Twenty-SeventhSunday in Ordinary Time
Do not worry for nothing
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. Phil 4,6-9
The passage of today shows the last exhortations of Paul, the end of the letter sent to the community of Philippi. The final part of the letter is general in nature and a bit independent from the subject which is thereby dealt with and therefore also important for a context extended to this our family group. The first exhortation is: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God”. According to the way of Jesus, also Paul urges us to trust in the Providence as the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. All these things the pagans seek” (Mt 6,25-34). The pagans, in fact, do not believe that God is providential. For them it is omnipotent and just and he is also merciful only for few, but as far as the Providence is concerned, the maxim for the pagan is ”Help yourself and God will help you”. The christian concept of providence does not leave out of consideration to be active, but the phrase which is used is: “Do as everything would depend upon you, although knowing that everything depends upon God”. It is a substantial difference. Only if our hearts and our mind will not be distressed and hungry, we will be free to accept the second admonition of Paul: “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”. The most tragic aspect of a distressed and worrrying mind is, indeed, the inability to have an high level thought which Paul describes with these adjectives: “true, noble, just, pure, lovely, honored”. Our thoughts will be great only if they are free from worries. Eventually, as the third exhortation, Paul shows himself as a model: “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me”. Blessed those who, having listened to a teacher like Paul, are able to follow his example!