Think of how that astronomer will react to a sunrise. For him it can only be the horizon moving down, the Earth turning and carrying him ever so slightly toward the Sun… Would it not fill him with ‘fear and trembling’ to watch and see the Truth being worked out? Continue reading
This is not, they say, “universal salvation” but it is instead, “universal recognition”. I think they are close, if not correct. For I truly think that everyone really does know. As Bill Cosby once joked about earthquakes in California: when the ground shakes everyone looks up.But all this misses what I think is St. Paul’s point. His subject is humility and obedience to God. Continue reading
Apparently, Corinth was not the only church with a bickering, divided congregation. And that bothers me. I had been told all my life that Philippians was the letter of rejoicing. I’ve read through the New Testament a number of times and, because I had been told in advance what this letter was supposedly about, I thought I had read and understood it. Continue reading
Just because we know what chapter 2:10 says, just because we know we are saved, we must be careful in how we structure our defiance. While we must “stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel” (1:27 NIV) we need to remember to be humble and gracious. For our goal is not that our attackers should reap the reward of Hell, but that they would repent and be saved. We must always remember that we serve our Heavenly Father who created them also. Continue reading
Many of us have heard this verse, “21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Tons of sermons have been preached about it. Once again, we have to consider it in context. And the context, as I read it, is Paul’s concern for the Philippians. Verse 21 does not stand alone. I don’t find much in the commentaries to confirm my reading of this. Here’s my idea, let me know what you think: Continue reading
Because we have read Scripture and listened to sermons about Paul’s various imprisonments many of us have some idea about how St. Paul felt about being a “prisoner for Christ” and his opinion that by being in prison, he was quite effective in spreading the Gospel. However, until I became involved in prison ministry, I was completely unaware of how the prison system, through various ministries, spreads the Gospel. Continue reading
These four verses really spoke to me. As I read them I felt the love Paul and Timothy had for their friends in Philippi. Paul has mentioned that he is in prison. We know, from Acts 16, of Paul’s imprisonment and the subsequent miracle concerning his incarceration when he was in Philippi. In this letter he is again imprisoned. He knows what’s going on in Philippi and he tells his friends that they share his chains. Now he prays for them. Continue reading
First, I’d like to point out that verse 6 is one of those famous, frequently quoted verses. It is nestled quite nicely in Paul’s greeting, which is a word of Thanksgiving to God for the Philippians. Imagine getting a letter that starts out the way this one does. Continue reading
If this is the first time you have studied one of St. Paul’s letters then you won’t notice something odd about this greeting. But check out how St. Paul greets the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians and the Ephesians. Do you note that something is missing from this and that something else is added? The commentaries I read produced much verbiage about the fact that St. Paul does not mention his authority as an apostle and that he does address the clergy separately. Continue reading
It sometimes seems that just about every verse is highly quotable. We find “He who began a good work in you will complete it…” or something like that. There’s also “To live is Christ and to die is gain..” That’s right, isn’t it? And then there’s that great poem that contains the line, “Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” Finally, there’s “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice.” Surely peoople quote that correctly, don’t they? Continue reading