Hanging Around Your Neck

Philippians 4:1-3
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Philippians chapter 4 begins with ‘Therefore’ which means we’ve got to remember where we’ve been so we can make sense of where we’re going. Chapter 3 ends with Paul writing, “As I have told you many times and now say with deep sadness, many people live as enemies of the cross. Their lives end with destruction. Their god is their stomach, and they take pride in their disgrace because their thoughts focus on earthly things.” Paul is grieving the reality that some folks live their lives without a sense hope and and grace and peace. For Paul to say that some live as if their god is their stomach, Paul is really saying that some folks live without a hunger for anything deeper, all they live with is this surface level hunger and the miss out on the holiness and the spirit that brings all things to life.

Paul continues, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Let’s not forget that as Paul writes, he’s a Roman citizen sitting in a Roman jail, insisting on a different kind of citizenship, not of a nation but of the grace and peace of God. Paul goes on, “We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ. [Not the Roman Caesar and Lord but the Lord Jesus Christ] [who] will transform our humble bodies so that they are like his glorious body, by the power that also makes him able to subject all things to himself.”

For Paul, all of life is headed somewhere. Everything that is broken, flawed, hurts or harms is not final and will not get the last word. There is a new creation that is being born all around us, even within us, a transformation that’s awakening us to the hope and promise that love wins. Because we know the promise of this future hope, because we’re waiting and longing for this transformation, because we live with the faith that tells us the worst thing will never be the last thing, because we believe everything begins with grace and peace and everything will find its way back to grace and peace, we devote ourselves to living out this future promise right here, right now.

This is what therefore is all about.

The Jesus movement that we are apart of is awakening us to a future that we get to start living into right now, therefore, let’s talk about what it looks like.

And so, Paul writes to us today from Philippians chapter 4, “Therefore, my [siblings in Christ] whom I love and miss, who are my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord.”

You can feel the affection in these words. Paul, even though he is in prison thousands of miles away, even though he is socially distanced from the Philippians, Paul can’t help but love and miss them, Paul can’t help but see them and their growth, their faith, their grace and peace, as his joy and crown.

This word for crown in Greek is στέφανός (stephanos) and crown is a decent translation because στέφανός (stephanos) has a regal sentiment too it. στέφανός (stephanos) is actually an athletic term and it directly translates as wreath or garland, the kind that was awarded to the victor in the ancient olympic games. Instead of crown, perhaps we could rephrase Paul and imagine him writing to the Philippians that they are his gold medal.

You are my victory, you are my accomplishment, you are the award that I have been striving for. The goodness and the joy and the growth and the faith and the hope and the grace and the peace that I see in you is worth all of the effort and the exhaustion that it takes to achieve this award. You are my crown, you are my gold medal.

Have you every found yourself watching the Olympics and even though you have no idea what makes curling a sport, you decide to watch the finals because it’s the finals and you want to know who is wins the gold? As the competitors start to enter the arena, instead of the camera zooming in on them, it starts to zoom out and pan over the city as the symphony music starts to swell. All of a sudden you are in studio with Bob Costas who says something like, “As we prepare for the curling final, we need to tell you the inspiring and arduous journey that the Albanian team has taken to get here. You see, the Albanian team made a promise to a little girl and her pet gerbil that they would win the gold. That gerbil has a broken ankle and is in surgery at this very moment. While the Albanian team might be the underdogs, perhaps, they, like that gerbil, will come back stronger than ever.”

It doesn’t matter how ridiculous this the story is, when it’s olympic season and you hear a human interest story, it becomes allergy season real fast. You have never watched this sport, you knew nothing about this team before a few moments ago, and yet now you can’t help but cheer them on in the hopes that they finally reach the achievement they have dedicated their lives to.

I have no idea what sport this is, I have no idea when this picture was taken, but I know this captures the joy of στέφανός (stephanos).

In 2004, Athens was the host of the summer olympics and in addition to the gold medals, athlete were given a στέφανός (stephanos), a garland, a crown, to wear as a sign of their victory.

Paul writes to the Philippians, “I’ve got you hanging around my neck like a gold medal” so perhaps we should ask ourselves, who’s hanging around our neck?

Who are the people that you strive towards because their vitality, their hope, their grace and peace, the goodness that you can give to them is a gold medal hanging on your neck?

Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians, essentially, from death row and at the end of his life, looking back at everything that has brought him to this point, all the work, all the struggles, at the end of it all, Paul says to the Philippians, you are my gold medal and I’ve got you hanging around my neck.

There are all sorts of ways that people define church. After the last seven months we know that church is so much more than a building. Church is, but is also more than, the programs and the classes and the events that we can put on. Maybe church is best understood as the community and the people that are hanging around our necks. We are here to strive and to even struggle together so that we can achieve the gold of grace and peace.

It’s with all this in mind that Paul writes, ”Loved ones, I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord. Yes, and I’m also asking you, loyal friend, to help these women who have struggled together with me in the ministry of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the scroll of life.”

This might be difficult for some of you to imagine, but apparently there was some sort of disagreement in the Philippian church.

It is hard to think of a church that is more complimented or commended in Paul’s letters than the Philippians. They are his gold medal, they are his hope and joy, and they don’t always agree with one another.

We don’t know what this conflict and disagreement is about, but we know it’s significant enough that Paul not only hears about it, Paul has to mention it in this letter. Whatever the elephant in the room is, it can’t be ignored.

Euodia and Syntyche are both Greek names that translate as Success and Lucky. This tells us that Euodia and Syntyche were both gentile or non-Jewish followers of Jesus. I mention this because Paul says that Miss Success and Miss Lucky are his coworkers. A couple of weeks ago, Bob Dean told us about Paul’s credentials, about everything that he was born into, worked for, and achieved, Paul calls himself a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a chosen people among the chosen people, and yet, Paul now calls Euodia and Syntyche his coworkers – they come from a different part of the world, they have a different history, they are from another tribe and people, and yet, Paul calls these women coworkers and partners in ministry.

Paul urges Lucky and Success to come to an agreement in the Lord.

Agreement, in Greek, is φρονέω (phroneó) and we have seen this word a few times in the letter to the Philippians. φρονέω (phroneó) means to think, to feel, to be mindful, to care, to agree. For Paul in the letter to the Philippians we could say that φρονέω (phroneó) means to set our thoughts and feelings and intentions towards grace and peace.

Even though we don’t know what the conflict is in the Philippian church between Lucky and Success, we know that Paul has to bring it up and find a way forward because for Paul everything is connected.

In Colossians, which is just to the right in your Bible, it’s the next letter just after Philippians, Paul writes in Colossians 1:17, “[Christ] existed before all things, and all things are held together in [Christ]”. A couple chapters later in Colossians 3:10 Paul writes, “…put on the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge by confirming to the image of the one who created it. In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people.”

In the early Christian movement there was an awareness of our interconnected and intertwined lives. As the Gospel of John puts it in chapter 1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was with God in the beginning. Everything came into being through the Word and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being through the word was life, and the life was the light for all people.”

There is a holy core at the heart of all things. We are not separated, we are not alone, we are woven together with grace and peace by the Christ that holds all things together.

In the modern world, we are really good at breaking things down into smaller and smaller parts. We don’t just know that our bodies are made up of cells, we know that in those cells there’s a nucleus and ribosome and endoplasmic reticulum and everyone’s favorite mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. And beyond that we know that cells are made of atoms are made of electrons, protons and neutrons, and we know that those are made of subatomic particles and on and on and on. We know and can look up a diagram that will name every part of a bird, and yet, we can’t fully explain or understand the emergent intelligence that inspires a flock of birds to fly together.

It is a blessing to be able to break things down into smaller and smaller parts, because if we couldn’t do that with computer chips and internet access, we wouldn’t be connecting right now. But at the very same time, we can’t lose sight of the ways that we’re more than isolated parts.

Think about it like this – have you ever been to the doctor, complaining about something, and instead of prescribing you a pill right away, they ask you how much water you usually drink a day, how many hours of sleep you get in a night, what kind of stress you’re living with right now? You know exactly where you carry stress in your body, and maybe you can feel it right now. Tylenol might help for a moment, but we all know that’s not the cure for the pain.

We call this holism – the reality that we cannot separate parts of our lives from one another because we are all a part of the same whole.

