Philippians 4:4-13                                                            

October 11, 2020

Proper 23A                         

 Dear saints of our Savior~

          It is the unwanted intruder that never takes a day off.  This unwelcome intruder not only sabotages our daily work, but it also hinders God’s work in us.  This intruder exerts such a powerful force in our lives that we have lots of different names for it:  anxiety, apprehension, angst and worry. On our worst days—and even on our best days!—it’s always there—an unwanted, unwelcome intruder.

          The fourth and final chapter of Philippians was written to set you free from worry—to help you show your anxiety the exit.  The trouble is . . . we’ve learned to tolerate the tyranny of anxiety.  We’ve accepted that worry will be with us always, to the very end of the age.  It’s as if we don’t know how to live without worry right by our side. 

          But this only means that the message of Philippians chapter four is even more meaningful and relevant than ever.  Never has the need been greater to hear these words anew:   Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say:  Rejoice!  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

          At the heart of this passage is the little phrase: “Do not be anxious about anything.”  With our lips we say, “this is the Word of the Lord;” but in our heart of hearts we say, “Yeah, right.”  Paul might just as well have said, “Don’t sleep” or “Don’t eat.”  Because anxiety seems as natural as sleeping or eating.  And there’s no shortage of very valid reasons to worry.  It is 2020, after all. Paul may have had nothing but joy and peace in his life, but we’ve got trouble with a capital “T.”  We’ve got panic over the pandemic, concern about riots and the upcoming election, not to mention the usual array of health worries, family worries, and money worries.  We’ve got all the excuses we need to feed the monster called anxiety.

          But here’s where it pays off to attend Bible study—to know something of the back story of what was going on when the Holy Spirit caused Paul to write, “Do not be anxious about anything.”  Paul wasn’t relaxing on some beach in Mediterranean.  He wasn’t up north, enjoying the fall colors.  Paul was in prison, not knowing whether he would be released or executed.  And that’s not the half of it.  He had been betrayed by his own countrymen (Acts 24:13).  At one point he was nearly murdered by 40 men who had taken a vow not to eat or drink until he was dead (Acts 23:31).  He was shipwrecked, beaten, and placed under house arrest.  Paul—so filled with joy and free from anxiety—he had trouble and danger on every side—more trouble than you or I can even begin to imagine.  So we should really sit up and take notice when this man of God says, “Do not be anxious about anything.”

          The bad news about our anxiety is that it’s not merely a bad habit; it’s a kind of idolatry.  We worry and fret because, at some level, we think it will help.  It gives us a sense of control.  Our anxiety becomes like a false god to whom we turn at every time of trouble.  It’s a first commandment problem.  We don’t trust in God above all things.  Instead, we think that our worry will come through for us—even though we know that’s not true.  Does anxiety put bread on the table?  Not a crumb.  Does worry pay the mortgage?  Not a dime.  Does fretfulness add a single hour to your life?  No, but it makes the hours you do have absolutely miserable.

          Beloved in the Lord, there’s a better way.  For every child of God redeemed by Christ the crucified there is a remedy for anxiety.  “Do not be anxious about anything,” writes Paul, “but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”   You don’t have to hold on to your worry.  You can hand it over to the Lord in prayer.  You can let Him handle the trouble.  St. Peter put it even more succinctly:  “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”  That’s what prayer is.  It’s facing your worst fears, naming them and confessing them (your anxieties and all your worry), and then handing them off to Jesus—letting them go—trusting Him to work all things for your eternal good—asking that His good and gracious will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

          You can trust this Jesus—this Jesus who made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a slave, being made in human likeness, who humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.  He died to take away sins—including the sin of failing to trust in Him above all things.  But even more than that, Jesus died to give you freedom—freedom from the tyranny of anxiety.  You don’t have to live with that.  The nail-scarred hands of Jesus are just waiting to carry your worry away.

          We believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.  In your future is that feast of salvation about which Isaiah prophesied in today’s OT reading—a feast of rich food, the best of meats and the finest of wines.  Death has been swallowed up in victory.  According to Jesus, your heavenly homecoming will be like a wedding feast thrown by a king.  In Holy Baptism you were given an invitation.  It’s all been prepared for you by grace.  Your goodness doesn’t get you in.  Your badness doesn’t keep you out.  It’s all grace!  All that matters is the king’s invitation and the garments of righteousness that He has placed upon you.  Heaven is a party—a feast that has no end.

          Now, if God has gone to all that trouble for you—if, through His Son He has spared nothing to save you and serve you as a guest at His feast for all eternity—don’t you think He can handle whatever tops the list of your troubles today?  Don’t you think He can bear away your angst and replace it with joy and peace?  Don’t you think He can wipe away your worry and give you the gift of contentment in any and all circumstances?  You, like Paul, can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

          Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Let Jesus bear your anxiety away—hand it over in prayer—and receive the peace that passes understanding.  That peace will guard your heart and mind, Paul writes. 

          It sounds strange to think of “peace” as something that guards you.  But the city of Philippi housed a large garrison of Roman soldiers.  It was a military town.  The Philippians would have understood.  God’s peace, like a garrison of soldiers, will guard your heart and mind from the tyranny of anxiety.  God’s peace will guard the door of your heart against that unwelcome intruder who wants to poison your joy.

          Joy and peace—these are fruits of the Spirit.  They don’t come naturally; they are fruits of faith, gifts from God to you—leading you to live lives free from worry.  For you, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.  The mind of Christ is in you.  Rejoice in the Lord always. 

          In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.