Don't Worry

Elpidio Pezzella
3 days ago
3 min read

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Matthew 6:34 NKJV

Dear reader, in a few hours we will reach the end of this year, the eleventh of this adventure that allows me to meet you every week and offer you some food for thought. My company does not seek attention and reaches you on tiptoe, asking to be heard in silence. We are too overwhelmed by words, big words, and swear words that when we are in His presence we think like Kierkegaard: "As my prayer became deeper and deeper, I had less and less to say. In the end, I fell completely silent." Once again, perhaps you will do the same, we would like to turn the page and project ourselves into the new year (which is actually a continuation of the old one) with renewed ideas and expectations, without anxiety and worry, but this is not possible. Especially when the evidence says otherwise and time becomes a relentless enemy. Then the words of Isaiah come to mind: “Those who hope in the Lord will soar on wings... they will gain new strength...” Yet every hope must inevitably confront reality and the passing of days, and for this reason it will not enjoy the pleasure dear to Lessing and Wilde: “the anticipation of pleasure is itself pleasure.”

Sometimes we wait by choice, other times we are forced to wait, but we always hope for the best, for the good. What proves somewhat difficult is to place our hopes in God's will, especially when this prolongs the wait. God assured the prophet that he would receive an answer at the appointed time. “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3). The passing of days affects our patience, because faith should assure and reassure us that what God has promised will come, and above all, “will not delay.” I am reminded of old Simeon, who waited to see the promise of the Messiah fulfilled (Luke 2:25). Despite the passing days, months, and years, he was there in the temple. His eyes saw what his heart desired and his soul hoped for. Abraham did the same when, having no time to wait and hope, he hoped against hope (Romans 4:8-10). And I pray that next year will be the year we see God at work in our lives, in our families, in our churches, and in the whole world. Therefore, “hope in the Lord, now and forever” (Psalm 131:3).

Waiting is the womb of anxiety, the place where worry grows. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-34), Jesus calls his listeners to approach life in a different way, not with naivety or superficiality, but with the confidence that the good Lord knows the needs of each one. “Do not be anxious,” “do not worry,” “do not be troubled” are all translations of the same verb used by the Master. The same one used in relation to Martha, who was troubled by her household chores while Mary was at Jesus' feet. Three imperatives are interspersed in the discourse: “look,” “observe,” “seek.” The same ones that I dare to make my own and address to you. Let us pause and try to see more deeply what gives meaning to our lives. Let us look around us and contemplate creation and nature: the birds have their food and the flowers of the field have their clothing. Could this be the invitation for the coming days? “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (v. 33). If we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the worries of today or the unknown of tomorrow, we will prove ourselves to be “people of little faith” (v. 30), because life does not depend on our activities. Our Father knows what we need.