Last Sunday, we lit the candle of hope. Today we light the Peace candle. The message of peace is found in Paul’s greeting in his letter to the Philippian church. He offers a word of “grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:2) This word of peace comes from Paul even as he sits in a jail cell, and he is at peace with God and the world because of the partnership that exists between himself and the congregation at Philippi.
Paul speaks here of his prayer that love would overflow them as they live as partners in God’s grace, which leads to a “harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” It is this partnership that is rooted in love and grace that leads to the harvest of righteousness that serves as the source of Paul’s joy as he sits in a prison cell.
What Paul is talking about here is an intimate friendship with the Philippians that brings joy even as he sits in this jail cell. He’s grateful because they hold him in their hearts. Even as their prayers for him give him strength, he longs to be with them so he can show them the compassion that comes from Jesus. In any case, he prays that through God’s grace and love, which defines their friendship, they will be ready to stand before God pure and blameless, and this to the glory of God.
The friendship Paul talks about here is rooted in a prior friendship with God. And as Curtis Holtzen writes:
Some might think it is unbecoming of God to befriend us—that only persons of equal prominence can be friends. While this might be typical of most friendships, nothing suggests persons of high status cannot be friends with those of a lower status. It is perhaps unusual, but not unheard of. No doubt God is supreme and we are not, but there is nonetheless a relationship that is more intimate than merely master and servant. While we are not equals in the relationship, God and humans can still be friends in a very real sense. [“Friends with Benefits,” Partnering with God, p. 94].
This friendship is based in mutual trust; that is because, as Holtzen reminds us, “friendships . . . cannot survive without mutual trust.” Then he writes that “by trust, I mean the willful giving to someone the freedom to care for something you value in the way they believe is best” [“Friends,” p. 95].
If God has befriended us despite the differences between us, we can say that while God is other than us, God is also near us. Is this not the message of Advent and Christmas? That God, who is other than us, has come near to us in the person of Jesus. So, if Jesus calls us friends, are we not friends with God? (Jn. 15:15)
As we see in the letter, this friendship between Paul and the congregation is rooted in mutual love, affection, and trust. This is what sustains Paul during his imprisonment. So, Cynthia Campbell points out that “this letter is not abstract theology. Its purpose is not primarily instructive. This is a letter that shows what Christian friendship looks like and how deeply joyful it is” [Connections, p. 23].
So, what does it mean to be a friend? When you think about friendship, what comes to mind? Think about the people who have sustained you in the course of life. These may be recent friendships or they may go back to your childhood. These are the relationships you treasure, the people who have been with you through thick and thin. They stand with you even when you don’t agree with each other about some matter of importance to you. You know—things like religion and politics. These are the people with whom you are willing to entrust your lives.
As I thought about my friendships, quite a few people came to mind. Some of these friendships go back so far I can’t remember a time when we’ve not been friends. That’s true of my friendship with the Gray family. The Grays lived next door to us in Mount Shasta. I was just three when we moved into the house next door. This means Don, who is my age, was my very first friend. His brother Dave was the leader of our gang. His sister Mary was my babysitter, while Doug was like an older brother who kept watch over us. His parents were like parents to me. His grandparents were like grandparents. In other words, they were and are like family. We don’t see each other very often, and even then the visits are brief, but these brief get-togethers feel like family reunions. We sit and eat and share silly stories from long ago. Some of the stories are a bit embarrassing but they bring great joy to my heart.
I could, of course, add other stories of other meaningful friendships, but this story will suffice. The point is that over the years deep and intimate friendships have helped sustain me and bring me joy. For that, I give thanks to God and pray that you have similar stories to tell.
When it comes to defining what it means to be a friend, I find these words delivered by George W. Bush at his father’s funeral to be especially meaningful. The former President said of his father, another former President:
“George Bush knew how to be a true and loyal friend. He nurtured and honored many—his many friendships with a generous giving soul.”
Then he said of his father:
“Many a person would tell you that Dad became a mentor and a father figure in their life. He listened and he consoled. He was their friend.”
Near the end of the eulogy, the son quoted from his father’s inaugural address, offering words that I think we would do well to heed:
“What do we want the men and women who work with us to say when we are no longer there? That we were more driven to succeed than anyone around us, or that we stopped to ask if a sick child had gotten better, and stayed a moment, there, to trade a word of friendship.”
I think Paul was a bit driven. We can see that in the way he went about his work, but here in this letter, we see a different side of Paul. We see the caring, compassionate side of a man who was at the moment sitting in jail. He had every reason to be unhappy, angry, and bitter, but he writes a letter filled with joy and overflowing love that is focused on the welfare of the community. It’s the relationship that existed with the congregation that gave him joy.
Are these not words we need to hear and heed at this moment in time? Even as we prepare to welcome Christ again into our lives on Christmas Eve, all around us we hear words of anger and bitterness and hate. Violence is rampant, as we saw the other day in Oxford. Yes, there was a school shooting just a few miles north of here that took four lives and terrorized hundreds more. Members of this congregation have been touched by that shooting. We ask why.
Yes, we ask of God: why are anger and bitterness and hate and violence so prevalent at this moment? What is wrong with our world? Why can’t we live according to the biblical command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Isn’t this what God would want for us?
As we ask these questions of God, we hear Paul’s invitation to take a different path from the one currently laid before us by the world. That path that begins in overflowing love leads to a “harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”
Paul’s words to the Philippians written from a prison cell speak of love overflowing, compassion, and joy. Now Paul isn’t naive. He recognizes the challenges that lie before us, but he also understands the power of community and deep intimate friendship. He wants us to know that this sense of friendship and community can empower our journey toward the harvest of righteousness, along with the peace that is symbolized by the candle we’ve lit this morning.
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Acting Supply Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Troy, Michigan
Advent 2C
December 5, 2021
Image Attribution: Linnell, John, 1792-1882. Wheat, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56692 [retrieved December 4, 2021]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Linnell_-_Wheat_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.
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