Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Philippi was a city in Macedonia. We know that area as the northern part of Greece. It was established in 359 BC, it was renamed by Philip II the Macedonian in 356. It was a living and active, extremely busy commercial city, being on the northwest side of the Aegean Sea, kind of a gateway port through those towns inland. But it was abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman Empire, that is, the Muslims, conquered the territory and basically put out the light known as Philippi.
Paul went to Philippi on his second missionary journey, when he crossed over from Asia Minor into Europe. And that was one of the very first cities that he went to, Philippi. The records of it and what took place there can be found in Acts chapter 16. They made many converts, among them Lydia. Paul and Silas also spent jail time in Philippi, and also the famous conversion of the jailer who jailed both of those apostles at the time.
The church plant that Paul planted there became a living, active, actually orthodox congregation, right preaching, right teaching. And they were very supportive and loving of both Paul and of his missionary work. Now ten years had passed since he had planted that church, and it had grown kind of impressively, and it remained in those 10 years faithful to the teachings of the apostles.
But now in 60 AD, Paul is in prison again, but this time he’s in Rome. During his time in prison, he writes letters to several congregations throughout the Mediterranean area. The congregation of Philippi is just one of them. But it’s a different kind of letter than the letter that most of the rest of them receive. This is a thank you letter for all the love and the support and the kindness they’ve shown to Paul, and the sponsorship of his missionary journeys over the past 10 years. It’s a letter of encouragement and faith and love.
It’s an unusual epistle. It’s one of joy and love and courage. Because when he wrote to Corinth from that same spot, for example, Corinth was an extremely problematic congregation. Pagan beliefs and Gentile morality had infiltrated the congregations in Corinth, and it was a dysfunctional family, constantly fighting one with the other. The church in Galatia, why, Paul begins the letter, which is unusual for Paul, with the greatest rebuke of any New Testament epistle to the Galatians. He is utterly shocked and surprised that they’ve abandoned the Gospel of Jesus Christ for religions of work righteousness, falling back into a legalistic Judaism which destroyed the message of the Gospel. He rebukes them for that, and once again sets before them, and the rest of the epistle, right doctrine concerning the Law and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The church in Philippi, in contrast, seems to be a reasonably well-to-do and happy congregation, not plagued by moral or theological problems faced by those other congregations in the New Testament. And in Philippians, Paul is encouraging the congregation and individual Christians in their Christian faith.
Paul seems to be addressing a couple of concerns that the Christians in Philippi had regarding both Paul and the missionary journeys and his mission work among the people. They’re worried about Paul’s policy: will he live, will he die, will he be imprisoned for the rest of his natural life? And what will be the fate of the missionary journeys if Paul is in fact killed?
Paul doesn’t know the outcome as he sits there waiting in Rome for the word of what his fate will ultimately be. He could be released, or he could be executed. According to Paul’s own words, it matters to him not which one. Either one is fine by him. Live or die, it will turn out best for both Paul and for the work of the Gospel, and the ministry will continue. In verse 21, he wrote, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me, and I do not know which to choose. But I’m hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.”
Paul tells the Philippians that they need not worry about him, he’s going to be just fine. As for the second concern, Paul has an answer for that too, and that’s the focus of the rest of the sermon. Even as Paul sits in a Roman prison, sits there jailed in a small cell, shackled, chained probably to the wall, Paul sees nothing but upside. Members of the Roman Imperial Guard are hearing the Gospel, and some are coming to faith. And other Christians are seeing the fruit that is being borne by the speaking of the Gospel there in prison, and they are taking courage and speaking more boldly on account of Paul’s suffering. He wrote, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the Praetorian Guard and everyone else, and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the Word of God without fear.”
There’s a word in that whole little quote that I just read that I personally really like. I love progress. It drives me nuts when I don’t see progress. It makes me frustrated. See, because the problem with progress is it wears masks, like Halloween masks. It hides itself frequently. You don’t even know you’re making it. In fact, it may look like a great regression.
