Psalm 34: 1-10, 22; Philippians 4: 2-9
Who here is a worrier? My grandmother was a worrier. She worried about everything—crime, sickness, death, car rides, airplane rides (which she never took), cancer, her cakes not turning out right, and if there wasn’t something to worry about, she got worried that she wasn’t worrying. But then a friend of mine used to say that when he got worried, he was told that worry is a sin. Thus, he was doubly worried because he was worried about the original thing and now worried about sinning for worrying. How many of us live like that every day? We worry about so many things, and if there’s nothing worrying us, we worry about why we aren’t more worried!
Paul was a man who had every right to worry. At every stage of his life in ministry, he faced danger. The Jewish leaders hated him and wanted him dead. Rome was bothered by him. The Christian Jewish leaders did not like him and wanted him out of the way. Occasionally he was beaten and imprisoned in his travels to share the Gospel, and finally he was shipped off to Rome for his final trial. Paul’s life was a case study in why one should be worried. And yet, Paul lived with this changed perspective.
He writes in Philippians these rules for living a happy and joyful life: settle disagreements, be filled with joy, pray over worries and needs, keep your thoughts fixed on Jesus, and put into practice all of these things you know and have learned. What Paul is telling us is that we need a changed perspective. I had a teacher in school used to say to us in a syrupy, sing-song voice, “Turn that frown upside down!” It worked because most of us changed our perspective from worry to irritation. We all, however, need a bit of a changed perspective in our lives.
In particular, Paul writes, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” This All Saints Sunday we may come here with sadness in our hearts for the loved ones we have lost. We may come with nostalgia for times and places which we miss but now live only in our memories. We may come with worry for what will happen Tuesday when we all go and do our civic duty. Indeed, if we want to worry in our modern life, there is nothing like an impending election to give us all some acid reflux. And into this cloud of confusion, worry, sadness, and perhaps even fear, Paul tells us to have a changed perspective. Worry about nothing and pray over everything.
There’s an old hymn that tells us “Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, the Christian’s native air; their watchword at the gates of death; they enter heaven with prayer.” Paul first addresses a conflict in the Philippian church. Euodia and Syntyche have what seems like a long-standing disagreement. Paul writes that it must be settled, but he never takes sides. You see Paul’s perspective wasn’t about who was right in such quarrels. Paul wanted to change their perspective that the well-being of the church outweighed both their desire to be right and whatever quarrel they may have.
Paul also tells the church to fix their eyes on all that is good. He specifically lists things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. It would have been easy to simply say, “Fix your eyes on Jesus,” but Paul is trying to change a perspective. He knew they would likely disagree about what Jesus would want because for all our spiritual gifts and wisdom, we are still humans trying to discern what the way of Jesus is. And there is no shortage of disagreement in how faith should be practiced. Paul wanted to change their perspective. It’s not about a debate, or who wins the debate. Everyone needs to fix their eyes on the things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Don’t just look at Jesus, actually follow him.
Paul leaves them with the advice to put into practice all that he has taught them and showed to them. Paul was adamant in his own life about demonstrating the faith he believed. True that Paul is where we get the concept of grace comes from faith alone, but Paul didn’t just sit around resting on his faith alone. He put faith into practice, and in every church he founded, he expected them to put faith into practice. He preached the grace of Jesus, but he implored people to live lives worthy of the Gospel of Jesus. It’s not enough to just claim faith, you need to have a changed perspective and a changed heart and soul.
Where does that leave us in the context of the church at Philippi? We need a change of perspective in several ways as well, and I say these generally, not to stomp on toes. First, we are too quick to categorize people. We see divisions be they black or white, liberal or conservative, Baptist, Methodist, or something else, and many more. Modern life has become about how we classify and categorize people. But Paul’s perspective, leaning on the message of Jesus, tells us that what we see are children of God, people made in the image of God. For those who grew up with the old terminology, it would be “souls in need of saving.”
Second, we need a changed perspective on our worry. How often do we let our worries and nervousness dwell with us? We never address it, never offer it up in prayer. Instead, we just mosey through life with this undercurrent of worry in our minds humming like the loud refrigerator that won’t cut off. Paul tells us that prayer helps with our worries. When was the last time we sat and named our worries before God, or asked a friend and fellow church family member to pray with us, not for us, but with us? Ok, get your toes ready, how many times do we say prayer is the answer, and we will pray for someone, yet it never happens because we get so distracted? Paul didn’t feel the need to elaborate. Worry about nothing, pray about everything. It seemed pretty clear-cut to him.
Finally, we need a changed perspective on how we approach church. Modern society sees itself as a consumer in the realm of faith and church. We see church as a place where we go and receive instead of going to give, to find a common mission to share the love of Jesus and minister to our neighbors. Each of these church members we remembered today gave to that mission in some way. Lew could fix anything, and often he fixed things here whether it was a handicap ramp that needed updates, the doors, printers, or testing on the old ceiling to make sure it wasn’t toxic before the renovation. Raymond would bring clothes and donations for those who needed them at the Rescue Mission. He knew the men there needed things because he had graduated from there as well. And James came when health was already beginning to fail, but he gave gifts, quips, letters, and books to minister to me and support the work of the church.
A changed perspective means we come here both to be home and to find a common mission. There is no denying that our community and world need a church that is gentle, loving, and ready to offer grace. But the world around us also needs us to be focused on where Jesus calls us to go, and where the Spirit leads us. Too many churches and denominations are focused on fighting and squabbling, too many are living like Euodia and Syntyche, to find that calling and go out to share help and love in the world around them.
Friends, when we examine our hearts and minds today, where do we need a changed perspective? Are we filled with worry? Do we find strife wherever we go? Do we need to find a little more of what is true, pure, and lovely in our walk of faith? Do we need to get a little bit more engaged in the practice of our faith? Be honest, but also be gentle. Paul was not harsh with anyone in the Philippian church. Instead, he challenged them to grow and change their perspective on life, on faith, and on their work for the kingdom of God. That same challenge stands for us today. May our hearts, minds, and souls be fixed on Christ the Savior, and may our words and deeds tell the story of perspective on faith.
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