The following sermon is a reprint from 2007 -- not previously published to this site -- based on the same texts as 2 Lent 2010.
Sermon: Lent 2
(Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18/Psalm 27/Philippians 3:17-4:1/Luke 13:31-35)
Life In The Colony
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The year is 42 B.C. and there is civil war in Rome. Two years earlier Brutus and Cassius and several co-conspirators assassinated Julius Caesar in an attempt to preserve the republic and to prevent Julius from attaining imperial power. Now, driven perhaps by personal ambition and perhaps by desire to avenge Julius, Antony and Octavian draw up for battle against Brutus and Cassius. The battlefield is the Greek city of Philippi in Macedonia. There are two battles fought there. Casualties are high. At the end Brutus and Cassius both lie dead, both from suicide, knowing that their cause is lost. Antony and Octavian are victorious and Rome is transformed from republic to empire. Soon, this Octavian will take the name Augustus Caesar and seize control of the empire. Nearly forty years in the future he will issue a decree that all the world should be registered. In response Joseph, a craftsman from Nazareth in Galilee, will journey to Bethlehem, the City of David, with Mary, his expectant wife.
But, at the moment, following his victory in Philippi, Octavian has other, more pressing concerns. His troops are too numerous to return to a Rome in turmoil; the fragile economy won’t support them. So, Octavian decides to retire many of his soldiers from service and to give them land in Philippi. He turns this formerly Greek city into a Roman colony. It’s the task of these soldiers and the families they will father to transform Philippi into an outpost of Rome, complete with Rome’s language, culture, and values. By the time Paul arrives here, some hundred years later, the transformation is well under way: the city is a mix of Greek and Roman cultures. Many of the benefits of Rome are present and the colonists – the descendants of Octavian’s soldiers – are proud of their Roman heritage, citizenship, and accomplishments in Philippi. And certainly there are still native Greeks residents in the city, many of whom likely resent this Roman intrusion. A certain clash of cultures is inevitable during any occupation – as our recent experience shows.
What were the major functions of a Roman colony such as Philippi? To represent Rome in the midst of other cultures, to bear Rome’s image. But not to represent Rome only: to bring Rome’s presence into the midst of these other cultures with the intent of transforming them, of claiming them for Rome, of claiming them for Lord Caesar – with the intent of having Philippi’s residents claim Caesar as Lord. For that’s what Rome was now requiring in the time of Paul: worship of the emperor as Lord and God. The colonists in Philippi were citizens of Rome, yes, but they had no particular intent of returning there. No, they planned to bring Rome to Philippi. They planned to bring the good news – the gospel – of the saving power and grace of Rome and its emperor to the colony. That’s what colonists do.
Sometime around 51 A.D., in the midst of his second missionary journey, Paul first comes to Philippi (see Acts 16). His start there is inauspicious. He doesn’t go to the synagogue as is his custom; the Jewish population in Philippi may be so small that there isn’t a synagogue. Instead, he goes to the river; he’s heard there’s a place of prayer there, and he does find a few women gathered for Sabbath worship. One of them, a business woman named Lydia, is moved by what Paul says – well, she is moved by the Holy Spirit working through Paul’s words – and she embraces the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul makes her home his headquarters in Philippi and the gathering place for a fledgling church.
Before too long Paul runs afoul of the law. A slave girl is possessed by a spirit – a demon – of divination; she makes money for her owners by telling fortunes. When Paul exorcises the demon, setting this poor girl free from her spiritual enslavement, she loses her skills and the owners have Paul arrested. The local magistrates have Paul and his companion Silas severely beaten and thrown into jail. Here, with the help of an earthquake sent by God, Paul wins yet another convert in Philippi, the very jailer assigned to guard him. That night Paul baptizes not only the jailer, but his entire household. The next morning, after a coerced apology from the magistrates for their unlawful treatment of a Roman citizen – to see how serious this is, remember that Philippi is a Roman colony under Roman law, answerable to Roman justice – well, after their apology, Paul bids farewell to Lydia and the church in her house and the mission in Philippi comes to an end. In Philippi, this colony of Rome where Caesar is hailed as Lord, Paul has established the church, a colony of heaven, where Jesus is hailed as Lord. And what are these colonists to do? They are to bring Christ’s presence into the midst of this Roman colony, with the intent of transforming it, of claiming it for heaven, of claiming it for the Lord Jesus Christ, until all its citizens claim Jesus Christ – and not Caesar – as Lord and God. These few, these sisters and brothers in the church, were citizens of heaven, yes, but their immediate intent was not to go there; no, they intended to bring the kingdom of heaven to Philippi. That’s what colonists do.
