The epistle lesson for today is Philippians 4:1-9. Paul is writing from prison to the small congregation at Philippi, encouraging them to care for one another through consideration and compassion. And he tells them not to worry. Easy for him to say might be a contemporary reply when fear appears to be marketed in every media. Fear of terrorism, and fear of disease, and fear of poverty, and fear of the other political party, and fear of spying, and fear of other religious faiths, and fear of other races, and fear of criminals, and fear of those who will take our weapons, and on and on. But Paul's message is counter to the culture then and now. Anxiety is a threat to personal well-being and community peace. Fear is the opposite of trust. And the result of trust is joy. Worried people, even those who claim a faith, will find it a challenge to experience lasting joy because fear is a shroud of darkness and death. Kirkegaard called anxiety "the sickness unto death." Paul's letter encouraged his readers to let it go. There can be another way to life.