Pentecost 20 2026

My brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:1-8

I’m interested in what churches choose to tell passersby about themselves.  Emmanuel does a fine job of signaling the wide invitation that Della speaks about.  Signs on the corner of Spring Street show that we are a home for excellent classical music year around and that we host monthly community meals.   There are important unwritten “signs” too: the pollinator, vegetable and flower gardens show we are stewards of the environment, and the graceful sweeping entryway invites all to come in.

Some churches simply post a pithy thought-provoking message. I’ll never forget one in front of Northwest Hills Baptist near my home in Austin: “If God is absent, who moved?” (Guess that’s me.)

Now, in front of Middletown Baptist Church here on West Main at Greene on one side the sign reads: “Love God. Love your neighbor. Repeat”.  On the other:   “If you want direction. Start with surrender”.   

Surrender?   That stopped me--as it was meant to do.  It’s a strong word, an arresting word—pun intended.

Middletown Baptist Church lays out the foundations of Christian faith for all to see: the great commandment and the truth that we are called to surrender our will and our lives to God.  Well done!

Surrender: it’s simple to say, and oh so hard to do! 

Jesus did it, of course.  And epistles like the one to the Philippians show that Paul did, too. 

Before turning to Philippians, I want to share another sterling example of surrender. The much-beloved 23^rd Psalm, which I learned by heart in my youth, as I suspect some of you did, too.

It is attributed to King David, who was a shepherd as a boy.  The psalmist begins by likening himself to a sheep.   

Please join me if you like…

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul.  He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake…

Now the voice changes.  Instead of talking about God, the psalmist speaks to God.

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.  Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Memorizing something by rote doesn’t mean you understand it, as I recently found out.  This spring I was recovering from a fractured kneecap.  Over tired and distracted, I had tripped and fallen on my knee. Luckily it wasn’t bad. The broken pieces stayed in place; I just had rest and keep it straight in a brace for 8 weeks.   In those slow recovery weeks one Sunday we read the 23^rd Psalm. I smiled as it hit me: the good shepherd makes me lie down!    With rest, the broken bits in my knee knit back together.

Surrendering to God brought comfort, companionship, and security to the author of the 23^rd Psalm.  In Philppians we see that for Paul it was the wellspring of joy and peace. 

All early Christians lived with enormous stress. They were ostracized and increasingly  persecuted for rejecting the Roman Imperial cult.  Within their groups, the ordinary interpersonal differences were greatly compounded.   The Christian practice of bringing together women and men, people of every class, language, and origin to worship as equals was a unique and really uncomfortable.  Added to all of that, in Philippi, the two leaders, Euodia and Syntyche were at odds.

The Philippian congregation had a very special place in Paul’s heart--his “joy and crown”.  They generously contributed to his ministries.   And they sent gifts to him when—like now--he was in prison.   Paul reached out to them passionately with love and encouragement. 

“Rejoice in the Lord, always. Again I say rejoice.”  Written from prison, Paul’s joy fills the letter from beginning to end. 

Joy when he is in prison? And with the very real threat he will be killed?  Yes. 

How on earth?!!

Because Paul had surrendered completely—body and soul--to the will of God.  And he was rewarded with joy. 

Different from the other Apostles, you recall that Paul (whose name was originally Saul) did not know Jesus in the flesh. Instead, he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.  He was a Pharisee, persecuting Jesus’ followers, when he had the dramatic conversion that completely turned him around.  From then on, illuminated and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Paul put his whole genius and zeal into bringing the faith to Gentiles.  He founded and nurtured Christian groups in cities around the Mediterranean. 

Paul had a powerful vision to share  You recall that in Galatians, Paul said the gospel had been revealed to him, not taught. According to distinguished Pauline scholar Roy W. Hoover, Paul’s revelation was that in the resurrection God was not just founding a new religion but beginning a new creation, a new humanity available to all.[1]   

Paul did not think of Jesus as divine—rather that God honored Jesus’ life of faith, obedience and love by resurrecting him and opening that possibility for everyone. Paul took Jesus’ life as his model and taught it.   Knowing the suffering that Jesus had endured, Paul could bear it all himself—hardship, beatings, persecution, imprisonment, and death. He was confident in his own future: resurrection to eternal life.

That drove Paul’s mission to the Gentiles and brought him unquenchable hope and joy.

It doesn’t mean that Paul wasn’t ever afraid for his life.  Or concerned about matters like the misunderstanding between the two women who lead the Christians in Philippi. 

But Paul had learned how to transcend earthly worries by seeing everything in the perspective of eternity with God.   In this letter he was teaching the Philippians (and us) to do the same, step by step. 

-“Rejoice in the Lord always”: daily lift your heart and your eyes and your spirits to practice Godly joy

-“Let your gentleness be known”: in this and every struggle, be gentle with others and yourself

-“The Lord is near.” God is present, ready to care for you

-“Do not worry about anything”: share your worries with God in prayer; and give thanks.

“And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

We live in stressful and uncertain times.  That is the human condition. 

In his Wounded Healer Substack post this week, the Pastor Paul Dazet wrote:

“The crucified Jesus belongs at the center of how we think about being human. We don’t begin with our idea of what a successful human life should look like and then try to fit Jesus into it. We look at Jesus--especially Jesus crucified and risen--and discover what humanity was created to become. Jesus… gives himself in love and trusts the Father even as he enters death.

Paul can write “rejoice always” from prison because Christian joy is rooted in that story. It isn’t pretending pain doesn’t hurt or forcing ourselves to feel happy when life is falling apart. The resurrection means suffering and death are real, but neither one gets the final word.”

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen… and the God of peace will be with you.  Amen



  [1] The Prospect of a New Humanity: the Origin of Paul’s Gospel and a New Reading of its Meaning. Salem, Oregon: Polebridge Press, 2024. I am grateful to my sister Pat Ricks for giving me this small, revelatory monograph.