Friday of week 30 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Philippians 1:1-11

Today we begin reading what is possibly the most attractive of all the Pauline letters. It is full of so many good things, some of which we will enjoy during the rest of this week and the whole of next week. All the commentators mention the spirit of joy which pervades the letter. This is all the more striking as it was written from prison.

The city of Philippi, situated in Macedonia, north of Greece, was named after King Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. It was a prosperous Roman colony, which meant that the citizens of Philippi were also citizens of the city of Rome itself. They prided themselves on being Romans, dressed like Romans and even spoke Latin. The fact that it was primarily a Roman colony may explain why there were not enough Jews there to permit the establishment of a synagogue. We remember that Paul had to meet with some Jewish women in the city by a river bank (Acts 16:13) and perhaps this is why Paul does not quote the Old Testament in the letter.

According to Acts (16:11-40), Paul, along with Timothy, Silas, and others, had visited this city some years before (about 50 AD) during his second missionary journey and founded there a church for whose members—most of them Gentiles—Paul shows special affection and deep longing (see Phil 1:8; 2:19,24).

Although the letter was written in prison, it is unclear exactly as to which prison, but now it is thought that it was very likely in Ephesus. Rome is thought to have been too far away to make easy communication with Philippi (which again in Macedonia, northern Greece) practicable (no emails or telephones in those days!) When we think of Paul in prison, we are inclined to think of Rome, but in fact, he was in prison a number of times in different places.

The Letter opens in the conventional style of the day, identifying the sender, the recipient(s) and giving a greeting. It comes from Paul and Timothy, although it is understood that Timothy is mentioned in courtesy as a valued colleague and not as co-author.

They identify themselves modestly not as apostles, but as “slaves” of Christ Jesus, servants of the gospel. Paul usually refers to himself at the beginning of a letter as an “apostle”. Here he substitutes a term suggesting the unconditional dedication of himself and Timothy to the service of Christ. It is also possible that, in view of his warm relationship with the Philippians, he wishes to stress his status as a co-servant rather than emphasise his apostolic authority.

The letter is addressed to the “saints”, that is, all the baptised members of the community as well as their “overseers” and “deacons”. This is the only place in Paul’s writings where church community leaders are explicitly mentioned as recipients of a letter.

“Saints” means people set apart (by their allegiance to Christ), but does not indicate they are ready for canonisation! We know that many of them had shortcomings that Paul did not hesitate to point out when writing to them.

“Bishop” is a translation of the Greek word episkopos and literally means one who ‘oversees’ or ‘supervises’. In Greek culture the word was used of a presiding official in a civic or religious organisation. Here it refers to a man who oversees a local Christian community. The equivalent word from the Jewish background of Christianity is ‘elder’. The terms ‘bishop’, ‘overseer’ or ‘elder’ (presbyteros) are used interchangeably in Acts. The duties of an overseer were to teach and preach, to direct the affairs of the church, to shepherd the flock of God and to guard the church from error.

From the 2nd century on the term used would be ‘bishop’, then meaning the leader of a local church. It would have not had this meaning in the early church, although development can already been seen taking place in the ‘pastoral letters’ of 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. At Philippi, however, (and at Ephesus, according to Acts 20:28), there was more than one episkopos and their precise role is not certain.

‘Minister’ is a translation of the Greek term diakonos and used frequently in the New Testament to designate ‘servants’, ‘attendants’, or ‘ministers’. The “deacons” are the overseer’s assistants, who take care of the more practical areas of church administration.

Generally, the assistant’s service was meant to free the elders give full attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. The only two local church offices mentioned in the New Testament are those of “overseer” and “deacon”.

Paul refers to himself and to other apostles as “servants of God” (2 Cor 6:4), or “ministers of Christ” (2 Cor 11:23). In the Pastoral Letters (e.g. 1 Tim 3:8,12) the diakonos has become an established official in the local church. As with the episkopoi, the diakonoi at Philippi seem to represent an earlier stage of development of the office, and again we are uncertain about their precise functions. In a passage in Romans (16:1), Phoebe is described as a diakonos of the church at Cenchreae, leading to speculation that there were women deacons.

Later, ‘overseer’ and ‘presbyter’ will become divided into the distinct offices of ‘bishop’ and ‘priest’. Our word ‘bishop’ is a distorted form of the Greek episkopos; our word ‘priest’ a distorted form of the Greek presbyteros, from which also comes ‘presbyter’, ‘presbytery’, and ‘Presbyterian’.

Paul opens the letter by thanking God and praying with joy when he remembers all the Philippians have done for the spread of the gospel from the very day of their conversion right up to the present:

I thank my God…for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

They have done this both by the material help they gave to poorer churches and because of the sufferings they have gladly endured for the sake of the gospel. The word ‘joy’ will recur many times in the letter. Prayers of joyful thanksgiving for his readers’ response to the gospel are a hallmark of the opening sentences of Paul’s letters

Paul is confident that what Jesus, “the one who began a good work in you”, will continue right up to the day he returns again at the end to bring all his own to himself. Paul is confident, not only of what God has done ‘for’ the readers in forgiving their sins, but also of what he has done ‘in’ them. “Work” here refers to God’s activity in saving them. It is God who initiates salvation, who continues it and who will one day bring it to its consummation.

Paul’s strong feelings of affection for them stem from their common sharing in “partnership”: both his prison chains and his work in defending and establishing the gospel. They did this by sending Epaphroditus with financial gifts to Paul (see Phil 2:25). For this he is deeply grateful. The Phillipians had become one with Paul in his persecution. Not surprisingly, they have a permanent place in his heart and he misses them so much, loving them with the same love that Jesus extends to them.

He longs for them “with the tender affection of Christ Jesus”. The deep yearning and intense, compassionate love exhibited by Jesus himself and now fostered in Paul by his union with Christ. This affection reaches out to all impartially and without exception.

Then comes a lovely prayer which he makes on their behalf. It is one we, too, can use for each other. He prays:

…that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

It is similar to a prayer we saw in the Letter to the Ephesians:

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. (Eph 3:16-17)

Love alone is not enough: the gift of discernment is also very precious. It is the skill by which, with God’s help, we can see more clearly which choice is closer to God’s will, so that we can “determine what really matters”. Christian love is not a mere matter of devotional feeling; it is rooted in knowledge and understanding.

Only in this way can we become “pure and blameless” and be ready for the “day of Christ”. That is the day when:

…the harvest of righteousness…comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

If only we could realise that here, and here alone is the purpose of all our living! Let us say that prayer of Paul for ourselves and for all those around us.

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