Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-february-16-2024
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers [and sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Regular participants in these Reflections might remember my saying that one of the reasons I love Paul’s Letter to the Philippians so much is that it’s such a joyful letter. In fact, it starts out with Paul declaring to his friends at Philippi that he experiences a rush of joy each time he thinks about them and prays for them and remembers their partnership in ministry. And the joyful tone carries right through to today’s reading near the end of the letter, where Paul is encouraging his readers to “rejoice!”
What makes this joyful tone especially striking is what the New Testament scholars say about the letter – that Paul was almost certainly writing it from prison. But in spite of that fact, that he was writing from prison – probably a dungeon – Paul seems to be just overflowing with joy. He’s also encouraging his readers to share in that joy. For us Presbyterian types, it’s a little mind-boggling.
But today’s reading gives us a clue to how Paul manages to maintain his joyful frame of mind, even in miserable circumstances. He calls on his readers to focus their minds on the good things of the world – to think about the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. I don’t know how Paul would characterize this practice – as a spiritual discipline or a mental exercise or what, but to me it seems like a form of ‘psychological hygiene.’ By staying focused on the good things, on the many blessings God provides for us, Paul avoids allowing his mind to be consumed with the world’s troubles. And apparently that protects him from becoming bitter and depressed.
I guess it’s possible that Paul was a person with a naturally sunny disposition, but that’s definitely not the way we usually think of him. In any case, this passage seems to suggest that Paul understood that God was doing something really amazing in the world – something worth rejoicing about. God had come into the world in the form of Jesus to proclaim a new kingdom. That kingdom was to be marked by the values that he had demonstrated when he walked the earth in that form. Those values included putting the welfare of others ahead of your own. And forgiveness. And compassion. And holding yourself to a higher standard than you apply to others. And living in a way that causes all those around you to flourish, even if it means making a sacrifice yourself. Paul understood these to be the values on which God was establishing his kingdom “on earth, as it is in heaven.”
As he looked out at the world through the bars of his prison, Paul saw God at work establishing that new kingdom. New disciples were being made. People were starting congregations in their homes. People were feeding the hungry and nursing the sick in Jesus’ name. Paul understood himself as having been given the privilege of playing a part in the greatest adventure in human history, and he saw that adventure unfolding even while he was locked up in prison. Friends he had introduced to Jesus were out there spreading the good news and serving others in Jesus’ name. And Paul thought it was all just great. Even though some people like him were being persecuted, Paul perceived a great victory being won. That’s why he was so joyful, because his attention was focused on the great things God was doing through the followers of Jesus.
We live in a culture of grievance, a culture that encourages us to focus on what bothers us, and to be outraged by it. But it seems to me that those of us who share the apostle Paul’s faith in Jesus would be much happier and healthier people, more joyful people, if we would follow his guidance in today’s reading – if we could learn to keep our attention focused on the great things that God is still doing in the world. Around the world, two thousand people a day become followers of Jesus. The world’s most damaging diseases are being eradicated one by one. A person’s odds of dying by violence are lower today than at any time in human history.
Are there still problems in the world? Of course. I suppose there will be, right up to the moment Jesus returns. But our God is doing great things, just as he has been throughout history. For at least 4,000 years God has been making promises and keeping them. And God has promised that in the end, his kingdom will come to fulfillment and all things will be made right.
So the question Paul seems to ask us is: Will we allow our minds to be consumed with the trouble of the world? Will we be the kind of people who are consumed with our complaints and grievances? Or will we be people whose faith in the promises of God allows us to celebrate his gracious love? Will we be the kind of people who look at the great things God is doing, and who experience the kind of joy Paul experienced – the joy Jesus promised to ‘make complete’ in his followers?
Can you imagine how much more effective our ministry in the world would be if those of us who follow Jesus would manifest that kind of joy and peace in all of our relationships with others? Step one might be to follow Paul’s teaching in this passage: “If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.”
Let’s pray: Lord, during this season of Lent, use your Holy Spirit to open our hearts to the joy our master promised, and to that mysterious peace which allowed your servant Paul to communicate your love so effectively to those he met. Amen.
Have a great weekend, and may you
Worship God joyfully on Sunday.
Henry
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