Phillippians 1 & 2

Many people think of Philippians as one of the most "Joyful" books of the Bible. Maybe that should be Joy-full instead.  More than one Bible scholar has said that the book was most likely written by Paul while he was in prison in Rome.  While Nero was busy sending Christians up against hungry lions, or using them as torches for his dinner parties.  Given his situation, why in the world should Paul be in such a good mood?

Over the next two days, we'll check out a few reasons.  Let's start with Chapters 1 and 2 today.

Paul is writing this letter to the people in Phillip on behalf of himself and Timothy. He begins by telling the Philippians how blessed he is to know them, and to know that they are working towards the same goal - advancing the kingdom of Christ. He then prays that these friends will experience a growth in their love of the church and gain more and more knowledge as they walk the path of Christianity.

Verse 12, is where we start to think that Paul may be a bit looney.  He's in jail, some people think he was chained to a guard, and he is still preaching!  He could have very easily done the "woe is me dance", clammed up and refused to say anything about Christ or Christianity. And, who would have blamed him if he was to turn back to his old ways and start persecuting Christians again?  (Remember, this is the same guy, formerly known as Saul, who did terrible things to believers in the name of the Jewish religion.)

Instead, Paul shares his story with anyone who will listen. My guess is the prison guard that was chained to him was a pretty captive audience. (Get it....captive....?)  But he lets the people start the conversation.  "Hey.  You!", "What are you in for?".  What a perfect opportunity to say "I'm in jail for believing in Jesus Christ, our Savior"!  To many people, this would seem to be such a little offense.  How could someone be punished for believing in something so "small" in comparison to the atrocities that were going on outside of the prison walls?  But we know first hand how this "small" belief can morph into something so large and expansive that we're still figuring things out 2,000 years later.

The close of the chapter has Paul reminding us to live out our daily lives as a testament to our faith.  Not a testament to our religion, our church, or our Sunday school, but to our faith!

Oh, Chapter 2, why are you hitting me so squarely between the eyes this morning?  In the Message translation, the Heading for verses 12 through 18 is "Do Everything Without Grumbling".

Really Lord? I'm not supposed to grumble when I pick up three hundred different pairs of shoes in the living room, only to find that the floor of the bedroom where they belong is covered with toys, books, and games?  And there in the corner of that same bedroom, is the overflowing laundry hamper begging to be dealt with.  Oh - wait! There's the phone!  A call from work with a Def Con 5 status. Why can't this wait until tomorrow?

Or maybe in your world it's "Really Lord?", "It's raining again - how am I supposed to get the car washed, the dog trimmed, the lawn mowed, the house painted and the kids to the park?".  Never mind that just one short year ago, we would have been praying for that same rain.

The last part of verse 15 in the Message translation is "...Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky".  If we're still able to do at least a small part of our "happy dance", while things are dark, and scary, and uncertain, then we're going to shine.  And that shining light is going to be so evident to others who don't have Christ in their life.  They're going to stop and marvel about what keeps us going.

The last section of Chapter 2, has Paul naming his "brother, co-worker and fellow soldier", Epaphroditus.  From my study bible, it appears that this brother of Paul traveled some 700 miles to visit Paul in prison.  While there, he became gravely ill and almost passed away.  But he recovered, and now Paul is sending him home to Philippi, with this letter. He is urging the Philippians to welcome him home with great joy.  Who are we needing to welcome with great joy?