Yet one more time, let us remind ourselves: Suffering and sorrow are the mark of God's eternal favor, His intention to strip from us the cares and anxieties of this passing valley of shadow. If we cling to this life and its comforts, we simply cannot claim to understand the Kingdom. It is imperative we separate ourselves from this plane of existence, not in the sense of caring for others in sorrow, but in caring too much about our own. This is clearly on Paul's mind as he writes to the Philippian Christians.
Of all the churches Paul planted, the Philippians suffered the most in terms of poverty. They were singularly famous for embracing this as a blessing, a special gift which kept them from loving this life too much. It was a very endearing quality, and Paul really missed that atmosphere. In this, they were his proof of the Gospel, a fellowship so very other-worldly no one could deny there was a great power behind it all. He encouraged them to stay that way.
Given this, why in the world would we have two deaconesses stirring strife against each other? Paul begged them to surrender their self-willed battle and restrain their human minds, to occupy their thoughts as servants of the Christ. The mind was not meant to rule and evaluate, but to implement the imperatives and evaluations of the Spirit speaking to the human spirit His ineffable will. They had previously managed to do this when serving while Paul was there, as had some others who we can guess probably paid with their lives, as Paul refers to them as written in the Lamb's Book of Life. In this, we rejoice, because ours is there, too. Rather, this eternal truth of our destiny should bring us to peace and gentleness in our conduct. Jesus Himself is watching, and could return suddenly any day. So there was no excuse for this carping and jockeying to prove one or another organizational issue as the one right way to do things. Let these women, and everyone else, pray with passionate abandon for God to win all the arguments, and seek that peace which the mind cannot grasp, the peace of having moved one's commitments to another plane above. Nothing can touch you or provoke you in that serenity!
Paul rattles off a list of virtues which exemplify the mind which has been relieved of command, and obeys the dictates of the spiritual plane. While such virtues echo the human moralizing common in Greek writings, he is actually using them in their spiritual sense. We are committed against all costs to Truth in the Person of God, we are completely open because our minds do not sink to lesser concerns as if they mattered, we struggle to realize God's Justice, we have cast aside all the lusts of the flesh and mere human reason, we embrace something worthy of sacrifice, we are seeking things which have that ineffable ring of Heaven's song, things too good for words, yet calling forth a torrent of praise. Paul asks them to meditate on such things, because this was what he taught them, showed them, and knew they had it if they could stay with it. It was what brought the power and presence of God close.
Finally Paul mentions how thrilled he was with their love gift sent by Epaphroditus. Yet again they poured themselves into providing for his material needs, and it was akin to the fresh flowering of spring. They always cared, of course, but he enjoyed the reminder. It was not a matter of his need, simply because he knew, as surely as his heart was beating, God would supply, that material things were mere tools in His service. Circumstances of poverty or wealth had no bearing on anything which mattered; Paul embraced what came as God's divine plan. What mattered most was the endless supply of Christ's own strength which carried Him to the Cross. But it was a good thing for them to send what they could gather, simply because it demonstrated their willingness to suffer along with him.
This the Philippians had done from the start. No other church even attempted to send him money, but since his hasty flight from Macedonia, they had never ceased trying to scrape up support for his work. The material gifts were not the point; God owned all Creation. What mattered was their faithfulness in recognizing His ownership, and it was the heavy fruit crop of God's working in them. Thus, it was a gift to God, a sweet sacrifice He savored, more than it was money in Paul's purse. By the same token, whatever it was they themselves needed in serving the Kingdom would be richly supplied by the Savior who was there at Creation. This was all for His own glory, and nothing could be better than to share in that glory.
Paul ends with a personal greeting from those with him. In particular, he notes rather joyfully the Christians among Caesar's palace staff were also sending their love. Grace abounding, indeed!
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By Ed Hurst
08 January 2011
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