I truly cannot imagine what it must have been like for the Apostle Paul as he composed and sent this letter to the church in Philippi from prison, uncertain of his fate and yet determined to encourage this community of faith who are enduring their own suffering brought on by persecution. Paul notes his own joy at their faith, trying to inspire them to live in a way that serves Christ. To live in a way that despite the worry, the anxiety and the suffering, demonstrates their transformation as a community steeped in love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. To live in a way that imitates the life of Jesus.
I wonder though what would it feel like to be on 
the receiving end of such a letter. Would I be able to let go of my worry, my anxiety at the way the empire perceived me? I was a threat wasn’t I since I didn’t live my life to please Caesar, but to please Christ. I wasn’t conforming enough to the demands of empire was I? I would know what it is like to live in the shadow of fear that empire brings, wouldn’t I?
So how am I supposed to understand this letter that says things like this: “I’m sure of this: I will stay alive and remain with all of you to help your progress and the joy of your faith, and to increase your pride in Christ Jesus through my presence when I visit you again.” (Philippians 1:25-26) Joy, pride, the progress of my faith! When I am suffering? When I am anxious, worried and fearful?
How would you feel? How do you feel – given the circumstances of the “empire” we exist in today? Do you feel stressed? Do you feel worried and fearful? Does the 24-hour news cycle exhaust you? Do you feel like your faith is crumbling? Or can you hear Paul’s words ringing in your ears: I know the joy of your faith and your pride being a follower of Jesus Christ? How did the community in Philippi survive? What can we learn from this letter?
Perhaps a clue is in Verse 27 and 28a: “Most important, live together in a manner worthy of Christ’s gospel. Do this, whether I come and see you or I’m absent and hear about you. Do this so that you stand firm, united in one spirit and mind as you struggle together to remain faithful to the gospel. That way, you won’t be afraid of anything your enemies do.”
Live together which from the Greek politeuesthe (pol-ee-TEW-es-thee) has the more specific connotation of living in community, the common life of citizens in a city (polis) or political order. Paul is telling these anxious, stressed, worried folks that following Jesus isn’t just a singular activity. It is communal. In his commentary on Philippians, Daniel Milgore writes this: Life in Christ is a new way of living together. A new people, a new community (koinonia), comes into being in Christ, a community that confesses Christ as Lord, lives by his grace alone, shares in his Spirit, and follows his direction.[1]
Paul says to this Philippian community of faith that the only way to keep the joy, increase the pride and live so that you are salt and light of the world, bringing the good news to your fellow congregants and to the community at large is to hold fast together. Don’t go it alone Paul says – that is not how you are called to live. Don’t go it alone church folk – the community of faith we call FPC-Bethlehem is being called to live a new life together.
This life together is taking a new shape – for we will be living in a different location and space – but our shared mission and ministry can still thrive as we hold fast together. Whatever worry, stressor, anxious or even fearful moment we might experience is lessened when we hold fast together. Whatever suffering we might experience or feel through others’ experiences can be endured if we hold fast together.
Living out our mission study themes (and I do hope you all will read this as you are the ones who formed it) of being more relational, mission-active and community integrated will require us to hold fast together. It will not be the work of one individual but many individuals who form this community of faith.
Reverend Dr. Derek Webster writes this in his commentary: “Striving side by side is not a byproduct of the gospel; it is in the very design. This unity, this shared striving, is where the strength comes from—the strength to stand against those who would oppose the mission.”[2]
And there will be those in the wider community who will oppose the mission we are undertaking, but Paul says if you hold fast together you will be able to weather that opposition. The wider community will see our values – those core values we hold dear and which are expressed in our Mission Study:
“At our foundation, we remain resolutely Christ-centered, anchoring every new endeavor in the love and grace of God. Our relational focus breathes life into our commitment to be Expansively Welcoming, ensuring everyone finds a true place belonging here. Meanwhile, our mission-active and community-integrated goals put An Active Faith into physical motion, while our collaborative discernment reflects An Inquiring Faith that is unafraid to ask how God is calling us to evolve.” (pg. 14)
Hold fast together and we can take a deep breath whenever worry, stress, anxiety or fear grabs us whether we are at the mercy of a news cycle or events happening in our community. Hold fast together and take a deep breath knowing that we are called by Christ to be this community of faith. Hold fast together and the world won’t feel so pressing in on us – maybe?
So now let us end with a breath prayer that we will hold fast together: Breathing in hear these words: We are God’s people. Breathing out hear these words: together we press on.
May it be so. Amen.
[1] Migliore, Daniel. Philippians and Philemon. Westminster John Knox Press, 2014, page 66 (e-book)