Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time—Philippians 4:6-9

We just began reading Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians two weeks ago, and we are already nearing the end. To be fair, we skipped over most of chapter two and all of chapter three. It would be well worth your time to go back and read this entire letter; it might take you twenty minutes.

We live in very anxious times, and yet the Lord’s opening words to us in this reading are “have no anxiety at all” (Philippians 4:6). Notice how he makes no allowances for embracing the anxiety around us. This reminds me of what the Spirit told us back in August: “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35). The answer was a resounding NOTHING! And so we have no need for anxiety.

But what are we to do with the swirling mess of anxiety-inducing circumstances that surround us? If we want to experience the peace that surpasses all understanding, a super-rational, supernatural peace, then we need to bring our concerns to the Lord in prayer. As a fallen, imperfect, human father, I want my kids to tell me what is causing them anxiety. I want them to tell me their concerns even when I already have a pretty good idea of what they are. I want them to trust me and find security in the fact that I love them and I am caring for them even when they don’t fully understand it. If I want that of my kids, how much more does our perfect, all-loving Father in heaven want that of us!

This week, the Spirit does not just ask for us to bring our worries to the Lord. He wants us to do it with thanksgiving. Anxiety makes it all too easy to forget the good things that surround us. The Lord does not want our prayers about our anxiety to heighten the anxiety, and so he tells us to present them with thanksgiving. Elsewhere the Lord prescribes for a spirit of heaviness to put on a garment of praise (see Isaiah 61:3). In the words of Saint Paul just two verses before this week’s second reading begins, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Then he tells us to have no anxiety. It is hard to be anxious when you are busy being thankful and rejoicing.

So what do you have to be thankful for? In what can you rejoice right now? The Spirit gives us quite a list of suggestions: “whatever is true, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). When we are weighed down by anxiety, or when we want to avoid becoming weighed down, we need to be lifted up by a prayerful pondering of praiseworthy things.

It is far too easy to go down the rabbit hole of negativity. The Lord wants to lead us out of that dark place, leaving our anxiety behind, and into a place where the supernatural peace of God guards our hearts and minds. This week, Jesus makes the same invitation he always makes to us: Follow me!