DO NOT BE ANXIOUS

There are those who write about our time as the “Age of Anxiety.” They say that ours is an age marked by disquiet and misgiving. Our lives mirror the complex world we live in, and the more complicated our world becomes, the more insecure we feel about our future. The systems and structures we create and trust prove too weak under the weight of our hopes. Thus, three anxieties.

Social Anxiety. Is the world a safe place to live in? What will be the next epidemic? When will we have peace?

Religious Anxiety. Does God care at all? Why is there suffering in a world created by a loving God? Will the Church endure the scandals she faces?

Personal Anxiety. Is my life going down the drain? Will I lose my job? How about my family? Why am I lonely?

Jesus tells us, “I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, or about your body and how you are to clothe it.”

But let’s be honest. His words do little to dispel our worries. Praying for our daily bread does not make food fall from heaven, does it?

Jesus does not say that being His disciple means living in a carefree, worry-free world. Jesus is against the kind of anxiety that consumes us and makes us believe that God does not care about us at all. As His disciples, Jesus invites us to see beyond our anxieties and look up to a God who cares for us. Easier said than done, yes. No one said it is easy to do anyway. Jesus does not tell us to ignore our worries. He advises us instead to place them within the framework of our childlike trust in God who is our Father.

Let us set our hearts on the Kingdom first and everything will fall into their proper places. We will view things from the perspective of the same Kingdom. No matter what happens, we will still be bigger than all our anxieties combined, because God is greater than our hearts. Fr. Bobby Titco

 

Reflection Question:

What are my anxieties in life? Do I place them within the framework of my childlike trust in God my Father?

 

“Deliver us, Abba, from all evil,and make us grow in charity each day. In Your mercy, keep us free from sin and protect us from anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. For the kingdom, and the power, and the glory are Yours now and forever. Amen.”

 

Blessed Mark Barkworth, pray for us.