Grace Sufficient (Sun. Oct. 15)

The word of the day is “sufficient.”  As we read 2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9, we realize that the Apostle has been provoked.  His opponents have boasted that their qualifications for leadership are greater than Paul’s.  Though he calls it “boasting,” the Apostle answers their bragging with a summary of the dangers, hardships, and sufferings he has endured.  Then he recalls the “visions and revelations” of a lofty mystical experience when he was taken up to the third heaven and into Paradise (vs. 2:4).  

Boasting Qualified by Humility

As spectacular as Paul’s report of his spiritual experience is, it comes with a qualification.  He frames his narrative of his spiritual feats with two expressions of humility.  Before he tells of his celestial vision, he writes, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things which concern my infirmity” (vs. 11:30).  The Greek word comes from the idea of feebleness or frailty.  To illustrate his humility, the Apostle recounts that he was let down the city wall in a basket to escape arrest in Damascus—hardly a dignified way of leaving a city (vs. 33).

Possessing in God What One Lacks in Oneself

At the end of his recollection of his mystical experience, Paul returns to the theme of his imperfection.  He writes that God had inflicted him with a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from being too elated (v. 7).  Whatever the affliction was, three times, Paul implored the Lord to remove it.  But God’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (vs. 9).  The word for “weakness,” that is, “frailty,” is the same word that Paul used earlier at the beginning of his excursion into boasting.  Paul repeats that he will boast of his frailties (vs. 9).   

For Paul, “God’s grace is sufficient.”  It is enough.  It is satisfactory.  It is all he needs.  Thus, Paul contrasts his feebleness with God’s power, and his deficiency with God’s all-sufficient grace.  Accordingly, he yields his weakness to God’s strength.  And in surrendering his boasting to God’s greatness, the Apostle possesses in God what he lacks in himself.

For Reflection

Suppose we believe that God provides enough for our physical needs.  Is His Grace sufficient for our spiritual lives?  Consider what God the Holy Trinity gives us: the Word of God and the Holy Tradition, the Holy Mysteries (sacraments), the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, the lives of the saints, the witness of the apostles, the teachings of the Councils and church fathers, the stories of the desert fathers, the “Jesus Prayer,” the direction of our hierarchs, the worship and fellowship of the Church. 

What more “means of grace” do we need?  What draws us away from these foundations of faith into the spiritual dead ends?  Is it perhaps our desire for extraordinary spiritual gifts?  Or esoteric knowledge?  Or ecstatic spiritual experiences?  Or is it curiosity, a desire to know something about everything?

Thanking God for all His blessings, spiritual as well as physical, let us pray with Paul:  “Your grace, O God, is sufficient for me.

2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9, grace sufficient,

  

When Work Is Not Drudgery (Sat. Oct.14)

 The word of the day is “labor.”  In today’s reading of 1 Corinthians 15:58-16:3, St. Paul moves from his discussion of the resurrection of the dead in the age to come to our work in this age.  The Apostle writes, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (vs. 58).

Whatever Our Work, We Serve the Lord

How different is this view of our vocation from the notion of work today!  Our economy values workers who are adaptable, not “steadfast,” mobile not “immovable,” and productive as measured by the numbers, not “abounding in the work of the Lord.”  But those who hope in the resurrection have a different attitude.  Their labor is “in the Lord” (vs.  58).  In Ephesians, Paul instructs “bondservants” to do their work “as to Christ “ and “with goodwill doing service to the Lord and not to men” (Ephesians 6:5 & 7).  Likewise, whatever our calling, we should dedicate our labor to the Lord.  When it is so devoted to serving Christ, it becomes His work, not ours.

In Due Season We Will Reap

ln that case, we found our work and lives on the firm and unmovable Rock of Christ (Luke 20:17) and His Word (Mt 7:24-25).  And it is God who works His will through us.  It’s like farming.  We plant, till, and gather.  But God causes the plants to grow into an abundant harvest (Ps. 104:14).  Therefore, we need not worry about results as the secular employees do.  When we “commend ourselves and all of our lives to Christ our God” (Divine Liturgy), God will ensure that our labor is not “in vain.”  That is, it will not be empty and unfulfilled (Strong’s #2756, 137).  Thus, Paul promises, “And do not be weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 5:9).

 For Reflection

St. John Chrysostom compares the labor of Adam with the work of believers.  When God put Adam out of the Garden, human work became toil as a punishment for sin.  But the work of believers is no longer drudgery because of its rewards.  Therefore, Chrysostom says we should no longer call it “labor” because of its rewards and the help God gives it.  Adams’s work was for a penalty.  Ours is for service to God and the “good things to come” (NfPf1: 12, 257).  Yet we should not overlook those who endure toil, drudgery, and danger at work.  At this critical time, we should thank God for these underappreciated workers and give them the support they deserve.  Yet they too can dedicate their work to the Lord and know that in Him, it is not “in vain.”

