4/19/23

I try not to get too nerdy. 

It’s really easy for me. One day, when I was in grad school, when my roommate left for class, I was sitting at the dining table, staring at a Hebrew passage. When he came home, hours later, I was in the same spot . . . staring at the same page. 

He thought I was nuts!

I was looking for clues to the text’s meaning: patterns, repeated words, grammatical structure, etc. And, so,  it’s really easy for me to get lost in the details.  I’ll be working on a sermon, or a Bible study, or writing a pastor’s note, and my attention will get caught by some word, and two hours later I’ll think, “This won’t mean a thing to them!” 

So feel free to say, “You’re getting too nerdy,” and I’ll understand. Or, if you want more detail, feel free to ask, “Can you get nerdier?” 

But there are some things that I just can’t pass up! And one of them (or better, 3 of them) crops up in our Bible study this week. 

Speaking of, we start a new study this week of the book of Philippians. This is one of Paul’s shortest letters, and one of Paul’s easiest to understand and apply. One of the themes of the book is joy - the word occurs 5 times and the related word “rejoice” occurs 9 times. That’s a lot of joy in 4 short chapters! 

And joy is connected to two other words we encounter really early in the book. See if you can spot them in verses Philippians 1:2-4:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you . . .

Did you spot them? Probably not, because we can’t see the connection in English. But in Greek, you can’t miss it. The English words are joy, grace, and thank. In Greek they are chara, charis, and eucharisto. Do you see that “char” part? That’s the clue. 

Paul begins by saying, “Grace to you and peace,” which was the way he opened all his letters. “Grace” in Greek had a wide range of meanings, but in the Bible it most often refers to the state of kindness and favor toward someone, often with a focus on a benefit given to the object. 

I like to think of grace as the bridge between who I am and who God wants me to be. It certainly starts with the grace that saves me. As a sinner, there’s nothing I can do to save myself! God’s grace makes my salvation possible. Once saved, God calls me to service. I may think I’m incapable of doing whatever God calls me to do, but again, there’s God’s grace that makes it possible. God gives us charismata - usually translated as “Spiritual gifts,” but literally it means “things of grace” or perhaps “gifts of grace.” This “thing of grace” God gives me is again the bridge between who I am and what I’m capable of and who God wants me to be and what God wants me to do. 

When I experience God’s grace, I’m certainly filled with chara, joy! That’s the word Paul uses some 14 times in this little letter. And remember,  Paul is writing this letter from prison, which is the least joy-ful place I can think to be writing from! However, Paul has learned through his many imprisonments that joy doesn’t depend on circumstances. Again, God’s grace builds a bridge between where Paul is (chained up in prison) and where Paul finds himself as a result of God’s grace (“I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. . . I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”).

Having experienced the joy of God’s grace, the natural response is thankfulness (eucharisto). Again, our English words don’t look like they’d have anything in common – grace, joy, and thankfulness – but when you think about their meanings, you can see the connection. The words are so closely connected,  Paul will sometimes use the same Greek word for grace and for gratitude. If the action is from God to us, it’s translated  grace; if from us to God, gratitude. Why is Paul thankful in the book of Philippians? First, even in circumstances which could lead to doubt, despair and even bitterness, Paul remembers these believers and their partnership in his ministry,  and Paul is grateful. 

These three little words – grace, joy, thankfulness – should be the basic plot of our lives. We’ve all experienced God’s grace in more ways than we can ever number. Thinking about the many ways we experience God’s grace, following  Paul’s words to the Philippians should be natural: “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice!” (Phi. 4:4)  And then, with hearts overflowing with the joy that comes from experiencing God’s grace, we should always be thankful. 

“Grace, joy, and thanksgiving” is a little 3-act drama we can experience every day of our lives! 

Join us tonight as we begin our study of this wonderful, encouraging and beloved little letter! Bring your dinner, and we’ll eat together at 5:30, or join us at 6:30 (in person or by Zoom) as we open up God’s Word. All you’ll need is your Bible!

Blessings on your week!
Pastor Terry