Wednesday, February 26, 2025  

Today's Scripture
Philippians 2:1–13

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (NRSV)

Reflection

Christ Jesus gave the Apostle Paul an extremely difficult assignment. It was to create a church — a body of Christ, bringing together Gentiles with Jews who were committed to a religious tradition defined by the Law of Moses. Paul encouraged this new church to embrace the “way of Christ Jesus.” As a result, the church faced severe persecution. The Christian church of Philippi was the first established in Europe.

Although our issues as Christians have changed over these past two thousand years, we do benefit from periodic reminding of what it means to be the body of Christ. Hence, Paul’s letter continues to hold relevance for the church today.

Often we define ourselves and our viewpoints around socioeconomic values, perceived station in life, political affiliations, our views on civil/social justice, finances, cultural morality, and the likes. These definitions and beliefs affect the way we understand what we read in the Bible. Hence today we have a multitude of ways of being Christian — Catholics, hundreds of Protestant denominations, and within these groupings, even “Black churches,” “White churches,” and other ethnic churches. By the way, Jesus was none of these.

Within any single church, there are varying views on topics, which can create a sense of “us” versus “them.” Paul encouraged the Philippians not to allow tensions within the church to create opposition but instead to work together in Christian unity. Paul encourages us to allow God’s Spirit to be at work within us so that we see all people as creations of God, putting egos behind us, and to reflect the faithfulness of Jesus as we work together to be a unified church community.

Prayer
Holy God, instill in us Jesus’ sense of humility, servanthood, kindness, and grace so that we may work in unity as a body of Christ bringing the good news to others with glory to God. Amen.

Written by Ken Gaines, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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