Philippians 2:29-30 Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honour such people, because he came close to death for the work of Christ,* risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me.
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the people of Philippi. There was no US Postal Service at the time, so letters were carried by hand ideally by trusted messengers. Paul sent this letter along with his friend and co-worker Epaphroditus. So in the letter he wrote some words of recommendation for good ol' Epaphroditus (his friends maybe called him Paphie). Paul encouraged the people of Philippi to welcome and honor Paphie, for all the work that Paphie had done for the sake of the church and of the gospel.
We live in a very different time and place than Paul did. The church is in a very different position. Very few of us are thrown in jail for our belief, thanks be to God. Very few of us encounter real physical hardships at all because of our faith, thanks be to God.
But we're in the same place in that there are saints among us who show us the way. For Paul, it was Epaphroditus. For me, it's Mrs. Pugh. Mrs. Pugh was the woman in my Teaching Parish congregation who showed up first to make sure all the bulletins were laid out. She turned on all the lights. She made sure the lunch was hot and ready when worship ended. And she sat on the front pew singing her heart out in praise during worship. Mrs. Pugh never came close to death for the work of Christ, but I honour such people anyway. And I honour all of you for the ministry that you do in Christ's name.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for worship Saturday evening at 5 and Sunday morning at 9. More information at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment