Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
Philippians 4:6-9
Matthew 21:33-43
Summary
The reading from the Letters to the Philippians is a call to prayer saying,
“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 you hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus.”
Reflection
“Have no anxiety at all,” those are the words. “By prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God….then the God of peace will
be with you.” Reading this passage I was struck by how succinctly and truly these
words spoke to me of the best expression of God’s love, a love which knows no
end and brings peace. Peace is easy to understand in terms of cultural or civil
unrest. There are times of war and, opposing that, times of peace. Peace of the
body and soul is harder to understand. We consider ourselves at peace when we
have time to rest, pick up a book and sit for a minute and to take a break from
the busy goings on of life. But I would like to take that idea one step further.
Through God we obtain a personal peace which brings ourselves into harmony
with God. In this relationship we gain security, prosperity, love, and grace. Prayer
is the tool, but more than that the gift, which strengthens our relationship to God
and brings his grace into every aspect of our lives. With God we obtain a whole-
ness which strengthens us.
It’s so easy to feel unworthy of God’s grace and yet we are called to live in
prayer, opening ourselves to Him daily. There is immense vulnerability to prayer
both to ourselves and to God who knows the true us. It is difficult enough to ex-
press ourselves freely to people we know, such as our spouse, children, parents,
and friends. How much more are we called to open ourselves to God? And yet,