Greetings of Grace

“Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen” (Philippians 4:21-23).

Well, friends, a summer of slow and steady attention has brought us to the end of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Today’s devotional will be the last installment of Wilderness Wanderings for the summer, as we have reached a natural conclusion with these last verses of Philippians. There will not be a podcast tomorrow, nor throughout the month of August. However, Pastor Michael is making plans for a new version of Wilderness Wanderings in the fall. More information on that to come, so stay tuned. 

For now, let’s take a look at these last verses of Philippians 4. As we discussed with the opening of the letter, to close with greetings such as these that we read in today’s verses would have been a convention of letter-writing in the ancient world. But as with all of Paul’s letters, he uses the conventions of the genre to make particular theological points.

Verse 21 is translated in the NIV “Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus.” However, scholars point out that this could also be translated “Greet every saint [or] holy person in Christ Jesus.” Not only does this indicate his personal affection for members of this community, it also has the rhetorical effect of building on his council to the church at other points in the letter about living in unity with one another. 

To a church experiencing conflict, as we discussed earlier in chapter 4, Paul’s encouragement to “greet every saint in Christ Jesus” was a challenge. And the command to do so “in Christ Jesus” is a reminder again of the fact that their unity is not in their agreement, but in their shared identity in Christ.

Paul then offers greetings on behalf of “all God’s people here.” Paul has spoken frequently in the letter of the challenges of persecution and false teaching faced by the church in Philippi, along with their internal division. Offering greetings from others who are in his company, perhaps those nearer him also providing support in the midst of his imprisonment, was a reminder to the Philippian church that they were not alone in their difficulties. They were part of a broader movement of Christ-followers also experiencing joys and sorrows, honour and shame, God’s provision and persecution by those around them. This small church was part of something much bigger than themselves, and Paul thought it important in all his letters to remind the churches of this reality.

On this note, as Paul offers his farewell to the Philippian church, perhaps this is an appropriate moment for me to offer my own word of farewell to you, my friends at Immanuel CRC. This is my last Wilderness Wanderings podcast as your pastoral intern, and my last day with you will be this Sunday, August 3. In my first Wilderness Wanderings devotional back at the beginning of my time with you, I quoted New Testament scholar NT Wright, who described the letter to the Philippian church as “overflowing with effervescent joy” and “sparkling with the delight of family affection.” As I reflect now at the end of my last week with you, I find in myself a similar sentiment, a deep joy and affection for my time with you this summer.

While I would not claim to have nearly the same travel or missional resume as Paul, as I read his letters, and have paid particular attention to his letter to the Philippian church this summer, I see the longing in his words for the communities that he travels to and from throughout his career, and it resonates with my own spirit and the travelling to and fro nature of my own ministry over the last number of years. That Immanuel has been the most recent stop on this journey is something for which I am deeply grateful to God. I will miss you all. 

And yet, I will carry you with me. It’s one of the greatest gifts of the way in which God has formed his church, that we belong to each other. And so as I continue to travel and discern what God has next for me, I will take your greetings to your siblings in Christ in the places that I go with me. And I will hope to return to you with similar greetings from them should God give me the opportunity to do so in the future. Know that you will be held in my heart and before the throne of God in prayer.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see how God is at work among you this summer. May “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

And as you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.