(See also: “Litany for the Hard Teachings” - in PATREON - which focuses on the beatitudes of Luke 6)
Upon this reading of the Lectionary passages for this week, I’m bowled over by the word “fret.”
Do not fret because of the wicked (Psalm 37:1)
Do not fret over those who prosper by way of evil. (Psalm 37:7)
Do not fret--it leads only to evil. (Psalm 37:8)
Do not fret about your safety (Psalm 37:40)
Do not fret about your enemies (Luke 6:27).
Do not fret about meanies who hit or steal from you (Luke 6:29)
Do not fret about what others are doing that you don’t like (Luke 6:37).
Do not fret over whether you’ll have enough (Luke 6:38).
Do not fret about that bad thing you did (Genesis 45:5).
I’m thinking about all the fretting I do, which I’m working on unlearning. Wow, I can really fret with the best fretters around.
But I want to learn the Way of No Fretting. The way of trust and gratitude. The way of childlike faith in God’s care. The way of Julian’s “All shall be well.”
And there’s a lot to fret about. More things than we can even take in with our human minds. The fret-fest is overwhelming.
So we ask ourselves: where do we want to live? In world-driven, low consciousness (asleep to God) hamster wheel of fretting about this and that? Or in Spirit? In love? In the freedom from worry and fretting which is salvation, the imperishable? I think we get to choose. Every day we choose.
Easier said than done but we keep practicing.
God, in these days it's easy for us to fret over political divisions,
Over potential wars and conflicts,
Over the possibility of losing our way of life,
Over the future of our planet,
Over an endless array of problems and threats.
This anxiety can immobilize us and render us useless.