 

Sharing One Mind and One Purpose (Fri. Oct. 13)

 The word of  the day is “mind.”  In today’s reading of Philippians 1:27-2:4, St. Paul begins to instruct his beloved congregation at Philippi on the way of life of the citizens of the Kingdom.  The Apostle writes, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear that you stand fast in one spirit, with “one mind” striving together for the faith of the gospel” (vs. 27).

The Conduct of the Fellow-citizens of the Kingdom

Paul has disclosed his uncertainty about whether he will survive his trial.  But to reassure his favorite church, he raises the hopes that he will come to see them again.  Meanwhile, they are to be “worthy of the Gospel” in their conduct.  The word for “conduct” here is a complex term that refers to the proper behavior of citizens of a state (Strong’s #4176, 206).  In this sense, Paul addresses the Philippians as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19).

Citizens of a country have a typical way of being in the world.  For example, Americans have certain identifiable characteristics.  So also do those who belong to the “holy nation” of the reign of God (1 Peter 2:9).  Paul advises that the “People of God” should be known for their distinctive unity.  They are to be “like-minded, of one accord,” and of “one mind” (vs. 2:2).

Christ does not call the members of His Body to be identical to one another.  Rather, Paul teaches that they are separate parts of the physical body.  He asks rhetorically, “If the whole body were eyes, where would be the hearing” (1 Cor. 12:18)?  Moreover, Paul writes that these members have different spiritual gifts.  According to the Apostle, “…one and the same Spirit works… distributing to each one individually as he wills” (1 Cor. 12:11).

The “One Mind” Has Singleness of Purpose  

So then, what unites the individuals who make up the whole church?  In verse 27, the Apostle writes they are bound together with the “same love.”  They are “of one accord” (vs. 2:2).  Thus, believers share the same agape love of God.  And they have the same sentiment or attitude (Strong’s 4861, 239). 

But  the crowning characteristic of their unity is that they have the “same mind.”  Twice Paul uses the form of the same Greek word for this thought.  The “one mind” that the believers have in common does not have the exact thoughts.  But this “mind” thinks in a single direction (Strong’s #5426, 266-67).  Again, in verse 27, the OSB translates the Greek word psuché as “one mind.”  This word refers to the soul, the seat of our affections, feelings, and desires  (Strong’s #5590, 273).  The use of this term suggests that the “one mind” is set on common aspirations.

In summary, we might say that when the members of the Body of Christ have “one mind,” they set their hearts on the same thing.  They are united in a common direction of the will.  They are bound together in mutual understanding and singleness of purpose.

In his Conferences, John Cassian speaks about this sense of oneness.  He advises, “’For the Lord makes men to be of one mind in a house’ (Ps. 67 (68):7).  And therefore, love can only continue undisturbed in those in which there is but one purpose and mind to will and to refuse the same things” (NfPf2: 450). For example, Paul refers to one purpose that should unite the minds of believers.  It is “striving together for the faith of the gospel” (vs. 27).  Cassian speaks of another source of togetherness, the “like-mindedness and common purpose of concern for progress in the spiritual life” (NfPf2:451).

For Reflection  

Our study of today’s readings suggests an essential characteristic of the unity of the church.  It is a common sense of aspiration, intention, and mission.  As Cassian suggests, the failure to nurture like-mindedness explains why churches become divided.  Indeed, there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…” (Eph. 4:5).  But those who profess the faith achieve a lasting unity only when they direct their hearts toward one overriding purpose.  This principle also applies to the family, which is a “little church.”  When family members work together to establish mutual values and goals, they grow strong in harmony and closeness to one another.   

Living In the World But Not For the World (Thurs. October 12)

 

The Word of the Day is “flesh.”  In our reading of Philippians 1:20-27, we find that St. Paul’s life is suspended while he waits for his trial before the Roman Emperor.  Paul continues to proclaim the Gospel with such power that the whole palace guard knows about his suffering for Christ.  Moreover, his example has encouraged his associates and even his opponents to preach Christ freely.

Torn Between Life on Earth and Life in Heaven

But Paul cannot see very far ahead because, at any moment, the guards might take him to his day in court—maybe to his death.  Thus, Paul is torn.  He does not know whether he will live or die.  And he is unsure about what is better.  He says that he is “hard-pressed between the two.”  “He yearns to leave this world and to be with Christ.  But he knows that his followers need him.  The former would be better for him.  The latter would be more helpful for his flock (vs. 23). 

If we put ourselves in Paul’s place, we would confront the question, which is better for us?  To most of us, the answer would be immediate.  We would cling to life on this earth.  We want to live a “full life” and then depart to be with Christ.  Why would we say this?  The answer is our “life in the flesh,” as Paul puts it.  Our fleshly life is not necessarily evil though it is susceptible to temptations.  But “flesh” refers to the material physical body contrasted with the immaterial soul.  It is, therefore, our base, “lower nature.”  It is natural but weak, created by God but subject to death (Strong’s #4561, 224).

