We continue reading tonight from Paul’s letter to the Philippians with Chapter 2 verses 19 to 30, and I am reading from the English Standard Version translation:
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.The Word of the Lord.
25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
Thanks be to God.
Reading Paul’s letters always feels like we are looking over the shoulder of someone, because the letters weren’t written specifically to us, and tonight we are hearing a part of the letter to the church in Philippi that never appears in the three-year revised common lectionary that assigns our readings in Sunday worship, so it may sound even more strange to us.
So the first thing I’d like you to do tonight is listen again to the text and ask what particular word or phrase do you hear? What sticks with you? After I read the text, gather in groups of three, from where you are sitting, and share what you heard. This time I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version translation.
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. 20 I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But Timothy's worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.The Word of the Lord.
25 Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus -- my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger1 and minister to my need; 26 for he has been longing for1 all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honor such people, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ,1 risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me.
Thanks be to God.
Like writing a handwritten note instead of sending a store-bought card, Paul works at creating a personal presence in his letters. He knows the Philippians are anxious because they have heard that he is in prison. He knows they are waiting to hear the news of his trial in Rome and that they are expecting Timothy to bring them that news. But he doesn’t want them to be distracted from the main thing – which is living out their Christian life serving God.
In another letter, to the Romans, Paul describes the Christian life itself as an act of worship, urging the Church “by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans12:1)
So, now, to help guide the Philippians in his and Timothy’s absence, he is sending another co-worker in the Gospel to be with them. Epaphroditus, who came out of the congregation there at Philippi, and after an illness is now well enough to travel to them again, is being sent home to be with them. And the conclusion of this section of the letter is Paul commending Epaphroditus to them. He wants the Philippians to recognize the gifts that he has as a messenger and minister of the gospel and to welcome him as they might welcome Christ himself.
Often when I speak about the ways we give or serve, I frame it as a response to what we have first been given:
We love because we were first loved by God.
We give because all we have is first given to us by God.
And I don’t want to discard that framework, but I think Paul adds another dimension to what it means to live out our Christian faith here.
The invitation Paul issues to the Philippians isn’t based on what they have already known or received; instead it is an invitation into something new. Yes, God loves you, and, yes, God is generous towards you, but welcome Epaphroditus because of the work God is doing in and through him. Welcome him and see a new picture of what God is doing. Encounter Christ in him.
In Lutheranism we have a church phrase that describes how we encounter God. It’s the phrase “the means of grace” and we define the means of grace as “the presence of Jesus Christ through the Power of the Spirit as a gift of the Father.”[i] And most often we talk about the means of grace in the context of Word and Sacrament, which for us is Baptism and Holy Communion.
But in Because of This I Rejoice, Methodist pastor and author Max O. Vincent writes that one of the fathers of Methodism, John Wesley, describe acts of mercy as a means of grace. Wesley taught that acts of mercy are a means of encountering Christ.[ii]
As we read Paul’s letter, leaning over the shoulder of those who came before us, I believe he challenges us to think differently about how and why we relate to others. We can welcome people into the life of our congregation with a lot of good intentions. We anticipate the rich variety of gifts that new people bring. We hope for new or deeper relationships rooted in our common bond as brothers and sisters. We are thankful for the ways we learn from each other and from our differences. We can even be eager for others to experience the love of God that we know.
But what about welcoming or serving another with the expectation that we will encounter Christ in them? Paul’s words encourage us to see the person who may not sit in a pew with us as a person who can teach us about who God is or how God loves, and evokes the words of the writer of Hebrews who writes, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2-3)
Let us pray…
Holy, loving and generous God,
We give you thanks for your Son Jesus and all of the apostles and disciples who have followed him, teaching us what it means to live a Christian life as witness to Your grace.
Open our eyes to see Christ in each person we meet and rejoice in the life we have together as brothers and sisters and as Your children, united in faith.
We pray in the name of your Son Jesus.
Amen.
[i] The Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament. ELCA. 1997. 6.
[ii] Max O. Vincent. Because of This I Rejoice. 75-77.
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