Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 8, 2014 - Saturday in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time
[Phil 4:10-19 and Luke 16:9-15]I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. [Philippians]
Paul is seeking to assure the community at Philippi that even though he is in prison at the moment, he is doing OK. No matter what his circumstances, he has confidence that God will take care of him. If one reads his Second Letter to the Corinthians, one discovers that those circumstances could be quite difficult! He was an amazingly resilient human being! My itinerant preaching ministry requires me to be rather flexible, but it does not include shipwreck or stoning!
I have heard many a person say to me after going through a particular ordeal, "If I didn't have my faith, I don't know how I could have made it through!" That is the kind of strength that Paul is speaking about. It begins with baptism that enables God's Spirit to work in us and to assure us of God's loving providence. This is something that never goes away no matter how much we may forget or ignore it. This is how Paul survived, and we can, too! AMEN