KEYWORDS: catholic; lk16; ordinarytime; prayer; saints;
From: Philippians 4:10-19
Thanks for Help Received
[14] Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. [15] And you Philippians your-
selves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church
entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only; [16] for
even in Thessalonica you sent me help once and again. [17] Not that I seek the
gift; but I seek the fruit which increases to your credit. [18] I have received full
payment, and more; I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you
sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. [19] And
my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ
Jesus.
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Commentary:
10-20. Gratitude is a very characteristic feature of Christian life; in this passage
we can see the noble soul of St Paul, ever appreciative of any sign of affection
and thoughtfulness.
It also shows what great confidence St Paul had in the Philippians; from them
alone did he accept help, for his general policy was not to accept material aid so
as to leave no one in any doubt about the purity of his intentions in preaching the
Gospel (cf. 1 Cor 9:18; 2 Cor 12:14-18). This meant that he was also practicing
the virtue of poverty, being content with what he had.
Financial resources do make a person’s life easier and by helping us meet our
material needs they allow us to cultivate friendship with God and go to the help of
others, but these resources are not an end in themselves; they are only a means.
Therefore there is nothing essentially bad about not having money or property: one
can get to heaven without them. However, if a person is well-to-do and is attached
to his wealth, that is bad. That is what St Paul is saying. “If you want to be your
own masters at all times, I advise you to make a very real effort to be detached
from everything, and to do so without fear or hesitation. Then, when you go about
your various duties, whether personal, family or otherwise, make honest use of
legitimate human resources with a view to serving God, his Church, your family,
your profession, your country, and the whole of mankind. Remember that what
really matters is not whether you have this or lack that, but whether you are living
according to the truth taught us by our Christian faith, which tells us that created
goods are only a means, nothing more. So, do not be beguiled into imagining that
they are in any way definitive” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 118).
13. “In him who strengthens me”: the proposition “in” often refers to the place
“where”, in which case the text would mean that the person who lives in Christ,
who is identified with him, can do all things. However, in biblical Greek it frequent-
ly has a causal meaning, in which case the Apostle would be saying that he can
do all things because God lends him his strength.
The difficulties which can arise in apostolic work or in one’s search for personal
holiness are not an insuperable obstacle, for we can always count on God’s sup-
port. So, we need to let ourselves be helped; we need to go to the Lord whenever
we are tempted or feel discouraged (”Thou art the God in whom I take refuge”:
Ps 43:2), humbly recognizing that we need his help, for we can do nothing on our
own. St Alphonsus encourages us always to put our trust in God: “The proud per-
son relies on his strength and he falls; but the humble person, who puts all his
trust in God, holds his ground and does not succumb, no matter how severely
he is tempted” (”The Love of God Reduced to Practice”, 9).
“I have asked you”, St. Escriva says, “to keep on lifting your eyes up to heaven
as you go about your work, because hope encourages us to catch hold of the
strong hand which God never ceases to reach out to us, to keep us from losing
our supernatural point of view. Let us persevere even when our passions rear up
and attack us, attempting to imprison us within the narrow confines of our selfish-
ness; or when puerile vanity makes us think we are the center of the universe. I
am convinced that unless I look upward, unless I have Jesus, I shall never accom-
plish anything. And I know that the strength to conquer myself and to win comes
from repeating that cry, ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me’ (Phil 4:13),
words which reflect God’s firm promise not to abandon his children if they do not
abandon him” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 213).
17-19. Using a metaphor taken from commercial life, the Apostle gives us an in-
sight into the value of generosity. He is not asking the Philippians for donations:
he can survive without them; he is seeking the good that will redound to them
on account of their almsgiving (cf. v. 17): and, given their own limited financial
resources, they are in fact being particularly generous (cf. 2 Cor 8:2).
Since God is the one who rewards men for their actions, then clearly a person
who gives alms ultimately benefits more than he who receives alms. As a reward
for their almsgiving the Philippians will receive nothing less than the eternal glory
won for us by Christ Jesus. And so St Leo the Great recommends that “whoever
gives alms should do so with detachment and joy, for the less he keep back for
himself, the greater will be his gain” (”Tenth Lenten Sermon”).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.