Philippians 4:1-7

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 co-workers, 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 worry 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.

This collection of verses feels like Paul is jotting down some final thoughts before he ends the letter. I have come to think that in fact there is a thought through intention that links all this together.

Starting in vs. 2 and 3 – the two women – Euodia and Syntyche – are at odds with each other, and their disagreement (we have no idea what it is about) is so severe that Paul who is hundreds of miles away from Philippi has heard about the tension. I take that as the centerpiece around which the rest of the passage is built.

Vs. 1 – Paul sets a context against which the disagreement between the two women is to be seen – “stand firm in the Lord.” This is the thing that matters – remaining grounded, rooted in Jesus Christ. (When Paul says “the Lord” he almost always means “the Lord Jesus Christ.” “The Lord” is one of his short-hands for Jesus.) Standing firm in Jesus is the most important thing – not our goals, not our desires, not even our rights – those are all secondary to standing firm for Jesus. Often the things we are the most upset about in our relationships with others are things that are not central to living the Jesus way or being followers of Jesus. 

But as vs. 5 hints at, standing firm in Jesus can sometimes make us harsh, demanding, critical – yes, Paul says, stand firm for Jesus – but let “your gentleness” be known to both friends and opponents. As we stand firm in what he hear Jesus calling us and the world to be and do – we do so with gentleness. We do so trusting that the peace of God the Father will bring us peace so that we can live at peace with and be gentle with our opponents, with those we are in disagreement with.

PRAYER:

O Lord, we rejoice in you, we stand firm in you. But all too often we are in conflict with other people who also follow you. Teach us to stand firm in you, even as we are gentle with and towards our opponents and adversaries. Give us peace, a peace that comes only from you, as we seek to live in gentleness towards those who are difficult to be with. In Jesus’ name. Amen.   

Ephesians 4:1-6

4 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Unity is a big word these days – maybe it has always been a challenge to be unified. Certainly in some of the circles I move it is a central conversation piece, which is what makes the passage we just read so interesting.

In vs. 4-6, Paul makes clear there is unity in the Christian faith – one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father who acts in all the followers of Jesus. So from God’s side there is unity – the Triune God of grace is a unity – and therefore the followers of and the believers in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are one.

But Paul knows that is not the reality on the ground, he urges his readers – which includes us – to live that unity. We live that unity not by seeking to have everyone believe the same thing – but rather by living lives of humility, gentleness (meekness), bearing with one another in love (vs. 1-3). In other words, we don’t need to create unity – God has does that work – instead we need to live lives that don’t undo the unity that God has brought about. That we are to live lives that declare that unity already exists.

We do that by living gently (since gentleness is the word of the week, I pick up that word from the list) with each other. Believing that God has brought and is bringing the unity we are invited to be people whose lives bear the characteristics of unity – humility, gentleness, patience. These are needed because within the body of the church are people who will try our patience, just as there are people who will need to bear with us in love.  

Our words and actions should be such that they do not undo the unity that God has brought into being, our interpersonal conflicts should not undo the unity God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, have brought into being.

PRAYER:

God of all unity, you have made us one in Jesus Christ. Teach us to not only say those words but also to live them, to not only pay lip-service to those words but to take up the hard work of living into the unity you have brought into being. In Jesus’ name. Amen.