"Peace" is defined in Webster's Dictionary as "the normal, non-warring condition of a nation." In this definition, peace is the absence of war or conflict. No positive attribute of peace is given.

In today's Gospel reading, the Apostle Paul offers a different definition of peace. "Have no anxiety at all," Paul writes to the church at Philippi. "But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

The peace of God, as Paul describes it, is not an absence but a presence. It is a force guarding us and protecting us from external conflict but also protecting us from the inner turmoil of anxiety.

I don't know about you, but a statement like "Have no anxiety at all" gets my attention. Sometimes I think that all I have is anxiety - about money, work, children, parents and the many other responsibilities and commitments in my life. Paul suggests God wants to protect us from letting these commitments and responsibilities become burdens. He suggests that the burdens belong to God.

"In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God." The anxiety that besets us can be lifted if we place it in God's hands. This will bring us, Paul says, a peace that we may not be able to understand, but we certainly can savor.

It always strikes me how, when I am most anxious, I am least likely to pray. Instead, I mull my fears over and over in my mind, trying to play out every possible scenario for resolution. Fretting over things I cannot control or change doesn't do me much good. Praying, according to Paul, does. It brings peace.

We are living in a time of intense anxiety as a world, and as a nation. We are stressed about inflation, failing financial institutions, a pivotal and potentially divisive election, and an ailing planet, to name just a few frightening issues before us. It is not clear how to control or work towards positive change. We may not have all the answers, but we can, perhaps, find peace in the meantime. And we can share that peace with one another. Perhaps it will spread.

Peace is not just the absence of conflict. It is the presence of God. It is not an armed truce, or cold war, where the conflict is avoided because all parties live in fear. It is something far better and richer. It is the assurance that God is with us.

"Whatever is true," Paul continues, "whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you."

The peace of God will be with us if we focus on all that we have learned and received from God, and call on God to take care of everything else. We don't have to solve every problem. We don't have to fight every battle. We only have to remember what we have received.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa. He may be reached at bptidings@yahoo.com.