Life in the Flesh

In Romans, Paul compares the life of the spirit with the life of the flesh:  “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5).  The flesh is of the earth.  It ties us down to this material world and leads to the sins of our carnal nature (Colossians 3:5-6).  The spirit is of God and releases us from the bondage to sin and death.  It leads to righteousness.

Then too, the Epistle of 1 John warns us not to be attached to the “flesh.”  It teaches, “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).  The Apostle adds, “The world is passing away, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). 

We Too Are Suspended Between Life on Earth and Life in Eternity

Hearing these verses, do we have a different answer about what place would be better for us?  Do we realize that, like Paul, we are suspended between our life in eternity with Christ and our life here on earth?  How then shall we live here in this world when what we should love is the Eternal God?  St. Isaac the Syrian suggests an answer.  He says, “While alive, the saints were dead; for though living in the flesh, they did not live for the flesh.”  As long as God wills it, we will live here on earth in this fleshly body.  Nevertheless, we can live for our eternal life in heaven.  We can “seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1).

For Reflection

If we live in but not for the world, then our life in the body can assume a new purpose.  Like Paul, we can devote ourselves to the relationships and needs of others.  Indeed, we can trust that God will give us life in the body as long as it is His will that we remain here to love those who need us.  

Philippians 1:20-27, living in the world but not for the world, in the world but not of the world, do not love the world

Only That God Be Magnified (Wed. Oct. 11)

The word of the day is “magnified.”  St. Paul writes our reading of Philippians 1:12-20 as he faces his trial and possible execution.  Paul spent two years under house arrest. Yet at any time while he was “in chains,” Paul could be taken to court before the Roman Emperor. Our reading suggests that Paul waited in uneasy anticipation throughout those years. He hoped and prayed that God would be magnified by his inevitable ordeal, whether in life or death.

In our reading, the Apostle states he is “appointed for the defense of the gospel” at his trial (vs. 17). Therefore, he asks for the prayers of his beloved congregation. Because of their prayers and the work of the Spirit, Paul hopes that the case against him will turn out for his “deliverance” (vs. 19).  But that does not mean he will survive the ordeal---not at least “in the body.”

 Whether in Life or Death, God Would Be Magnified

The Greek word for “deliverance” is the term generally used for “salvation” (Romans 1:16).  But it has the basic sense of rescue and preservation (Strong’s 4992, 246). In this case, Paul’s “rescue” may mean his death.  Thus Paul asks that the prayers for him be aligned with his “earnest expectation and hope” that he will not be put to shame and that Christ will be “magnified in my body, whether by life or death” (vs. 20).  Thus, as the Mother of God magnified the Lord in her song of praise (Lk. 1:46), so Paul deeply desires that his trial and its result will enlarge the greatness and glory of Christ  (Strong’s # 3170, 158).

Looking at this passage from Paul’s point of view, we note that St. Paul’s overriding concern is the “furtherance” of the Gospel so that Christ may be glorified. Remember Paul’s distress about his rivals? In 2 Corinthians, he warns against the deceit of a preacher of “another Jesus” (vs. 2 Cor. 11:4).  And in Galatians he curses those who would preach “another Gospel” (Gal. 1:9). Now, even in Rome, Paul has opponents. Paul says that they are preaching Christ from “selfish ambition” and the desire to “add to Paul’s affliction in chains” (vs. 15).  St. John Chrysostom suggests that they were trying to incite the Emperor ‘s anger over the spread of the Gospel. The result would be that he would inflict his wrath on Paul (NfPf1: 13, 190).  Whatever the explanation, we only learn from Paul that they were preaching the Gospel out of “envy and strife” (vs. 15).

Nothing Matters Except the Progress of the Gospel

But now how does Paul react to his contenders?  Facing his day in court and possible execution, Paul takes the long view.  He responds to his opponents with equanimity.  Nothing matters to him except the advance of the Gospel.  And if that results from his opponents’ jealousy, then Christ will be magnified, and Paul will rejoice (vs. 18).

For Reflection

In his comment on this passage, Chrysostom praises Paul’s noble attitude toward his contenders. The preacher thinks it remarkable that the Apostle could rejoice over his opponent’s success in preaching the Gospel. The preacher writes: “Not one of the grievous things which are in this present life can fix their fangs upon that lofty soul, which is truly philosophic, neither enmity, nor accusations, nor slanders, nor dangers, nor plots. It flies for refuge as it were to a mighty fortress, securely defended against all that attack it from this lower earth. Such was the soul of Paul; it had taken possession of a place higher than any fortress, the seat of spiritual wisdom, that is, true philosophy” (NfPf1: 13, 193).  

It is not so hard to believe that God is magnified when we and our friends are successful in spreading the Gospel and serving the Lord.  But what if our opponents are also effective in the same endeavors?  What attitude does it take for us to say that the Lord is magnified even in the success of our adversaries?