Peace Beyond Understanding

This is Cardinal Francis George. I invite you to join me for the next few minutes to reflect with Fr. Robert Barron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire. Word on Fire Catholic Ministries is a non-profit ministry at the forefront of Catholic evangelization, using new media to spread the faith on every continent. Fr. Barron challenges us to open our hearts to the Word on Fire, which is God's word of love for each of us. If our hearts are open, the Lord can change and transform us so that we might speak with love about the one who is love. The global benefactors of Word on Fire, with the support of the Archdiocese of Chicago, now present Word on Fire. Peace be with you. Friends, over the past several weeks, we've been looking at a number of the remarkable parables of the Lord from the latter chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. I might invite you, if you have some time, take out your scriptures and go to the end of the Gospel of Matthew and see this whole string of parables. Wonderful. And the church now has been immersing us in these stories the last couple of weeks. But I want to turn from them this week and focus on the second reading, which is from St. Paul to the Philippians. This little passage is so good, and it's so worthy of our careful spiritual attention. Again, speaking of reading the Bible, take out your. New Testament and read Paul to the Philippians. You can easily read it in one sitting. It's very brief, and it's just a marvelous letter. What's eminently clear is that Paul had a special affection for the Philippians. After all, they were the first community that he formed in Europe. Remember, after he had passed over from Asia Minor. And he comes to Europe. And at that moment, as I've said before, a major cultural revolution takes place because that's the introduction. It's the introduction of European Christianity, which in turn would influence the whole world, including the fact that I'm sitting here today as an American of Irish descent speaking about the Christian faith, is due ultimately to the fact that Paul passed over into Europe. Well, anyway, the first community he forms there is the community at Philippi. So he has a great affection for the people. What we have today in our second reading is part of Paul's. Paul's very affectionate farewell to this community. And mind you, you know, when someone like Paul in the first century would leave a town or a city, there was a very good chance he'd never be back. You know, it's not like today you get on a plane and, well, I'll be back in a couple of days. At that point, leaving a city, he was saying farewell for good. Well, here's the rather surprising opening line from our reading. Brothers and sisters, have no anxiety at all. That's Paul to the Philippians. Have no anxiety at all. Now, this is coming from a man who, by his own admission, was beaten several times within an inch of his life, who suffered public ridicule on a regular basis, was shipwrecked more than once, was imprisoned several times, including at Philippi, and who would, in time, be put to death. There's no way that Paul didn't experience anxiety, in the ordinary sense of the term, a lot. He was acquainted with anxiety. He must have been on many occasions in his life. Afraid, even very afraid. And moreover, as we all know, you can't exactly command someone, someone not to be afraid. That tends to make it worse, doesn't it? If someone's afraid, you say, "Stop being afraid." Well, it probably would deepen that person's fear. So, the question remains, what can Paul possibly mean here when he orders the Philippians to have no anxiety? Well, I would say this. He's inviting them to recalibrate their lives. To move from the rim of the wheel of fortune to the center. Now, I know in books of mine and other writings and speeches, I've used that image a lot before of the rota fortunae, the wheel of fortune. You can find it in a lot of medieval manuscripts. You find it on the walls of medieval cathedrals. It's, again, that great wheel. At the top of it is a king wearing a crown, and he says, "Regno." "I'm reigning." As the wheel turns clockwise, you see a king losing his crown. He says, "Regnavi." Right? "I've reigned." At the bottom is a pauper, and he says, "Sum sine regno." "I'm without any kind of power." Then you move up, and you've got a ladder climber, someone who's climbing up toward power. And he says, "Regnabo." "I shall reign." Okay. That's it. That's life. That's the point of the wheel of fortune. That's life. The wheel turns. Sometimes you're up. Sometimes you're down. Sometimes you're losing power, wealth, pleasure, honor. Other times, you're gaining them. The one thing we know pretty much for sure is that the wheel continually turns. If you're on top, you live in anxiety, don't you? Because you know you might lose what you've got. If you're losing power, of course you have anxiety, because, heck, I'm losing. You're on the bottom, of course you have anxiety, because you've got nothing. You're moving up the ladder, you have anxiety, because you don't know if you're going to make it or not. The point is, every point on the exterior of the wheel is a point of anxiety, fear. But at the center of the wheel of fortune is an image of Christ. And we hear in the letter of the Hebrews, Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Christ, who links us to the power of God, which is unchanging, which is eternal, which remains, listen now, despite the turns of the wheel, despite all of the vagaries of our ordinary life, that point is a still point at the center of the wheel. At the center of the wheel. The