Now, roughly ten years have gone by. Paul is in prison, perhaps in Caesarea, perhaps in Rome. The little colony of heaven in Philippi has not forgotten him, though. They send him a gift – something to meet his needs in prison – carried by one of their own, Epaphroditis. And Paul sends them a gift in return – a precious gift that has transcended time and come to us: a letter.
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the bishops and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 1:1-2, NRSV).
So much joy in this letter, so much thanksgiving, so much encouragement: despite his present circumstances, despite some discord and even division in the church in Philippi, Paul knows the colony of heaven he established survives. Jesus is still acclaimed as Lord in that stronghold of Caesar. The colony of heaven within the colony of Rome is on the move, bringing Christ’s presence to the city, transforming it, claiming it for heaven, claiming it for the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so, Paul writes about life in the colony – about two ways of life, really: the life the colonists are called to, and the life they have been saved from.
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved (Phil 3:17-4:1, NRSV).
Have you ever watched a great musician play? It all seems so effortless. Unexpected chords come from nowhere but fit perfectly. Themes intertwine, separate, and blend again in perfect harmony. The musician seems to create music spontaneously – on the fly. But that’s not how it all started. What you don’t see is the countless hours spent practicing scales and chords and melody and rhythm – the countless hours of imitating the masters gone before, of following their examples. Before creativity comes imitation. That’s what Paul is telling the colonists. Their task is not to create a new way of life in the Lord, but to follow the examples set for them by Paul and by those who themselves imitate him. What Paul has in mind for the colonists is not so hard to understand – hard to do, yes – but not so hard to understand. Whatever their old sources of identity, whatever their old badges of pride, whatever their former hopes and dreams and glories – lay all these aside, count them as garbage, and cling solely to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. That’s what Paul did and what he calls them to imitate.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet, whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him (Phil 3:4b-9a, NRSV).
Once Paul took pride in the outward signs of the covenant, depended upon them for his right standing before God. But no more. He has emptied himself of all these things to be filled with Christ Jesus – to know him as Lord. Imitate me in this self-emptying, he tells the colonists. For in doing so, you will be imitating Christ Jesus himself,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death –
even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8, NRSV).
Imitate the life of the cross, Paul tells them. Lay aside all things to gain Christ. Let nothing have hold of you except Jesus and claim no Lord but him. Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.
In Baghdad there is a heavily fortified compound called the Green Zone where coalition authorities live and work. It may well be the only relatively safe place in the city. In a way it is a colony of hope, the center of the international vision for what just might be possible in Iraq.
The Green Zone -- also called "The Bubble" - is the hub of the vision for the New Iraq. It is almost self-sufficient, and staff working there can be treated in the compound's hospital or run safely in its grounds. When they leave, it is by armored car with an armed military escort (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/baghdad-green-zone.htm).
Life inside the Green Zone and life outside are very different. There are real enemies outside – people with different and hostile agendas, with the goal of crushing the vision and presence of the international community in The Bubble. Who will win is still very much up in the air.
It was much the same in Philippi: inside the colony was hope; inside the colony was vision for what was possible in Philippi and in the world. But outside,
many live as enemies of the cross of Christ…Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things (Phil 3:18-19, NRSV).
Yes, there are real enemies outside – people with different and hostile agendas, with the goal of crushing the vision and presence of the colony and of its Lord. Sometimes it must have seemed to the colonists that their position was precarious, that they might be overwhelmed and destroyed, that they might just be too weak to transform the hostile culture. And so Paul reminds them,
But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself (Phil 3:20-21, NRSV).
