Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 12, 2017

Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 12, 2017

". . . . that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment" 

(Philippians 1:3 ff)

The Epistle to the Philippians has been called by some the "Epistle of Joy" because it is in this epistle that St. Paul makes the point that he does rejoice.  As such, he is asking the Philippians the question, "Do you rejoice?"  Being joyful is certainly a human emotion.  We are joyful just as we are sad.  We are happy just as we are angry.  Depending of course on our mood and circumstances, we can experience just about any mood.  For example, I may be anxious and joyful about going to Opening Day of the baseball season and then I find out the weather forecast calls for Storms all day.  As a result I am then disappointed and sad instead of happy and joyful.  Again, human beings have the potential to "love" all kinds of things, don't we?  We "love" food, for instance.  If you would ask me the question as to what kinds of food do you enjoy, more than likely I would respond:  "Oh, I just love fried chicken."  Or I might say that I love to eat German food.  Again, it is not limited to food as to what we "love."   If someone happens to mention a show out of the blue that you like and you jump in, "Oh, I just love that show!"  "I just love that move."  Human beings tend to "love" all kinds of things:  fads . . . . clothing . . . shoes. . . .  food . . . . Hollywood stars . . . . sports teams . . . . hobbies . . . .  We could go on and on.  We love what we are interested in.  We love what brings us joy and satisfaction.  We love the things that entertain us.  St. Paul is telling us though to remember that true love is realized in the things of God as opposed to the things in the world.  Yes, there are things in the world that do bring us joy.  There are things in the world that do satisfy us for a time.  But true love and true satisfaction only resides in our relationship with God.  As such our true joy and contentment will also be found in letting others know about our love for God.  Have you ever been to a wonderful restaurant and you were so pleased with the food, also with the service, perhaps even with the price of the meal.  And you just couldn't wait to tell somebody about your experience.  The same thing happens when you see a movie or a show that you truly enjoy.  You just can't wait to tell others about your experience:  "Hey, let me tell you about a great movie I saw last night .  . . ."   This is only natural for human beings:  to share their experience of life.  Thus, St Paul is telling us as he was telling the Philippians, Let your joy be shared among others.  Let others know why you are joyful.  Share with one another the joy that you have.  And of course our joy as Christians is our love for God Himself.   All the joys . . .  all the satisfactions that this world has to offer are only temporary.   The things we love in this world are not meant to be long-lasting:  either they will wear out . . .  or they will break . . .  or they will rust away . .  . but the love that God offers us is everlasting.   In this should we find our true love.  It is the love of God that we should find our real love in . . .  our real contentment . .  our real satisfaction.  So many of us find our satisfaction solely in the things of the world.  This is a mistake because we can not take the "things of the world" with us when we die.  The only thing that we can carry over to the next life is our love of God.  Let us use our time wisely in this world to develop a love for the things of God and not for the things of the world.

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM.  We worship God in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Please feel free to join us as we gather together to worship Our Heavenly Father and listen to His Word.