Bryan Richardson

Others

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 2:1-4 (day three)

“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Paul’s training in the eternal kind of life came not from just any man, but from Jesus himself. That’s what Paul told the church in Galatia. Paul’s point was not bragging rights. As a Pharisee, he knew firsthand how people attempt to augment sacred revelation. It’s what happened with the law of Moses. Paul was not going to be an interpreter of Jesus’s teaching, but a conduit. He wasn’t going to expand, but remind. That determination is the purity present in Paul’s thought. To the Philippians, therefore, he echoes precisely the words of our Lord’s Golden Rule: Understand the unique needs of others, and do that for them. His words are a tell that he had been taught by Christ.

Stayed

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 1:27-30 (day three)

“…in no way alarmed…”

Did Paul ever panic? He never mentioned it if he did. But before he began learning from Jesus how to live, he demonstrated behavior that looked an awful lot like alarm or consternation, panic’s close cousins. He responded to the Jesus Way by attempting to eradicate it with terror – violent arrests, imprisonments, the casting of votes for death sentences. The safeguarding of his life’s foundation was a high priority. It is for you, too. And there are so many things which seem to threaten that foundation. Jesus knew that, of course. He taught Paul – and he teaches us – that when the terror rises, look at the birds, see the flowers. Feel the turning of the earth marking your days. The universe has been founded securely by God. So has your life. So has the church.

Source

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 1:20-26 (day three)

“To live is Christ.”

To comprehend, help, create, build, dream, celebrate, give, remember, participate, laugh, gather, hope, work – in short, to live – is possible because of the universe’s originating and animating presence, which is Christ. It is true of all persons, from the staunchest skeptic of God’s existence to the tiniest trusting child: Christ is behind all the living and moving and having being. The very act of disbelieving is possible because Christ has made it possible. And the act of asking, “What must I do to be saved?” is possible because Christ has made human beings with the capacity to see and yearn and wonder. Paul eventually learned that the one who enabled Stephen to die with such confidence is the one who enabled him (Paul) to live with such grace. So it is for us all.

Can

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 1:12-19 (day three)

“What then?”

Paul’s question is often your own when difficulties appear. You might not ask it in the same way. Perhaps you say, “What am I supposed to do now?” Or the question might arise in your mind as more of a statement: “Everything is falling apart.” It’s easy then to envision a range of very unpleasant outcomes. Not Paul. Faced with horrific suffering, he says, “Anything’s possible from here.” Paul was ordinary. He suffered, wept, worked, and felt the sting of injustice. But he had learned from Jesus that we don’t live in a deterministic universe. He had learned from Jesus how to expand his understanding of what is possible. That’s how joy took root in his life.

One

Re:Verse passage – Philippians 1:1-11 (day three)

“You all are partakers of grace with me.”

Paul began to see that the kinship of those awakened by Christ from the sleep of folly and illusion created something far greater than a crowd or a faction or a caucus or a movement. Here was a new kind of life which saw people nurture one another, honor the least among themselves, and which was perfectly suited for its environment. This kind of existence found expression in the metaphor of body – every part functioning for the good of all other parts. Therefore Paul, while acknowledging the profound hardships he endures in incarceration, doesn’t fail to notice that he is not the only one suffering: Paul has been deprived of his civil freedoms, and the church has been deprived of the presence of someone it loves. They suffer as one because they are one.

Learn

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 5:22-25 (day three)

“Against such things there is no law.”

All good things seem to run up against a law of limits. We’ve never seen patience that won’t run out, peace that can’t be disturbed, joy than can’t be killed, love that someone can’t fall out of, faith that can’t be broken. But if these characteristics are only available while supplies last, then what we’ve called patience, or peace, or joy are not, in fact, those things. The real things do exist, though, and they are infinitely abundant. Paul says these traits are actually descriptors of life within the Trinity. They describe the way God lives. They are how the Father treats the Son, how the Spirit points to the Father, how the Son speaks of the Spirit. This is the life you have been called to learn. Do not be afraid. You’re God’s star pupil.

With

Re:Verse passage – 1 Thessalonians 1:2-6 (day three)

“…constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope.”

Physicists have observed a state of existence called quantum entanglement, in which determining a particular characteristic of one particle will tell the observer specific details about the corresponding characteristic of another particle without the observer’s ever having to examine that other particle. The two particles are said to be “entangled,” even if they are light-years apart. All phenomena in the material realm have their antecedents in the spiritual realm. Human beings have a will because God has a will. Human beings draw life from community because life comes only from God, who exists in eternal community. And if hope sprang up in Paul continually, if love enfolded him constantly, if faith buoyed him incessantly, it’s because dear friends in Christ entangled their lives with his.

Divert

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day three)

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation.”

Paul said drunkenness will do it. Luke said hard labor will do it. Jesus said even a church service will do it. What were they talking about? They each warned against distraction – distraction from the difficult, yet vital inner work of reflection, discovery, and transformation. In this passage, Paul points to the use of substances as a means of diverting the mind’s attention from God’s activity. Elsewhere, Luke highlights the way Martha used arduous domestic duties as an alternative focus to Jesus’s teaching. And in Matthew’s gospel, the Lord himself noted in that not even the formal worship of God substitutes for the inner work necessary for reconciliation with a sister or brother. Enlisting the Sprit’s help for soul-work isn’t easy. Diversions are ready to help you forget.

Punitive

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:25-32 (day three)

“…just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

To forgive means to decide not to exact punishment for wrongdoing. That is indeed what Christ has done for us. Punishment can take many forms. If I give a friend the cold shoulder after discovering that he misled me about a career advancement opportunity so that he could take that opportunity for himself, I am punishing my friend. If I remain warm in my interactions with him, however, while waiting eagerly for news of hardship or failure that he might encounter as he undertakes that new career opportunity, I am still punishing him, albeit in a very nuanced way. And if I am punishing him, I have not forgiven him. There are often consequences for wrongdoing. But consequences are not in my power to control. Punishment is.

Saved

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 1:13-14 (day three)

“…the redemption of God’s own possession…”

A common understanding of “possession” emphasizes notions of defiance and smugness: “It’s mine, not yours, and you have neither power nor right to tell me what to do with it.” Paul frames it another way. Here, “possession” emphasizes restoration to a status in keeping with high favor. Nobody ever knew how valuable you really are. Parents, family, and friends perhaps come closer to that realization than others (though, sadly, not invariably). But God always knew. That’s why the Bible refers to those separated from God as lost instead of worthless. And it’s why hell is such a cosmically profound catastrophe: a being of immeasurable value eternally wasting away. Salvation enables you to believe what God already knew about you – that you are precious to him. The Holy Spirit promises that God has never lost track of you.