Yes, their citizenship is in heaven. But Paul is not saying, Hold on, you’ll be out of here soon and escape to heaven. Not at all. Paul is reminding the colonists that, because they are citizens of heaven, they have all the resources of heaven at their disposal to fulfill their mission to claim Philippi for their Lord Jesus Christ. And one day Jesus Christ himself will come from heaven to Philippi to vindicate his colonists, to crush the opposition, and to reign supreme in their midst. He has the power to subject all things to himself and to glorify and transform the colonists into his likeness.
In this knowledge and assurance, the colonists – the joy and crown of the apostle – are to stand firm in the Lord.
Well, you see where all this is going, don’t you? All we have to do – and in fact we need to do it – is to change the salutation of Paul’s letter a bit.
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Knoxville,
with the bishops and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Knoxville is a domain of the powers and principalities of the present evil age where money, sex, and power are hailed as lords. But, in this city, God has established the church, a colony of heaven, where Jesus is hailed as Lord. And what are we colonists to do? We are to bring Christ’s presence into the midst of this dark realm. We are to transform it. We are to claim it for heaven, claim it for the Lord Jesus Christ, until all its citizens claim Jesus Christ – and not any modern Caesar – as Lord and God. We few, we sisters and brothers in the church, are citizens of heaven, yes, and we pray and work not that we might escape this world and go to heaven, but that heaven might come here among us. As our Savior Christ has taught us we are bold to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
In this little outpost of heaven on earth, we are not called to innovate, but to imitate the cross-shaped life of our Lord. We are called to empty ourselves of self for the glory of being filled with Christ. We are called to leave the “Green Zone” of the sanctuary and enter the hostile environment where the enemies of the cross need desperately to hear the good news of the cross – where they need to see it lived out by the church. We are called to proclaim in every way possible that Jesus is Lord. And we are called to live in expectation of the arrival of our Lord, the Lord of heaven and earth. Of course, we have to work all of this out, to see what it means for us in this place in this time. This place isn’t Philippi. This time isn’t 50 A.D. But not so much has changed, really. And so Paul’s closing words to Philippi might just as well be to us – they are to us.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:4-7, NRSV).
Amen.
(Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18/Psalm 27/Philippians 3:17-4:1/Luke 13:31-35)
Life In The Colony
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The year is 42 B.C. and there is civil war in Rome. Two years earlier Brutus and Cassius and several co-conspirators assassinated Julius Caesar in an attempt to preserve the republic and to prevent Julius from attaining imperial power. Now, driven perhaps by personal ambition and perhaps by desire to avenge Julius, Antony and Octavian draw up for battle against Brutus and Cassius. The battlefield is the Greek city of Philippi in Macedonia. There are two battles fought there. Casualties are high. At the end Brutus and Cassius both lie dead, both from suicide, knowing that their cause is lost. Antony and Octavian are victorious and Rome is transformed from republic to empire. Soon, this Octavian will take the name Augustus Caesar and seize control of the empire. Nearly forty years in the future he will issue a decree that all the world should be registered. In response Joseph, a craftsman from Nazareth in Galilee, will journey to Bethlehem, the City of David, with Mary, his expectant wife.
But, at the moment, following his victory in Philippi, Octavian has other, more pressing concerns. His troops are too numerous to return to a Rome in turmoil; the fragile economy won’t support them. So, Octavian decides to retire many of his soldiers from service and to give them land in Philippi. He turns this formerly Greek city into a Roman colony. It’s the task of these soldiers and the families they will father to transform Philippi into an outpost of Rome, complete with Rome’s language, culture, and values. By the time Paul arrives here, some hundred years later, the transformation is well under way: the city is a mix of Greek and Roman cultures. Many of the benefits of Rome are present and the colonists – the descendants of Octavian’s soldiers – are proud of their Roman heritage, citizenship, and accomplishments in Philippi. And certainly there are still native Greeks residents in the city, many of whom likely resent this Roman intrusion. A certain clash of cultures is inevitable during any occupation – as our recent experience shows.