purpose of that little device is to teach us not to live our lives on the rim of the wheel, up, down, falling, rising, in constant anxiety. Rather, live in the center. And then you can watch the wheel go round with a certain detachment, a certain insouciance. Well, I'm up. I know. It's not going to last. My health is good. I've got power. I've got wealth. I've got influence. Okay. Okay. I'm losing power, wealth, health, influence. Okay. That's the way it goes. That's life. Now I've got none. Maybe I'm very sick. Maybe I've lost the power I used to have. Maybe now no one listens to me. I'm not influential at all. Okay. Or I'm making a comeback. I'm feeling better. I'm getting more power. I'm getting more powerful, more influential, more famous and wealthy. Okay. Fine. That's life. Don't live on the rim of the wheel. Live in the center of the wheel. Live in Christ. And then you will find the place of real peace. Does that make sense now? The place of real peace, even when you're experiencing at another level of your life, the anxiety of the wheel. See, because we can't really escape that. That's just the way life goes. But I can redirect and recalibrate and recenter my life in such a way that I find the place of no anxiety. Notice something, please. This place in the center. I call it the place of peace. I'd use the biblical term there, shalom. This is not to be confused with joy in the emotional world. This is not to be confused with joy in the emotional sense. That's the wheel of fortune. That just comes and goes. I mean, your good feelings, bad feelings. And more to it, it's not a state of soul that excludes fear and trembling. Paul had lots of anxiety, as we saw. It's defined what Teresa of Avila called the interior castle. What John of the Cross referred to as the inner wine cellar. I always love that image. Castle is the place of safety. Castle is the place of safety and power. The wine cellar is the place of the spirits, of intoxication. You know, you're living on the rim of the wheel. You're always in fear. But go to that central place. Root your life in Christ, and you're connected to the spirits that intoxicate you. It's to find the place that Paul himself found when he said, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. You see, he's made this. move I'm talking about and the evidence is he was able to able to say that line. Know some too now from our reading for today. Paul specifies the quality of this peace as, quote, one that surpasses all understanding. Meaning it's not ingredient in the ordinary range of perception and experience. It's not something that could come even in principle from a mood-enhancing drug, or the rush of a thrilling experience, or some worldly accomplishment. Now, nothing wrong with those things. Well, maybe not the mood-enhancing drug. I'm not recommending that. But, you know, the rush of a thrilling experience, some worldly accomplishment, fine. That's great. But it's on the rim of the wheel. Now, you can sense this state of soul that Paul's talking about. In certain people who have suffered enormously, it's a serenity of spirit, born of a confidence that one is, no matter what, linked to God. See, that's why I say, especially in people who've suffered, and yet have found this peace, because their suffering has perhaps led them to this deeper place. The Job who said, though he slay me, yet I will praise him, is in possession of this peace, even when he's at the limit of suffering in the worldly way. And here's a little secret, everybody. The whole of religion is meant to inculcate this state of soul. Just a word about that now, in light of the second part of our reading for today. Paul says, finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, think about these things. Now, I know it can sound a bit like a banality, something along the lines of do good and avoid evil. But actually, this observation is of great spiritual power. One of the ways we can cultivate peace, finding this new center, is to bathe ourselves, as it were, in those things that are redolent of God. So, as I've said very often to you, God is the unconditioned source of goodness, truth, and beauty. Therefore, whatever is good, whatever is true, whatever is beautiful, participates in God and reflects God. And so, an elegantly formulated mathematical equation, the musings of a real philosopher, a well-crafted short story, an act of authentic kindness, the heroic apostolic work of the missionaries of Jesus Christ, the missionaries of Jesus Christ, the missionaries of charity, the frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a beautifully proportioned building, a handsome face, smiling and friendliness, an innocent child at play, a crisply executed fast break, a well-written television program, etc., etc. All these things, precisely in their truth, goodness, and beauty, speak of God and therefore help to plant the peace of God in the depths of the soul. Turn it around. Things that are coarse, stupid, poorly executed, low-level, crude, immoral, all have a degrading influence on the soul and tend to push us to the rim of the wheel of fortune. We should be cognizant of this truth when we feel tempted to associate with people of questionable morality, to watch crude television programs, to indulge in obscene or harmful language, at the limit to participate in pornography, etc. All these things, precisely in their truth, and therefore help to plant the peace of God in the depths of the soul, and therefore help to plant the peace of God in the depths of the soul. All these things, precisely in their truth, and therefore help to plant the peace of God in the depths of the soul.