The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
Summary: When Paul sends greetings, it is like setting off fireworks! He doesn’t just send one, but instead sends a dazzling bouquet of them.
In the closing verses of Philippians, Paul extends greetings to his readers. “Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus,” he begins (Phil. 4:21a). It is a simple command that echoes the familial bond that binds believers everywhere.
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…
Summary: When Paul compares the things of this world to knowing Christ Jesus, he makes us think about what we value in life.
Paul has just walked us through all the things he considered his “gains” in life (Philippians 3:7). What were his “gains?” They were the material things that put him ahead of others.
For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
Summary: This passage opens a window into Paul’s reason for writing the Philippians and the care and concern the early believers had for each other.
The voice of the letter is Paul’s, and so far in this letter, he has been instructing the Philippians (and us!) about Christian life. Now, for a moment, his thoughts settle on how he can reach out to the Philippians in a more personal way.
Summary: The word “brother” carries a special meaning. A brother is different than a father. Understanding this difference helps us understand who Jesus is.
If our relationship with our human fathers is unique, so is our relationship with our mothers and siblings. The good father provides a sense that there are boundaries to how we behave. The boundaries may vary from father to father, but all good fathers provide this context even if they are not aware that they are doing it.
… for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Summary: When we talk about being clothed in Christ we might wonder what that is like. Fortunately, Jesus tells us a wonderful story about a father and his son.
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Summary: Following the bread crumbs in Paul’s thinking leads us to a meditation on how cancer affects the body. How does the metaphor of cancer provide guidance for the modern family and church?
Summary: Paul’s reference to Titus as his ”son” in the faith opens up a door to understanding how God sees us spiritually and how we should see each other spiritually.
I often think of the Bible as a family photo album. God’s family extends back to Adam and Eve and includes an amazing assortment of people whose lives have been recorded in the Bible. Sometimes photo albums have little notes on the edges of the photos or on the back saying who was in them, what they were doing and where they were. The Bible also shares this kind of information with us, telling us a lot about the people, places, and activities of ancient times. The places mentioned in this passage all have histories in the Bible.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Luke 2: 4-5
When you read through the Bible it takes a while for the faces and names to become familiar. The Bible is not a book that is read once and then fully understood. The Bible is as deep and wide as space itself. Yet, by reading it through, again and again, relationships and places become clear. The “pictures” of the people in the books of the Bible start to come into focus.
