Talk by Peter

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” So wrote Paul as he was in a Roman prison preparing to leave on his final trip to Rome

Paul’s words are so apposite. Living with anxiety is definitely a description for our society today. Commentators have coined a new phrase ‘Polycrises’ Whether it is worries about Putin’s Russia, Trump’s war on Iran, the cost of living, the climate crisis. I can’t think of a time where so many things are going off at the same time. When most of us were growing up, it was simply Mutually assured destruction from nuclear weapons! No one had heard of a climate crisis, and US presidents were on the whole benign!

The truth is that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Jesus said that there were enough troubles for today. Therefore, we should not worry about tomorrow.   Paul tells us to hand over our worries to God along with thanksgivings for his many blessings. Very apposite as we celebrate Harvest once again reminding us of our responsibility to go on being thankful to God, to care for creation and our neighbour.

What else can we learn from this passage? (Three things stand out)

Firstly, forgive, don’t nurse grudges – In case you thought that the early church was perfect, Paul has a personal appeal to two people to sort out their differences – we don’t know what Euodia and Syntyche were quarrelling about. Clearly, they were important leaders in the work that Paul had started with this church. They had contended for (in other words argued for) the cause of the gospel. We might say they defended the gospel in public and suffered for it, and not they are not speaking to each other. Sound familiar?

Falling out most often starts off with a sharp word from one, half-heard by the other, a bitter response said hastily and without quite meaning it; then the slamming of doors, refusing to acknowledge each other on the street.

The problem is that very few of us know how to handle conflict. Churches are supposed to be places where we experience unconditional love, where we prefer each other over ourselves. But unfortunately, our base instincts take over and instead of sorting things out, we walk away hurt. The longer we leave it, the more we nurse the hurt, the worse it gets.

But Paul has some wonderfully practical advice in the book of Ephesians, ‘never let the sun go down on your anger’. In addition, in his letter to the Colossians he says: ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Secondly, cultivate a spirit of thankfulness.

Through a number of contacts this last year All Saints was put in touch with a community in Burundi who are incredibly poor. As a church we send money through Western Union which enables roughly 60 families to have food to eat for a week. Other churches give similar support to cover a month. We get a video back on WhatsApp each time, of the children celebrating and giving thanks. It really is heartwarming. The local priest also asked for support to buy stationery for the children for their schooling. In that case Paul Brookhouse from Derby Food4Thought put that need to a group of Ukrainian refugees gave money that they had raised and that paid for a years’ supply. 

And then thirdly, bringing to God our worries and concerns in prayer.

In the Peanuts cartoon Linus says to Charlie Brown – ‘worrying won’t stop the bad stuff from happening, it just stops you enjoying the good’

Worrying doesn’t solve anything. If we need to work things out that are difficult to handle as a child, we seek out our parents, or our friends or another close family member. If we as adults can model handing over our worries to God then the child will learn to do that for themselves.

As Paul goes on to say: ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Helen and I have been putting this into practice over these past weeks as we have faced with the uncertainties that come from knowing change is coming, not being sure when the news can come out and in the mean-time packing and throwing nearly 15 years-worth of accumulated junk. Worrying is part of the human condition, but the challenge is what do we do with our worries, do we let them consume us, or do we face them and give them over to God in prayer for his answers to come. In summary, we have some really practical advice this morning to take away.

• Forgiving each other – don’t nurse grudges;
• Being thankful each day for God’s mercies and thirdly
• Giving God our worries and concerns through prayer.

By learning and growing in all these things, we have the promise from God that he will gives us his peace and that is what we really need, because God’s peace will sustain us whatever troubles we face through our lives as we daily put our trust in him. Peter