Day 365: Philippians 1:3-11

Every morning when I wake up, I turn on the TV, hoping and praying that the CornoVirus is finally coming to an end.  So far, I am disappointed that it feels no end in sight. I am so sad for our world, our country, and our communities.  The ‘unknowns’ of our future are so frightening.  I pray every day that God’s presence is made known to all of us – those who are sick with the virus, those who are dying from the virus, and those who are merely trying to get through each day. 

Trying to be the church in these days is very difficult.  I miss my parishioners.  I miss spending time with them.  And, I miss preaching, teaching, and worshipping.  In all honesty, my heart hearts so much I could just cry – and I often do.

As I read Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I can only imagine what the new church must have been like in those days.  For example, most times they met in secret because they feared for their lives!  In those days, being a Christian required one to be very bold!  They had to be willing to put their lives on the line for Jesus Christ.

But what I keep thinking about is that I’m not sure it was much different then and our current situation.  They faced all kinds of deadly diseases.   Politically and economically, it is much the same as it is now.  And, what they feared the most was the ‘unknowns.’  They had to put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ because it was all they had!

 I believe Jesus Christ is all we have right now too!  Paul states, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” v.6).  In other words, Jesus is coming again!  That day is and will be the ‘completion.’  This is the day that we have to look forward to in our lives – When Jesus come again!

Yes, we pray for our economy to survive this virus.  We pray that our loved ones do not get sick.  We pray for those who have lost their jobs.  We pray for our world and world leaders.  But, most of all, we pray for God’s love to abound – no matter what the circumstances.  We pray for renewed relationships with our Lord and each other.  We pray for forgiveness.  We pray for hope. We pray for Jesus to come again.

Paul could not have prayed it any better:  “And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may  be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”  Amen.