Reflecting on Philippians - Philippians 1:21

Paul is so committed to Jesus and to following the Jesus’ way that he identifies that as amounting to life itself. That is all that he wants. It is not only his priority; it is the totality of his engagement with life and the world. Nothing can get in the way. Death will take him to a deeper, closer experience of Christ, and so that, which would normally be seen in negative terms, is to be viewed positively. Paul, as we have noted, is in prison at the time of writing this letter. Prison will end either in freedom or in death. Paul here asserts that he is not concerned as to which. If he is freed, he will be in a better position to proclaim the gospel of Christ than is the case from the restrictions of imprisonment. However, should he be put to death, that will take him closer to Christ. For Paul it is a win-win situation. As Dennis Hamm (Philippians) puts it: “either by his continuing to live and then to carry out his ministry, or by his martyrdom for the sake of Christ, Paul’s faith enables him to understand the prospects of his imprisonment as a win-win situation.” Putting it another way, Paul is content that God has all things in hand. I wonder how easily and how often we place that kind of confidence in God. I wonder how central is following the Jesus way to how we live out our lives. What Paul sometimes calls ‘life in Christ’ has so transformed him that the thing that matters is his relationship with Jesus. Death will not terminate that relationship: it will just change it, and so Paul is able to utter the words of this verse: for to me life is Christ, and death is gain.

Reflecting on Philippians - Philippians 1:19-20

Paul here expresses confidence that God can and will work through him in a good way. Paul knows all too well how fallible and unreliable he is. However, through Christ, Paul is a transformed being. The key elements in the working of this change are prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. There is a link with the early part of the chapter (verse 4) where Paul references his praying for the Philippian Christians. Here he mentions the value and power of their prayers for him. I wonder if we take the power of prayer sufficiently seriously. Paul is excited about the possibilities of God’s working through him. I wonder how excited we are about what we might see God doing in and through our lives. Paul is confident about the future and for someone in prison, as he is at this point, that is a big ask. However, the point is that his confidence lies in its being God’s future. Paul here contrasts hope and shame. His hope is in the gospel; and that gives him confidence that he will avoid any sense of shame. F.F. Bruce (Philippians) makes the point clearly: “Personal humiliation is not what Paul fears; he had endured plenty of that already in the service of Christ and was likely to endure more. But he knows that he will in no way be ashamed if Christ be exalted through him …. To proclaim the gospel courageously is the antithesis of being ashamed of it.” I wonder if there are things which bring us shame when that ought not to be the case. I wonder how we deal with being humiliated. I wonder – and this is different – if we are humble at times that call for that approach. Paul lived in a complicated world, as do we. For him, as for us, I am sure that it was frequently difficult to give Gospel priorities (the priorities of God’s Kingdom) the place that they deserved. But to that end he strived.

Reflecting on Philippians - Philippians 1:15-18

Paul is very sure that all that matters is the proclamation of Christ. That has become the very grounds of all that he does. Like Jesus himself before him, Paul is not over-concerned about motive, so long as the Good News of God’s Kingdom is getting out there and that can only be done by telling the story of Jesus. He rejoices even when folk are telling about Jesus for the wrong reasons. The clear implication is that God can work through even that. What Paul says here echoes the little incident recorded in Luke 9:49-50 (and also Mark 9:38-40). There the disciples complained to Jesus that someone was doing ‘stuff’ and attributing it to him, suggesting that this person should be stopped, but Jesus rebuts the suggestion. Do not try to stop him …. because whoever is not against you is for you. I wonder if there is something here to remind us of the value of unexpected allies, something to encourage us to work with all people of goodwill, even if we are not quite sure about the origin of their ideas and actions. As Fred B Craddock (Philippians) points out: “the power of the gospel is not contingent upon the motives or feelings of the one preaching. For all the dangers of opening the doors of ministry to charlatans, it must be affirmed that the gospel has its own life and efficacy whether or not there is visceral authentication in the preacher.” Paul thus recognises just how powerful the Gospel is and the fact that it is not dependent upon us, regardless as to how good (or bad) we are in working for God’s Kingdom. The awesome thing is that God chooses to use us, and manages to do so despite our faltering and failing. The crucial thing is simply that Jesus is proclaimed – and the Gospel message will find its way out, regardless of the limitations of the proclaimer.