Scripture Studies: Phil 4:4-7

Phil 4:4-7

⁴ Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful.

⁵ Let you good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near.

⁶ Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude,

⁷ and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

At Mass, yesterday we heard the above Bible passage as the second reading. This is indeed an interesting writing of Paul to the Phillipians. Hence, I just wanted to take some time to reflect and expound on the passage.

I’m sure we all have come across this scripture passage a number of times as we journey in our Christian walk. While it might be tempting to just glance over it, I think it would do us a lot of good if we seriously apply this passage into our Christian walk.

In Phil 4:4 Paul tells us to be joyful and he went on to repeat it again, be joyful, as if it was a complex statement that he was making. Be joyful –what could be so difficult or complex about the statement that he had to repeat it again. Upon reflection I suppose he understood that this simple message of joy is not something that people would be easily ready to embrace.

How in the world can we be joyful? Come on let’s get serious. Look at all the challenges and problems that we face even on a daily basis.  If you’re working person, there are so many meetings to attend, datelines to meet. We are in a rush all the time. Time never seems to be enough.  We don’t even have enough time for our own.  Having time for our own is a luxury rather than a norm.

If you are a homemaker, how in the world can there be joy. Keeping the home clean and taking care of the children is so demanding. Wanting our children to have an early start via various enrichment courses so as to also ensure that they are not left behind creates a huge amount of stress. Imagine the stress that parents go through in order to get their children into a good school.  It is not unheard of that parents shift home so that their new place will be closer to the school of their choice and hence the probability of getting into the school would be higher.  What joy can there be in such a stressful life that we lead?

Let’s take a look at students.  Almost everyone would agree that the education system in Singapore is very stressful. Many parents pity their child because of the amount of homework that they have to do and in the process the high stress that they face from an early age.  Where can there be joy in all this?

Paul probably did not even have a small glimpse of the kind of lives that we will be leading in the future when he made that statement about 2000 years ago. He was unreasonable to expect us to be joyful at all times.  He was demanding for something that is practically impossible. Thanks Paul for your suggestion.  I suppose the intention of your heart is truly to be admired. Thanks but sorry your suggestion does not work in today’s context.

Wait!  Let us do some background check.  Where was Paul when he was writing this letter to the Phillipians? He was actually in prison.  He was in the dungeons. His hands and his legs were probably in chains. He was probably very smelly not having taken a shower for a few days.  His life was completely restricted and he was in so much discomfort. Yet in such an atrocious situation he is crying out to the Phillipians to be joyful. How can a man in so much distress be filled with joy so much so that he is able to spread the message of joy? Where did this joy come from?

If we take a look at that verse once again we realize that the joy comes from the Lord because he tells us to always be joyful in the Lord. In other words, when we are in the Lord there is fullness of joy. No situation, circumstances or demands of our lives could ever rob us from this joy that comes from the Lord as long as we are in the Lord. What does it mean to be ‘in the Lord’?

The scripture tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all else shall be added onto us. In other words to be in the Lord means to seek the Lord on a daily basis and to pray for the continuous infilling of the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit alive in us, in season and out of season, day in and day out, we can claim that we are in the Lord.

The scripture tells us that those who are led by the Spirit, are the children of God. And to be led by the Spirit we need to be in the Lord by being in the Holy Spirit. This is possible by praying for the infilling of the Holy Spirit everyday. How do we know that we are in the spirit? Just look at the fruits. Are the fruits of the Holy Spirit being displayed abundantly in our lives? That would be the surest gauge of us being in the Lord is one of the fruit of the Spirit is joy.

.... to be continued