What were the major functions of a Roman colony such as Philippi? To represent Rome in the midst of other cultures, to bear Rome’s image. But not to represent Rome only: to bring Rome’s presence into the midst of these other cultures with the intent of transforming them, of claiming them for Rome, of claiming them for Lord Caesar – with the intent of having Philippi’s residents claim Caesar as Lord. For that’s what Rome was now requiring in the time of Paul: worship of the emperor as Lord and God. The colonists in Philippi were citizens of Rome, yes, but they had no particular intent of returning there. No, they planned to bring Rome to Philippi. They planned to bring the good news – the gospel – of the saving power and grace of Rome and its emperor to the colony. That’s what colonists do.
Sometime around 51 A.D., in the midst of his second missionary journey, Paul first comes to Philippi (see Acts 16). His start there is inauspicious. He doesn’t go to the synagogue as is his custom; the Jewish population in Philippi may be so small that there isn’t a synagogue. Instead, he goes to the river; he’s heard there’s a place of prayer there, and he does find a few women gathered for Sabbath worship. One of them, a business woman named Lydia, is moved by what Paul says – well, she is moved by the Holy Spirit working through Paul’s words – and she embraces the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul makes her home his headquarters in Philippi and the gathering place for a fledgling church.
Before too long Paul runs afoul of the law. A slave girl is possessed by a spirit – a demon – of divination; she makes money for her owners by telling fortunes. When Paul exorcises the demon, setting this poor girl free from her spiritual enslavement, she loses her skills and the owners have Paul arrested. The local magistrates have Paul and his companion Silas severely beaten and thrown into jail. Here, with the help of an earthquake sent by God, Paul wins yet another convert in Philippi, the very jailer assigned to guard him. That night Paul baptizes not only the jailer, but his entire household. The next morning, after a coerced apology from the magistrates for their unlawful treatment of a Roman citizen – to see how serious this is, remember that Philippi is a Roman colony under Roman law, answerable to Roman justice – well, after their apology, Paul bids farewell to Lydia and the church in her house and the mission in Philippi comes to an end. In Philippi, this colony of Rome where Caesar is hailed as Lord, Paul has established the church, a colony of heaven, where Jesus is hailed as Lord. And what are these colonists to do? They are to bring Christ’s presence into the midst of this Roman colony, with the intent of transforming it, of claiming it for heaven, of claiming it for the Lord Jesus Christ, until all its citizens claim Jesus Christ – and not Caesar – as Lord and God. These few, these sisters and brothers in the church, were citizens of heaven, yes, but their immediate intent was not to go there; no, they intended to bring the kingdom of heaven to Philippi. That’s what colonists do.
Now, roughly ten years have gone by. Paul is in prison, perhaps in Caesarea, perhaps in Rome. The little colony of heaven in Philippi has not forgotten him, though. They send him a gift – something to meet his needs in prison – carried by one of their own, Epaphroditis. And Paul sends them a gift in return – a precious gift that has transcended time and come to us: a letter.
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the bishops and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 1:1-2, NRSV).
So much joy in this letter, so much thanksgiving, so much encouragement: despite his present circumstances, despite some discord and even division in the church in Philippi, Paul knows the colony of heaven he established survives. Jesus is still acclaimed as Lord in that stronghold of Caesar. The colony of heaven within the colony of Rome is on the move, bringing Christ’s presence to the city, transforming it, claiming it for heaven, claiming it for the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so, Paul writes about life in the colony – about two ways of life, really: the life the colonists are called to, and the life they have been saved from.
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved (Phil 3:17-4:1, NRSV).
Have you ever watched a great musician play? It all seems so effortless. Unexpected chords come from nowhere but fit perfectly. Themes intertwine, separate, and blend again in perfect harmony. The musician seems to create music spontaneously – on the fly. But that’s not how it all started. What you don’t see is the countless hours spent practicing scales and chords and melody and rhythm – the countless hours of imitating the masters gone before, of following their examples. Before creativity comes imitation. That’s what Paul is telling the colonists. Their task is not to create a new way of life in the Lord, but to follow the examples set for them by Paul and by those who themselves imitate him. What Paul has in mind for the colonists is not so hard to understand – hard to do, yes – but not so hard to understand. Whatever their old sources of identity, whatever their old badges of pride, whatever their former hopes and dreams and glories – lay all these aside, count them as garbage, and cling solely to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. That’s what Paul did and what he calls them to imitate.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet, whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him (Phil 3:4b-9a, NRSV).
