Standing Firm in the Faith—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 20A (Philippians 4:1-9)

 

Philippians 4:1-9 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

4 ¹ 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.

² I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³ 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 coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. ⁹ As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.

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                Paul’s letter of joy, written from a prison cell somewhere in the Roman Empire, to the believers gathered in Philippi, is coming to a close. It is time for a few final words of encouragement and instruction to a community that appears to be struggling with opposition from the outside community. In the verses before our reading, Paul anchors his message in the promise of the resurrection, reminding readers that their citizenship is in heaven and that God will transform their bodies so they conform to the glory of Christ’s body (Phil. 3:20-21). Therefore, Paul tells the believers whom he loves and who are his joy and crown to stand firm in the Lord (Phil. 4:1). In verse 10 of chapter 4, Paul reminds us why the Philippians are his joy and crown. Even when they did not have an opportunity to render support, Paul knew they had his back. That support went a long way to sustain Paul during his trials and tribulations.

                What we have in verses 2 through 9 is a series of exhortations, beginning with a word to Euodia and Syntyche, two women who had served along with Paul in the work of the Gospel, to be of the same mind. It appears that these two women who had been key partners in ministry with Paul were at odds with each other. Paul doesn’t tell us what has transpired, but the recipients of the letter know what he is talking about. What is revealed here is that women were key partners in the ministry of the Pauline churches. The call to be of the same mind reflects as well Paul’s earlier call for the Philippians to imitate Christ by being in full accord and of one mind, plus not doing anything from selfish ambition (Phil. 2:2-3). While he encourages these two important women to come together as one, he asked his “faithful companion” to help them work out whatever was causing the trouble (Phil. 4:3). Daniel Migliore notes here that Paul’s appeal to his companion to help the women work things out reminds us that “For Paul, ministry in a local congregation is a shared responsibility rather than a solo affair. Everyone has some gift to offer for the welfare of the whole. Whatever the name of the trusted companion, he or she was apparently gifted in handling conflict and resolving disputes” [Migliore, Philippians, Belief, p. 155].  So, Paul reached out to another companion in ministry to help resolve an area of concern about two women, whom he numbered among his colleagues, such as Clement and those whose names had been written in the Book of Life. The mention of these companions suggests that they may no longer be living.

                Having addressed an area of concern—the conflict between Euodia and Syntyche—Paul is ready to offer more general exhortations, beginning with one of his best-known exhortations. That is, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). Rejoicing always may seem a bit too far-fetched. Life just doesn’t work that way. But then Paul knows that life is difficult. After all, he wrote this letter from a jail cell. He suffered imprisonment, beatings, exile, and shipwreck. He had a lot of enemies both inside and outside the church. Yet although he believed that it was possible to rejoice, this joy did not depend on circumstances. It depended instead on being in the presence of God. Paul then exhorts the readers to treat everyone with gentleness. Both joy and gentleness are fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). How might one experience this joy and gentleness that comes from the Spirit? Paul tells the readers: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). Anxiousness and worry will drain the joy out of life and can undermine gentleness as well. Now, Paul isn’t saying there isn’t anything the Philippians might be anxious about. Paul isn’t naïve about the world he inhabits. Besides, it is clear from the letter, including the mention of resolving the conflict between Euodia and Syntyche, that problems existed in Philippi. Paul had to be at least a bit anxious about his own situation. Nevertheless, when Paul speaks here about prayer and supplication, he is encouraging his readers to let go of these anxieties and rest in God’s presence.  

                Despite the challenges facing Paul, the Philippians, and us, there is joy to be found in the presence of God. As Martin Luther declared in a sermon on this passage, “Joy is the natural fruit of faith.” He continues in the sermon, making mention of Paul’s doubling down on the call to rejoice, declaring:

It is essential that we rejoice. Paul, recognizing that we live in the midst of sin and evil, both which things depress, would fortify us with cheer. Thus rejoicing, even if we should sometimes fall into sin, our joy in God will exceed our sorrow in sin. The natural accompaniment of sin truly is fear and a burdened conscience, and we cannot always escape sin. Therefore we should let joy have rule, let Christ be greater than our sins.  [Martin Luther].

Paul calls on the readers to rejoice in everything, doing so in the Lord, not the circumstances of life. When the focus is placed on the relationship with God, then anxiety and worry can be put aside. So, as Luther reminds  us, “let joy have rule.”

                We have focused our attention on the joy that should sustain us, but this joy is connected to the peace of God. This peace “surpasses all understanding.” In other words, this is not just an absence of conflict. It is deeply rooted within the person who places their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It is this peace that should guard our hearts and minds.

                Our reading concludes with a final exhortation in which Paul calls on the readers to think on what is honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. This is how we can live without anxiety and worry. This is a call to the virtuous life. One might even say that Paul understands that there are ethical/moral teachings that are common to all that one might focus on. In other words, he is not of the opinion that everything outside the Christian community is evil. As Daniel Migliore notes, in making this statement, which focuses on being attentive to true wisdom, Paul calls his readers to “attend to all excellent praiseworthy things acknowledges that God is at work not only in the church but in the whole creation” [Migliore, Philippians …Belief, p. 163]. The final word is simply an invitation for the Philippians to keep on doing what they had learned from Paul so that the God of peace might be in them. This might seem like a rather bold request, but Paul is confident that what he had taught and embodied was worth following so that the Philippians might enjoy the peace of God. While earlier he had pointed to Jesus as the appropriate role model of the Christian life (Phil. 2:5-11), here he offers himself as one who embodied Jesus’ way to experiencing the peace that sustains and leads to joy in the Lord. Yes, let us stand firm in the faith and rejoice in the Lord, always!