Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. – Luke 12:32-34
Worry can be sneaky. It crouches next to you, waiting for the right moment. It sidles up close to you with stealth and whispers its problems to you. It taps you on the shoulder gently while you’re doing other things: “Hey, remember that thing that’s bothering you? Let’s think about that again. Let’s try to figure it out.” Worry often doesn’t end when one problem is solved. Instead it can become a habit, winding us up from one worry to the next until we’re so tied up we break under the stress.
I wish I could say that I’ve squelched the habit of worry. Times of stress or uncertainty can bring it on, so I’ve learned that those are the times to pay attention to the lure of worry and combat it with prayer and moving away from keeping my focus on myself. It helps to keep my eyes on Jesus by reading the Gospels more or simply looking at a statue or image of Him. Another way to combat worry about yourself is to do something kind for another person, especially one of the works of mercy.
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21
In our Gospel reading this Sunday, Luke 12:32-48, Jesus offers the antidote to worry. This is the passage that directly precedes the reading:
He said to [his] disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. – Luke 12:22-31.
So what is the antidote to worry? Giving alms, which becomes a type of “treasure” for us in heaven. Works of love and mercy become permanent in heaven. When we can keep our hearts set on what is in heaven, the things we worry about here on earth lose their luster. It becomes easier to let them go and depend on God to provide those things for us. So we don’t have to be afraid any longer. Our Father is the eternal King, and He is pleased to take care of every need we have (Luke 12:32).
Jesus, please give me the grace to notice when I’m worrying and break free of the habit by praying and offering a work of mercy in Your name.