Oak Chapel United Methodist Church

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It is amazing how much Paul could say in just four verses! In prison when he wrote this letter to his Christian friends in Philippi, Paul faced a capital charge. Which means, if he were convicted he would lose his "capitas." This morning's passage comes near the end of his letter, and Paul seems to be hurrying. (I can imagine a guard standing over him saying, "Come on. Finish up. I gotta get to lunch.") Paul's thoughts seem to tumble out, and pile up on the page, in no real order. But he says mountains.

Let's look at three of the ideas which appear in this short passage: first, that the Lord is near (He says that more or less "out of the blue."); second, that Christians shouldn't be bound up in worry (exactly what Jesus had said); and third, (a promise) that God would give his people a special peace, one beyond their understanding.

The peace that passes understanding. (Let's take the last one first.) When the early Christian martyrs died (and many thousands did), whether in the arena or on crosses, what impressed the world was their peace. Many saw them die, because in those days executions were great sport, but to watch Christians die was no fun. The crowd did not get its high, watching someone else struggle, and resist, and finally succumb. Instead, what they saw time after time, were people kneeling in prayer, accepting horrible deaths, with an obvious and amazing peace in their hearts. And inside many of those who watched a little voice said, "Whatever they have, I'd like to have." Christians never seek martyrdom, but when our faith and truthfulness so offends, so shames, the citizens of this world that they must have us dead, we accept that death in peace. After all, Jesus died that way, and a student is not better than his master.

When someone is dying, or has been told that death is coming soon, and I pray with him or her, I usually include a prayer for the "peace that passes all understanding." At this point in a person's life, understanding doesn't cut it. Nobody, on his death bed, wants to argue the fine points of philosophy. No one really cares what it is that's killing him. He wants peace. Not just the absence of conflict, but a sense of total well-being that can only come from trust in a loving God. "My peace I give unto you," Jesus said. "Not as the world gives do I give."

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." That would be a step toward inner peace, wouldn't it - if we didn't worry so much. Paul doesn't say forget your worries. He says tell them to God, and in a certain way: "By prayer and supplication (asking for what we are worried about), and with thanksgiving." Don't bring your burdens to God without also bringing him your thanks: for your sake, not for his. Our prayers are not just shopping lists. We come to God not merely anxious, wringing our hands, but also truly grateful. And thankfulness begins to turn our fears around. It works! Try it! The next time you are worried about something, and you decide to tell God about it, try beginning that prayer by thanking him for what you do have. "Lord, I'm worried that my son's not trying in school, his grades are way down, he's going to fail, he'll never get into college." Try this, "Lord thank you for my son, who is healthy and strong, and good looking, who makes us laugh, who can run like a streak, who has always been a joy to us. He needs help with his grades, Lord…."

"Trust" is another word for "faith," and this question of worry is, at the bottom, a question of faith and trust. Jesus said, "Consider the birds of the air, consider the lilies of the field, They don't work or worry, and God feeds them well and clothes them 'real fine.'" Let's say it plain: when we are bound up in worry, we are living as if there is no God. It is also true that if there is no God we have good reason to worry - big time! I do my best worrying at four o'clock in the morning. My mind gets caught, somehow, in an anxiety trap. The more I think about a problem, the more impossible it becomes. Usually, thank God, the fear dissipates with the morning light.

Sometimes, I think I believe fear is my friend, it is my way of staying focused. If I don't worry about things, and keep worrying about them, I tell myself, my world will fall apart. It is my worry that is holding things together! See how atheistic that is, how faithless? God holds things together, not us - and certainly not by our anxiety. Truth is, fear is not a good motivator. It skews our thinking. We don't make good decisions when we're anxious. We don't make good mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. For these things we need not anxiety but faith and trust.

Now we come to that sentence of Paul's which just seems to stand all by itself.

"The Lord is near." (which, by the way, is why this passage comes up in Advent). But it is not detached from the rest of the passage. In fact, it is the cornerstone. It is the root of our peace and our lack of fear. "The Lord is near." That can mean many things, and it means them all. The Lord is near in time; not long ago he was here, any day he might return. Soon we will die (soon!), and meet him in the sky. Soon he will come (soon!) to cheer our hearts at Christmas. The Lord is near in space: he is all around us, protecting us, loving us. He is everywhere in the wonders of nature. "In the rustling grass I can hear him pass." Paul believed that Jesus had not abandoned his church. He was very near, as the Psalmist had said, "to all who call upon him."

I think we would all like not to be afraid and to have, within us, the peace that passes understanding. What's not to like? But how do we gain these things? They are not ends in themselves. They develop within us as we strengthen and deepen our relationship with Jesus, who is always near, not hard to find. We do it through prayer and scripture and worship and service. Nothing new here. If we know, through these things, that the Lord is near, we will not be afraid and we will find that perfect peace.