Take for example moving into a house. If you ever move from one house to another house, as soon as the truck drives away, you wonder what in the world you’ve done. Look at that mess. And in order to clean up the mess, you got to make a bigger mess. You have to start unpacking everything, and now the place, you can barely walk in it anymore because it’s so disorganized. You’d never call it progress, which is not according to the eyes. The eyes see something else. But then you begin to unpack, you begin to work, bit by bit.
I found this interesting survey. According to the Duck brand company that makes the duct tape, they did a study and they found that it takes Americans an average of 182 days to finish moving into a house, 182 days to unpack the last thing and to say “I’m done.” After that, it’s just clean, right? That’s just the average. For an awful lot of people, it takes even longer than that.
Progress is sometimes hard to make, even harder to see, until the moment, in all of its glory, it shows up. Depending on the circumstance and the endeavor, progress might look like regression. And regression, almost always, produces suffering and frustration, depression, exhaustion, regret, and hopelessness. But yet it’s still progress, you just don’t see it.
Sitting there in a Roman prison, Paul walks with eyes of faith at his situation, and he sees the progress that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is making. Not only does he see progress, he connects this progress to adversity, to the fact he’s in prison, possibly facing death, execution. “My circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel,” he wrote.
Sounds to me like something Joseph taught us in the Old Testament lesson recently. Decades in Egypt, and he only sees what God is doing, in the progress that has been made, when his brothers stand before him at the end of the story, begging for forgiveness, and he grants it to them. There he sees the progress. God is saving many, and He’s fulfilling the promise that His Messiah would come from the Hebrew nation. What his brothers meant for evil, God has used for good. And it tells us why: to save many people.
It’s the same for St. Paul. You know this congregation, some of you know, you’ve been around long enough, you’re the survivors. It didn’t start off so well. It didn’t look like we were making a lot of progress there in the 90s, and the 2000s got kind of dicey too. But then it began to show up, didn’t it? It began to show up in a congregation of peace and love, one committed to the Word and the Sacrament ministry. It was progress. Sometimes the fire has to refine the gold. And Paul understands it.
Paul sees his circumstance also as a way to contribute to the well-being of the Christians in Philippi, sponsors of his missionary journeys. They’re making progress too. Verse 25: “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.” And now that’s what the baptismal and sacramental and preaching ministry in the church is all about. God places a pastor to preach the Word, to teach the Word, to preside over proper worship services, and to administer the sacraments, so that the congregation and the people in it make progress toward their heavenly home, have joy that can only be found in the Christian faith, that always supersedes the struggles of this world.
Now what is progress? It’s learning more about the doctrines and the teachings, the teachings that bring you life and salvation. It’s about strengthening your trust, your faith, your confidence that in all things in your life, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is making progress. It’s equipping you for good works toward your neighbor. God wants His Christian children to grow in faith and understanding, to become mature. Ephesians 4:15: “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18: “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:2: “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, so that you may grow in respect to salvation.” In Hebrews he wrote, regarding Christians who weren’t making progress, “By this time you ought to be teachers. You should have no need of anyone to teach you the elementary principles, the actual words of God, and you have come to need milk, not solid food.” They actually regressed, because they neglected the Word and Sacrament.
Growing in faith and understanding is a lifelong endeavor for the Christian. It doesn’t stop when you’re baptized, it begins. It doesn’t stop when you’re confirmed, it continues. God intends for you to grow and progress as a Christian, progress in a deeper understanding and knowledge of the Christian teaching, and in a deeper understanding of how to live that teaching out in all your various vocations and lives. The pastoral office exists for you, to provide you with what you need to make that progress, progress as you move closer and closer to your new heavenly home. The ministers are here for your progress, and also, and as importantly, your joy.
Now joy is a big thing in the epistle to the Philippians. It’s only four chapters long, it’s not a long read by any stretch of the imagination. But in those four chapters, the word joy or rejoice occurs 14 times. If you add the word glad, you’re up to 16. The Christian faith brings with it joy, joy in the progress that you may not even be seeing, but you know God is in fact pulling it along, making it happen, even in the midst of unpleasant and downright painful circumstances. For Paul, joy was even present in prison as he faced possible execution. “I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.”
