Sermonette: Dec. 14, 2020

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!

Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, 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.

Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

Amidst a world today that appears to be chaotic, stressful, and without peace, St. Paul offers us advice on how we can obtain peace. We must rejoice in the Lord always, display our kindness to others through our actions and deeds, be thankful, and have confidence in our prayers and petitions to God. It sounds so easy when we read it, but to actually live it is a different story, especially in this year with so many challenges.

It is hard to rejoice at all, let alone always, when we see unrest in our country, a pandemic affecting not just people in a faraway country but our friends and neighbors. Our lives have been turned upside down by the events of this year. It is even more difficult to have no anxiety when those same events affect family and friends near and far and in some cases our very livelihood or that of those we know. We need superhuman strength to rejoice in difficulty and live without anxiety and none of us is superhuman.

Yet, we CAN tap into superhuman strength by, as St. Paul says, turning to God with our requests. God knows what we need, but He wants to hear it from us. He wants to hear our thanksgiving for the things we do have and He wants us to come to Him with even the smallest things. Our prayers need to be confident. God can do all things. He alone sees the big picture. God’s ways are so much above our ways. We cannot comprehend nor pretend to comprehend His ways. We simply place our total trust in God. When we do that, we are able to realize that God will provide the answers and that even if we can’t see it in the’ here and now’ what happens will be for the greater good. A simple prayer that can help us through the day to day challenges and anxiety is “Jesus, I trust in you.”

St. Paul also says that to gain peace we must show kindness. When we take attention off of ourselves and on to the welfare of others, we begin to imitate Jesus. Here in our community taking our time, talent, and treasure to provide for the Angel Tree, donate to the food pantry, and other works of kindness offer us the chance to grasp peace.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, 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.” This advice from St. Paul sums it up. The things with which we surround ourselves are critical to our peace. In today’s world, this could mean turning off the TV, unplugging the social media, and putting aside the news to focus on things of beauty. A walk outside to enjoy the crisp air, a chance to marvel at the stars on a clear night, a visit by phone with a friend we haven’t spoken with in a long time, a heartfelt handwritten letter to a sibling or parent, taking time to mindfully decorate for Christmas, contemplating Scripture, etc. are all ways we can reconnect with things that are honorable, pure, lovely and gracious. The more we focus away from the ugliness of some of the world, the more our life will be at peace.

St. Paul’s advice wasn’t given in a happy time. When he wrote this letter to the church in Philippi he was imprisoned elsewhere for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was able to experience peace despite his circumstance and he wanted to share this peace to the church in Philippi. In God’s infinite wisdom St. Paul’s advice is just as timely today as it was 2,000 years ago. Let us strive to follow his guidelines for peace in our own troubling times.