Once Paul took pride in the outward signs of the covenant, depended upon them for his right standing before God. But no more. He has emptied himself of all these things to be filled with Christ Jesus – to know him as Lord. Imitate me in this self-emptying, he tells the colonists. For in doing so, you will be imitating Christ Jesus himself,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death –
even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8, NRSV).
Imitate the life of the cross, Paul tells them. Lay aside all things to gain Christ. Let nothing have hold of you except Jesus and claim no Lord but him. Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.
In Baghdad there is a heavily fortified compound called the Green Zone where coalition authorities live and work. It may well be the only relatively safe place in the city. In a way it is a colony of hope, the center of the international vision for what just might be possible in Iraq.
The Green Zone -- also called "The Bubble" - is the hub of the vision for the New Iraq. It is almost self-sufficient, and staff working there can be treated in the compound's hospital or run safely in its grounds. When they leave, it is by armored car with an armed military escort (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/baghdad-green-zone.htm).
Life inside the Green Zone and life outside are very different. There are real enemies outside – people with different and hostile agendas, with the goal of crushing the vision and presence of the international community in The Bubble. Who will win is still very much up in the air.
It was much the same in Philippi: inside the colony was hope; inside the colony was vision for what was possible in Philippi and in the world. But outside,
many live as enemies of the cross of Christ…Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things (Phil 3:18-19, NRSV).
Yes, there are real enemies outside – people with different and hostile agendas, with the goal of crushing the vision and presence of the colony and of its Lord. Sometimes it must have seemed to the colonists that their position was precarious, that they might be overwhelmed and destroyed, that they might just be too weak to transform the hostile culture. And so Paul reminds them,
But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself (Phil 3:20-21, NRSV).
Yes, their citizenship is in heaven. But Paul is not saying, Hold on, you’ll be out of here soon and escape to heaven. Not at all. Paul is reminding the colonists that, because they are citizens of heaven, they have all the resources of heaven at their disposal to fulfill their mission to claim Philippi for their Lord Jesus Christ. And one day Jesus Christ himself will come from heaven to Philippi to vindicate his colonists, to crush the opposition, and to reign supreme in their midst. He has the power to subject all things to himself and to glorify and transform the colonists into his likeness.
In this knowledge and assurance, the colonists – the joy and crown of the apostle – are to stand firm in the Lord.
Well, you see where all this is going, don’t you? All we have to do – and in fact we need to do it – is to change the salutation of Paul’s letter a bit.
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Knoxville,
with the bishops and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Knoxville is a domain of the powers and principalities of the present evil age where money, sex, and power are hailed as lords. But, in this city, God has established the church, a colony of heaven, where Jesus is hailed as Lord. And what are we colonists to do? We are to bring Christ’s presence into the midst of this dark realm. We are to transform it. We are to claim it for heaven, claim it for the Lord Jesus Christ, until all its citizens claim Jesus Christ – and not any modern Caesar – as Lord and God. We few, we sisters and brothers in the church, are citizens of heaven, yes, and we pray and work not that we might escape this world and go to heaven, but that heaven might come here among us. As our Savior Christ has taught us we are bold to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
In this little outpost of heaven on earth, we are not called to innovate, but to imitate the cross-shaped life of our Lord. We are called to empty ourselves of self for the glory of being filled with Christ. We are called to leave the “Green Zone” of the sanctuary and enter the hostile environment where the enemies of the cross need desperately to hear the good news of the cross – where they need to see it lived out by the church. We are called to proclaim in every way possible that Jesus is Lord. And we are called to live in expectation of the arrival of our Lord, the Lord of heaven and earth. Of course, we have to work all of this out, to see what it means for us in this place in this time. This place isn’t Philippi. This time isn’t 50 A.D. But not so much has changed, really. And so Paul’s closing words to Philippi might just as well be to us – they are to us.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:4-7, NRSV).
Amen.
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