He goes on to write in verse 27: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel.”
The church, in your case little Immanuel, in good times and in bad, is part of your progress, and it’s part of the joy of your faith. To come and to hear those words of absolution, “I forgive you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” To hear the scriptures read and learn more and more each time, something more about the faith. See, there’s a corporate dimension to this, this progress and to this joy connected to it. It’s not just you and Jesus, and that’s it. That’s the American evangelical fallacy, that somehow church isn’t really all that necessary, the sacraments aren’t that necessary, baptism is not really that much required, the Lord’s Supper is not all that important. All of that is utterly false. It’s not just you and Jesus. Christians are not created to go it alone. You are, as you are, separate from the world, and called to be a living and active member of the body of Jesus Christ, called the church. The church is a necessary part in His plan of salvation.
As time moves on, we all know, we all know, our loved ones, our family members, our friends, they die. And in those moments, as those numbers begin to pile up, we begin to feel lonely, left over, depressed, and saddened by the loss. But we’re not alone in His church. God has given us brothers and sisters in Christ, a family, a church family. And guess what? This family lives forever. You will see your fellow congregants in the heavenly mansions to come. That’s a source of great joy. And the greatest of all of it is what Paul points out: Christ is present among them.
The apostle Paul is the Philippians’ father in the faith. He faces possible execution, yet he directs the Philippians away from himself and his own predicament and his own fate, to the Gospel, to the progress that the Gospel makes, to the fellowship of the church, and to the sufficiency and efficacy of the Word of God. He wants to hear that they are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel. He sets aside all concerns of self and points only to the mission of the church.
Paul uses, by the way, the plural form of you. That is, not you as an individual, “I want to hear that you all,” as they say in the South, “you all are standing firm.” You can’t do it alone. You can’t make progress in the Christian faith alone. You need the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Word and the Sacrament ministry of the church, and your brothers and sisters in Christ, who are supposed to help you bear your burdens. You can’t strive side by side when you’re missing. It doesn’t work that way.
Even your opponents, and the opponents of the Christian faith, are a sign of God’s promise. Even those who persecute the faith are teaching us that the faith moves forward, the Gospel ministry continues on. Verse 28: “And in no way be alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, that is, the hostility, is from God.”
So we all know Western civilization moves further and further away from religion and the morality of the Bible. And as they do that, opposition will increase. It is in America, people are actually being jailed for acting out on their Christian faith. They’re being sued, their businesses and reputations being destroyed, being targeted, spies infiltrating churches. We’re headed to dark days, and it’s important that congregations stay together and grow in their faith and understanding of the Word of God, that in all their circumstances, as dire as they might look from time to time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is making its progress. God strengthens His children through His Word and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 19: “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” He doesn’t say which deliverance, from jail or from this life of sin and death. Paul is describing in this section a way, a life worthy of the Gospel. It reflects the great wonder and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives, who works even in the darkest of days. This is where we’re to find meaning and identity and purpose in life. It’s connected, our life is tied up with Christ, and we are members of His body. And that’s the best life that one can live in a world such as this. He gives meaning to our life where there otherwise is none. He covers our sins with His blood. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection. His victory gives us courage and strength to speak and to act toward our neighbor in the kindest of ways. He guarantees our victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil.
Today Paul and I do what pastors are supposed to do, that is, bring God’s Word to you. For what purpose? For progress and joy of the faith. You’re making progress, though I might not see it in you, you certainly don’t see it in me, but God is bringing you along nonetheless, drawing you forward, even though it looks like you’re not. And one day you’ll move into that new house, that heavenly mansion, already furnished, ready, already clean, waiting. He said He was going to prepare it. He’s there, He’s preparing a place for you. It’s ready, anytime you will be too. For to live is to live to Christ, and to die is to die in gain. Amen.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.