Philippians 4:8-9 (NRSV)
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Today we’ll be looking at Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Philippi was the capital of Macedonia at this time. It was named by Philip, king of Macedonia, and father to Alexander the Great – which probably explains a lot about why there are so many Alexandria’s scattered around the Near East – it’s apparently a family trait to name cities for yourself.
For our purposes, the more important point is that the Christ-community Paul founded there was the first formed in Europe when Paul began expanding out from the Near East. We don’t know for certain one way or the other if Paul ever returned to Philippi after his initial visit, but he did spend time in Macedonia and, since there was no hostile group there waiting to pounce if he ever returned, it is entirely possible that he had been able to visit Philippi in the intervening years.
The second point is that Paul loved the Philippian community. It appears to have been remarkably conflict-free, leaving Paul to write a letter that is simply affectionate and encouraging, without him having to be angry at anyone.
This letter was written from the same prison as the letter to Philemon which we read last time, but possibly written at a little later time. In the letter to Philemon, Paul speaks of hoping to be released from prison and able to visit Philemon soon. In this letter, he is much less hopeful of this and speaks openly of the possibility that this imprisonment may well end with his execution.
What comes through quite clearly in this letter is that while Paul loves them all dearly and truly hopes to be able to see them again, he is also perfectly okay with the idea of his death. He is ready, even eager, to “depart and be with Christ,” yet he is also content to stay and continue his work for the Lord if that is God’s will for him. He is Christ’s servant and his will is simply to do Christ’s will.
We’ll have two more letters to go -- 2nd Corinthians and Romans -- before we’ve worked our way through the seven legitimately Pauline letters we set out to study this summer, yet this letter already shows us a reflective Paul – one who has lived a long life of being Christ’s apostle and spreading the Good News over much of the civilized world of the time. It is clear that thinking about and writing to the people of this community provide a balm to Paul’s sometimes battered spirit. We get this is his opening greeting:
For our purposes, the more important point is that the Christ-community Paul founded there was the first formed in Europe when Paul began expanding out from the Near East. We don’t know for certain one way or the other if Paul ever returned to Philippi after his initial visit, but he did spend time in Macedonia and, since there was no hostile group there waiting to pounce if he ever returned, it is entirely possible that he had been able to visit Philippi in the intervening years.
The second point is that Paul loved the Philippian community. It appears to have been remarkably conflict-free, leaving Paul to write a letter that is simply affectionate and encouraging, without him having to be angry at anyone.
This letter was written from the same prison as the letter to Philemon which we read last time, but possibly written at a little later time. In the letter to Philemon, Paul speaks of hoping to be released from prison and able to visit Philemon soon. In this letter, he is much less hopeful of this and speaks openly of the possibility that this imprisonment may well end with his execution.
What comes through quite clearly in this letter is that while Paul loves them all dearly and truly hopes to be able to see them again, he is also perfectly okay with the idea of his death. He is ready, even eager, to “depart and be with Christ,” yet he is also content to stay and continue his work for the Lord if that is God’s will for him. He is Christ’s servant and his will is simply to do Christ’s will.
We’ll have two more letters to go -- 2nd Corinthians and Romans -- before we’ve worked our way through the seven legitimately Pauline letters we set out to study this summer, yet this letter already shows us a reflective Paul – one who has lived a long life of being Christ’s apostle and spreading the Good News over much of the civilized world of the time. It is clear that thinking about and writing to the people of this community provide a balm to Paul’s sometimes battered spirit. We get this is his opening greeting:
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
He then goes on to explain that he is not grieved to still be in prison:
I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.
No fear, no anger, no railing against God for letting this happen to him. Reading this was, in fact, something of a revelation for me, because, like most people, what I have read of Paul’s letters has been read in bits and snippets – a little at a time – rarely reading anything all at once as a unified whole. When we read scripture this way, we tend to focus on and remember the big points and not the whole story. We can easily take one uncomplimentary statement and allow it, erroneously, to encapsulate an entire body of work. That is not only sloppy scholarship but also cuts us off from much that is, to paraphrase our opening reading for today - just, pure, and commendable.
That is one of the main reasons I love focusing in on a short series like this and taking the time to study it and discuss it in depth. For me, this summer, I have discovered a Paul who is not the angry, crabby, bossy Paul we so often meet in scripture. Oh, that Paul is definitely here, but that is not all there is to this apostle/saint. There is also a man who loves, one who exhausts himself doing the work he is called to do – a man who gets frustrated, as we all do, and occasionally vents. A man who never gives up.
This letter contains less direct teaching than the other letters we’ve read lately, where Paul is addressing a particular issue, but there is so much for us to learn by a careful reading of how Paul is living his life now – in a time and place where he has so little control over what is done with him – and his acceptance that he has done what he can do and the rest is in God’s hands. It isn’t fatalism, it isn’t giving up, it is just an absolute trust in God.
Every one of us can learn from that.
We’ll come back and finish this letter next week and look at some of the particulars Paul throws in here. And discover his main topic.
That is one of the main reasons I love focusing in on a short series like this and taking the time to study it and discuss it in depth. For me, this summer, I have discovered a Paul who is not the angry, crabby, bossy Paul we so often meet in scripture. Oh, that Paul is definitely here, but that is not all there is to this apostle/saint. There is also a man who loves, one who exhausts himself doing the work he is called to do – a man who gets frustrated, as we all do, and occasionally vents. A man who never gives up.
This letter contains less direct teaching than the other letters we’ve read lately, where Paul is addressing a particular issue, but there is so much for us to learn by a careful reading of how Paul is living his life now – in a time and place where he has so little control over what is done with him – and his acceptance that he has done what he can do and the rest is in God’s hands. It isn’t fatalism, it isn’t giving up, it is just an absolute trust in God.
Every one of us can learn from that.
We’ll come back and finish this letter next week and look at some of the particulars Paul throws in here. And discover his main topic.
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