With Thanksgiving
It is not always easy to give thanks in the midst of life especially when so many things happen to us and about us of which we have no control over. Take Paul for instance. He is in prison, he has no idea what his fate will be, and yet he is able to give thanks. That is because he knows for whom he is thankful. A few verses after those we read today he tells us that he had learned to be content with whatever he has and tells us he knows what it is like to have little and to have plenty, being well-fed or going hungry. We could add many things about Paul, traveling dangerous roads on long journeys (by foot), shipwrecked, imprisoned, and rejected. We know this was not the whole of Paul’s life, he did have many joyful times as well. I point out the difficult times because it is easy to rejoice and give thanks when things are going well. Paul calls us to rejoice and give thanks at all times.
This is not to say that we are to just sit back and let things happen as they may. Paul did not do that. When he saw wrong he worked to correct it. When he saw people hurting he brought them the gospel, collected offerings for them, and shared the burdens of their lives. By his words and deeds Paul lived as he expected others to live. He set an example. Yet it was not his example that he had shown, it was Jesus. Jesus who, as Paul told us earlier in Philippians (2:6-11), gave up being God, humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death, even death upon the cross. With Jesus as guide and savior, Paul was able to rejoice and give thanksgiving always. Now it is our turn.
As we wait for the coming of Jesus to be revealed to us, once again this Christmas we are called into a world that has forgotten the love and hope of God who rush about trying to remake some imaginary Christmas of the past that never really happened. That anxiety has only increased this year, with the worry that we might not be able to get the things we need for that wonderful Christmas we are planning. We constantly hear of shortages. Shortages of Christmas trees, hams, and x-boxes to name three, and we run around chasing the phantom of what we desire instead of seeing what we have. We need Paul’s secret. Actually it was not a secret, he knew he had Jesus no matter where he was or what was happening.
John the Baptist tells us the same thing in much more harsh terms by calling us to repent of our sinful and wasteful desires, let us turn our hearts and minds to Christ Jesus. Instead of looking inwardly at our selfish desires, let us look to Jesus. For that is what these days are about. Remember the Christmas that we are called to emulate. It was a simple affair in a back alley of Bethlehem whose guests were a bunch of shabby shepherds and the gift was a baby. That baby who changed our lives of worry, sin, and death into a life of faith, hope and love. In these coming days remember whose you are and follow the example that Jesus has set for you. Then, with Paul and all the saints, you can rejoice and in prayer give thanks to God in all places and all times.