In the very first class I took in my first year of theology, a course called “Introduction to the New Testament,” it was St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians that the teacher focused upon. Ever since that time, whenever I read from this particular letter, my mind takes me back to that very first experience of studying the Scriptures in any depth.
Since that time, I have had many opportunities to pray with and study this particular letter. Each time I encounter it, I am reminded of the fact that St. Paul had a special place in his heart for this particular community. Philippi was a community of families of men who had retired from the Roman legions. Upon retirement, each man was given some money and a piece of land to farm. When St. Paul came to Philippi, he encountered a community of men and women who were easily persuaded by the Gospel. These men had survived years of war and combat by relying upon one another. Comrades in arms, even in our modern day armies, know that the strength of their unit depends upon being there for one another, keeping each other safe, providing cover for one another under fire.
While it may not seem to be a natural fit for us who have not known military service, the Gospel which teaches us to be concerned about our neighbor immediately felt right to the men and women of Philippi. What we hear in the passage assigned for today is a rhetorical statement. Of course, there is encouragement in Christ. There is solace in love and in participation in the Spirit. The citizens of Philippi knew exactly what it meant to regard others as more important than themselves. They knew what it meant to look out for one another and for the interests of others. This is exactly the way they had survived the wars they had fought for Rome. Now St. Paul uses their experience to build up a Christian community of love and fellowship, of mercy and compassion, and which was of one mind and heart.
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus teaches one of the leading Pharisees to go beyond the traditional boundaries and to invite people of a different social class to their table. In that culture, eating with someone was a way of identifying with their plight. One did not sit down to table with people who were not social equals. In fact, to do so would have been social suicide. Yet, this is exactly what Jesus asks of this man. This is the kind of right relationship that Jesus asks of all of us. The table of the Eucharist, where we eat and drink with Jesus, must be a table at which all are equal and where we all are concerned for one another.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator