Don't Be Anxious!?

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 -- Week of 5 Easter

Today's Reading for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 963)
Psalms [70], 71 (morning) 74 (evening)
Leviticus 19:26-37
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
Matthew 6:25-34

Don't be anxious. Sometimes that's like being told don't think of an elephant. But "don't be anxious" is one of the repeated themes in scripture. We hear it in today's gospel with eloquent poetry. "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

I find that my mind can embrace ideas about the futility of anxiety. Anxiety? I'm against it. Doesn't help anything. But somewhere deep, below the where the will has some sway, anxiety and worry seems to bubble like a pot threatening to boil over.

We all cope differently with anxiety, fear and worry. I've learned some of my own patterns that seem to emerge when I am worried. I feel tired. I want to go to bed. But sometimes I don't sleep well. It is harder to focus. I lose track of what I am doing, and I forget things. My reserve is low and thin. I have fewer resources to rebound when things go badly.

I know others who get angry or busy or hostile when they are anxious. Some get weepy. Some shift into controlling mode. Others withdraw into a cocoon of peace and become quieter, more reflective. Maybe there are as many different ways to respond to anxiety as there are different people.

Faith urges us to practice letting go of anxiety. Matthew 6 invites a two-sided approach. First, recognize that anxiety does no good. Second, trust God.

One of the best, and most marked books in my library is a slim volume titled "Living Simply in an Anxious World," by Robert J. Wicks. Wicks recognizes that healthy perspective comes when we address not only how we think about things, but the imagery that we use, the behavior we exhibit, and the emotions we express or fail to express. He quotes an illustration from Anthony deMello: "If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth."

With faith, listening to the way we think and believe can become an opportunity to listen to God speaking in the midst of our illusion and fear. With hope, imaging ourselves and the world becomes an invitation to see God in different ways. With love, our behavior becomes an example of real service to God. With prayer, our emotions become a chance to experience God as never before. Wicks writes: "Anxiety, feeling 'down' or bored, stress and upset are often indications that we have put our hands psychologically around something/someone less than God."

The only question God ever asks of us is "How can I love?" How can I truly love God, myself and others, right now!? The answer to that question is the good of the moment, and the particular answer may be good only for the moment. But finding out how I must love NOW is the thrill of life. Ask, seek, knock. Wait within the mystery. Dawn happens.

Lowell

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About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas