Hello friends.
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighborhood monk in docks.
Welcome to this new series.
As we begin journeying together through one of Paul's most loved letters.
And over the next 10 episodes,
We're going to slowly walk through Philippians.
Not just trying to understand what Paul wrote nearly 2,
000 years ago,
But listening for what the Holy Spirit might be saying to us today.
Now,
You've travelled with me through our studies of 1 John,
Colossians and Ephesians.
You'll know that the goal here.
.
.
Isn't just about understanding.
The Christian life isn't primarily about accumulating knowledge,
It's about formation.
It's about becoming more like Christ.
And that,
I think,
Is exactly what the Letter of Philippians invites us into.
So wherever you are today.
In the car taking a walk sitting quietly with a cup of tea or maybe preparing for your day ahead.
I invite you to take a nice,
Slow,
Deep breath.
And become aware of God's loving presence.
And let's begin together.
Now there's some books of the Bible that teach us doctrine,
Others tell us stories,
Some of them challenge us with prophetic words.
Philippians does all of these,
But maybe more than anything else.
This is a book that opens a window into the heart of Christian maturity.
It's a letter.
About becoming.
Becoming people of joy?
Becoming people of humility.
Becoming people who know Christ deeply.
And about becoming communities that are marked by grace.
And I don't think it's accidental that one of the most famous passages in the New Testament sits right at the centre of the letter to the Philippians.
It's a little sentence that says,
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
This isn't an instruction by the way,
It's an invitation.
The whole letter moves towards that invitation.
Paul invites us to see Jesus.
Not just to admire and worship him,
But to allow the very life of Jesus to be formed within us.
So to understand the letter,
We need to know a little bit about its settings.
Now,
Philippi was a proud Roman colony and unlike many cities that Paul visited.
Phillip High wasn't.
Especially Greek.
In its identity.
It was Roman through and through.
Many retired soldiers would settle there.
Citizens who lived there really valued honour.
Status mattered,
Power mattered,
And prestige mattered.
Being a Roman citizen carried enormous privileges in Philippi,
And so it's against that backdrop that Paul writes words that completely overturn the values of the culture that was surrounding the people who would be reading it.
Instead of climbing the ladder.
Paul talks about descending.
Instead of seeking honour,
Paul points to humility.
Instead of reaching for power,
Paul points to the Christ who emptied himself.
Instead of trying to protect privilege.
Paul speaks about serving others.
So in many ways,
Philippians is itself is a radical revolution.
A revolution.
Of the heart.
And maybe that's why this letter.
Feels so contemporary.
Our own culture today.
Values all those things,
Recognition,
Influence,
Success,
Wealth,
Personal branding,
Productivity.
And so it's against that backdrop that as we read,
We're going to hear Paul asking some other questions.
Questions like.
.
.
What if the truly successful life looks like Jesus?
And what if greatness?
Looks like service.
What if joy isn't found in getting more?
But by giving ourselves away.
Not easy questions,
Right?
But boy,
They're life-giving questions.
And one of the things that people are surprised by often.
Is where Paul writes the letter,
He writes it in prison.
Now,
Scholars have continued to debate exactly where that was.
Maybe it was Rome,
Maybe Ephesus,
Maybe Caesarea.
Shows you how many times Paul was in prison,
Right?
But wherever it is,
There's one thing that's for certain.
Paul's freedom.
Has been taken away and he's sitting in a liminal space with a bit of an uncertain future.
And execution is a real possibility.
But despite all that.
.
.
There's a joy that permeates through the letter and the word joy and rejoice appear quite often.
And that should immediately give us pause for thought because Paul's not writing about being happy.
Happiness depends on circumstances.
Joy,
However,
That's something deeper.
Joy is rooted in the presence of Christ.
And I think this is one of the greatest lessons Philippians has to teach us,
That Christian joy.
.
.
Doesn't deny the fact that we might be struggling in the moment.
But rather it's the discovery that Christ stays present with us within.
Suffering.
As we've done previously.
We're going to approach Philippians using what biblical scholars often call the three worlds of the text.
First we'll look at the world behind the text,
We'll explore the history,
Who wrote it,
Who received it.
What was happening politically,
Socially and culturally.
And those questions matter because every book in the biblical text emerged from a real place among real people.
Then there's the world of the text.
We'll look carefully at the passage itself,
The language,
The structure.
The literary movement,
The images that Paul uses,
The questions that he asks.
The way each section connects to the whole letter itself.
And then we'll have a look at the world in front of the text.
And this is where the scripture becomes personal.
It's here that we ask questions like,
How does the text read us?
And what invitation does it hold?
What might God be forming within us now in the world we live in?
Through these words.
Remembering that scripture isn't just interpreted.
Scripture also interprets us.
And as we journey through Philippians,
You'll notice a few themes that'll appear again and again.
Things like joy.
Humility,
Unity.
Partnership prayer.
Peace.
Commitment,
Perseverance.
But above all,
Christ.
Everything in this letter centres on Christ.
On Jesus.
And when I say that,
I'm not talking about believing certain things about Jesus,
But knowing Jesus.
Deeply.
Paul himself eventually says in the letter,
I want to know Christ.
And that little sentence could almost become the title of the whole letter itself,
Because everything flows from that place.
One of the beautiful features of Philippians is that it's deeply theological.
Without getting into the abstract.
Paul doesn't separate belief from life.
Or theology from practice,
Or doctrine from discipleship.
The Great Christ Hymn in Chapter 2.
Is there not just to teach us about the incarnation.
It's there to shape the way we treat one another.
In Philippians,
Theology is always a part of our formation and growth.
What we believe shapes who we become.
Now for me as somebody who's been formed within the Benedictine tradition.
I've often been struck by how naturally Philippians seems to echo the wisdom of Saint Benedict.
Or maybe it's not a surprise because Benedict obviously knew Philippians quite well.
Things like humility.
Stability,
Community.
Joyful obedience.
Mutual service,
Seeing Christ in one another.
These things are Benedictine,
Yes,
But they're profoundly at the heart of this letter.
So long before Benedict wrote the rule.
Paul was inviting Christians to become communities where the mind of Christ shaped everyday life.
And throughout this series,
I'd like to leave you with a little question every day.
Just one.
How is Christ being formed in me through this passage we've reflected on today?
Now notice that the shape of the question isn't what should I do or what new information have I learned,
But rather who am I becoming?
Christian formation is about transformation.
We don't learn these things for behavior modification.
It's about allowing the Holy Spirit to shape our hearts into the likeness of Christ.
For tomorrow.
Will begin with the opening verses of the letter.
Paul's greeting,
His thanksgiving,
He's prayer.
And at first glance?
It might seem like an ordinary introduction,
But even in those opening lines we discover the heartbeat of the entire letter.
Partnership.
Love and the confidence that God always finishes the work that God begins.
And so we'll finish the.
.
.
For the day.
If God has begun a good work in you?
Then God has not abandoned us.
Wherever you find yourself today,
Full of faith,
Full of questions.
Joyful or weary,
Hopeful or uncertain.
Know that God is still at work.
And the invitation of Philippians.
Is just to keep saying yes to the transforming work of Christ.
So friend,
May we have the courage to make that journey together and may grace,
Peace and love go with us and remain with us every step of the way today and always.
Amen.
Until we begin the journey together tomorrow.
God bless you.
And peace be with you.
Bye for now.
