Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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 4:1-9
Good morning….
If you’ll allow me, I will preach today on Paul’s letter to the Philippians that is part of the lectionary for today. Nothing against the Gospel…but this particular passage from Philippians is special for me.
Besides being beautiful words and uplifting thoughts, this text is meaningful to me because I believe it was meaningful to my father. I found it enclosed in my father’s 1928 Book of Common Prayer. He gave me this tiny BCP a few months before he died. His mother had inscribed and given it to him in December 1943 as he was about to leave in order to serve in the army aircorps in World War ll.
Inside, I found a very yellowed piece of paper that I am assuming he cut out of his Day-By-Day. (We still have Day-By-Day today!) The older version is a little different…
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
My father was a lifelong Episcopalian who greatly influenced the development of my faith. He was private about his faith, but I learned from watching him worship in church and from how he lived his life.
I cherish my father’s BCP and will go to it occasionally for comfort and support. I also inherited my mother’s equally tiny BCP. My grandmother had inscribed and given it to her on their wedding day in 1945. Hers was much fancier… with a white satin cover with pearls decorating the edges:)
What is it about these concluding words of Paul, written in the 1st century to the people of Philippa, as he was held in prison?
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.
Paul was encouraging the Philippians to be of the same mind – same mind as Paul and same mind together – in unity- …to follow and live out the Gospel message. It was a chaotic time during these early years of Christianity. It was dangerous to be a Christian … Paul and others were imprisoned repeatedly because of their faith beliefs. Followers of Jesus (including Paul) risked their lives trying to follow Jesus.
This text from Philippians clearly lists a number of worthy principles to think on…
Truth
Honor
Justice
Purity
Pleasing
Commendable
Excellence
Praiseworthy
These particular attributes remind me of the Bible’s commonly cited Fruits of the Spirit.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
These are also worthy qualities. But they are different.
Paul’s words are more representative of the secular Greek values that were part of 1st century culture.
I view them to be qualities to strive for as one lives. They are more about doing, rather than being.
You take action to achieve values such as truth, honor, justice, excellence, etc. in the world. In contrast, the fruits of the Spirit seem to reflect qualities of being in the world. They are God-given – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Prayer is often the way to these.
Paul is asking/commanding the people of Philippa to strive for the ethical values of their culture. He is asking them to integrate these secular values with their Christian lives…to seek them for this world. The fruits of the Spirit will transform us…-
God promises that “the God of peace that will be with you”…
This is a spiritual peace.
“God’s peace which surpasses all understanding and will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I have always loved this phrase when we say it in worship…It makes me feel safe and grounded in God’s love.
We see here an integration of secular ethics and scriptural values.
What does that look like in 2020? The peace of God feels like a stretch on some days, lately. Our world has been particularly chaotic for 8 months now. Of course, we have all occasionally experienced challenging or low times in our lives, when God feels far away. It is part of the spiritual journey. But the challenges of the past months have been constant and sustained. How do we respond?
I believe that Paul would direct us to keep on “thinking and doing these things” – To practice the attributes of:
Truth Honor Justice Purity Pleasing Commendable Excellence Praiseworthiness.
In doing so, Paul shows us a way to experience and make manifest the mysterious presence of God in our lives.
Paul wrote this letter to encourage the people of Philippa.
He reminds us to “Rejoice in the Lord always; let your gentleness be known to everyone.”
Paul calls the Philippians his joy and crown…
rejoicing means celebrating the joy in things…
despite the vicissitudes of our lives. This was a difficult time for Jesus’ followers. and Paul was worried about the Philippians. They were probably a source of angst for him. But Paul insists – we can still rejoice. Joy is more than happiness. Joy is deeper… It leads to gratitude. It can exist even when life is hard. It sustains us in challenging times. I think of raising my children. They are my greatest joy – but that doesn’t mean they have always behaved perfectJ
We can be grounded in joy if we know the peace of God. We can rejoice – even in unhappy times. Even during 8 months of a pandemic and overwhelming systemic racism in the United States.
Paul reminds us that we can look to God for support. We can pray! We can give thanks and we can make requests to God – supplications.
He tells us to let God know our requests…This can help bring us the peace of God. We can let our gentleness be known to everyone…
If only more of us could experience life in that way!
Paul’s values seem to resonate with our sense of our Christian faith.
He urges the Philippians (and us) to “think on these things” and “keep on doing these things”. These are action oriented and I believe St Mark’s is action oriented.
I know I have said this before, but when I first came to St Mark’s, I was immediately aware of the collective expression of love and of living ethical lives. The emphasis on social justice in this community is palpable.
I find myself thinking about the St Mark’s community. I have witnessed gentleness among us. While I imagine most of us fully support separation of church and state as articulated in our Constitution, I believe many of us seek to integrate our Christian beliefs with our secular values. It is not effective or authentic to live by church rules in church only but not outside in the world.
On a different note, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote. The Women’s Vote Centennial initiative is being celebrated virtually throughout our country. Women’s Equality Day was officially celebrated on August 26, 2020.
This lectionary passage reflects the positive regard that Paul had for women working to spread the gospel message. He makes it clear that women are working beside him.
This lectionary passage begins with Paul speaking to and about two women in particular. He describes Euodia and Syntyche as co-workers. It is noteworthy that Paul names these women. – This raises their status. Being named in scripture is significant throughout the Bible. And more often than not, women are not named because of their lower status in the world at the time. But Paul has named them these two women because of their importance in his movement.
Paul talks about how Euodia and Syntyche struggle BESIDE him in the work of the gospel, along with the rest of his followers. He urges Euodia and Syntyche “to be of the same mind in the Lord”. To be unified in the mind of God.
What does being of the same mind in the Lord mean? It is much more than agreeing…It implies taking action to spread the gospel message.
There are some biblical scholars who consider Paul’s recognition of these two women who are disagreeing as just a stereotypical negative image of women spatting. However, it is more fitting to view Paul’s urging as a reminder to all of us –He wants us to be of the same mind in the Lord – to think on these things. This speaks to a unified orientation of self to the group – to the community – to God.
Paul portrays these women as equal members of the group of followers – who work beside him. Paul is not singling them out because they are lesser. Rather he acknowledges and names them…reflecting their importance in his eyes and their importance in the struggle that Paul is facing…trying to spread the Gospel message. This acknowledgement was significant. Paul’s view was counter cultural in his treatment and perspective on women. He clearly considered them to be equal co-workers.
Paul is asking for his followers to support these two women in their ministry work. He wants all of his followers to support each other – to be of the same mind. Only then will the message survive. This work is a struggle for all involved – for Paul, for the women, and for others. Paul is writing this letter to support and encourage all his beloved followers.
But in all honesty, I should add that Paul wrote many other letters that are included in the Bible. Most of them reflected a different – less equal – view of women.
Twenty years or so ago, I joined a neighborhood church’s Bible study program. On my first day, we read Paul’s words about women obeying their husbands. I dropped out.
Nevertheless, women were ( and still are) instrumental in teaching the gospel message and strengthening the church. There are multiple examples of women showing up first in the story of Jesus. They get the message more quickly! J Most notably after the crucifixion of Jesus… only the women were able to see the resurrected Jesus.
We all witness the leadership of women at St Mark’s, the extent to which women lead the congregation in its ministry work. It is impressive… Women are critical to the foundation of churches. And now, we finally have ordained women in the church, I grew up believing that no such thing would be allowed.
I believe Paul’s recognition of these women as co-workers is uplifting. And his message to both women and men is hopeful. He urges all of us to
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.
I say – Good advice for the 21st century! God grant you peace.
Amen
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.