There is some sort of issue and struggle and conflict in the Philippian church and whatever is happening, the divisiveness, the anger, the miscommunication, the frustration, whatever it is, it’s effecting everything else.

Do we really think that we can gossip about one another, that we can talk behind someones back, and not have it effect how we see or treat one another?

Every now and then gossip can be cloaked in religious and churchy language.

“Did you hear about what’s happening with Larry”

“No, I haven’t heard a thing, tell me everything so I can pray for them.”

If there’s something going on with Larry, maybe you should have a conversation with Larry.

To all the Larrys watching today, I hope you’re doing well.

Let’s look at what Paul does with this conflict in Philippians. Paul writes, “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord.”

The first thing that we might notice about this passage is that Paul uses the same language for both women. Paul writes, “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche”, they are both urged in the same way to come to agreement, to find a mindset, find a φρονέω (phroneó) that they can agree on.

Paul doesn’t take a side.

Not only that, Paul doesn’t say, “You two should just stop making a mountain out of a molehill, there isn’t really a problem between you, now let’s all hold hands and sing kumbaya.”

In Philippians, Paul never tells anyone to get over it, move on, forget that it happened, or let it go. Paul doesn’t pick a side and Paul doesn’t say you’re making too big of a deal out of this. Better than that, Paul urges them both to come to an agreement, a mindset, a φρονέω (phroneó) that they can agree on and instead of having to do this on their own, Paul continues writing, “…and I’m also asking you, loyal friend, to help these women who have struggled together with me in the ministry of the gospel”.

Because our conflicts and struggles and misunderstandings don’t just effect us, we have to remember that the solutions and the agreements that we can come to about our conflicts and struggles and misunderstands don’t simply come down to us. Because everything is connected, we’re all in this together.

We have no idea who Paul’s loyal friend is. No one knows.

You would think, because no one knows, Biblical scholars would write about this passage and simply say, no one knows who Paul’s loyal friend is. But Biblical scholars, much like pastors, have way too much free time and have spilled gallons of ink pondering who this loyal friend is.

Some Biblical scholars think that the loyal friend that Paul is writing to is Lydia, the dealer in purple cloth that we meet in the book of Acts. Other scholars seem to think that the loyal friend is Luke, as in the author of Luke and Acts. It seems like there might be a connection between Paul and Luke, and maybe Paul was trying to say to his buddy, ‘put down the pen and get to work’, but we don’t know for sure. Other scholars still think that the name of Paul’s loyal friend is simply loyal friend. After all, the two other people that have been named so far in this passage are named Lucky and Success so why not have another friend named Loyal Friend.

My favorite theory, because it is absurd, is that when Paul writes loyal friend, Paul is writing to his wife. This theory was started by Clement of Alexandria in the second century and it ignores the number of passages where Paul writes about being single and wishing other people were single just like he is.

During the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin wrote of this idea, “unde illi uxor Philippis?” All week when something hasn’t made sense to me I’ve muttered to myself “unde illi uxor Philippis?” which translates into English as “How should Paul suddenly have had a wife in Philippi of all places?”

That has nothing to do with our sermon today, but it makes me really happy so I hope when you’re confused you’ll join me in saying, “unde illi uxor Philippis?”

When it comes to the disagreements that we have, there are certain truths that we need to remember. The first truth, that we’ve already seen, is that our lives and relationships interconnected and woven together. An issue between two people is never simply between two people. That’s why Paul, sitting in a prison cell on the other side of the empire writes not just to the loyal companion, not just to Lucky or Success, but the whole Philippian church, ‘y’all have to come together and do something about this’. What effects one, will effect us all because we are all in this together.

For more truth, for more wisdom that we can cling to as we try to come to the same φρονέω (phroneó) with one another even when we disagree, we’re going to turn to the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 26:11 is the Rev. Bob Dean’s favorite verse in the Bible and if you are looking for a life verse, if you are in need of a mantra or some wisdom that you can cling to when life gets tough, look no further than Proverbs 26:11 where it is written with the brilliance that can only be found in the Bible, “Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats foolish mistakes.”

There are faults and flaws that we find ourselves falling into. There is a vomit that you keep going to, I know that because there’s some stuff that I keep going back to and I’m guessing we’re not all that different at the end of the day.

But here’s the thing, when it comes to the stuff that other people keep falling into, when you know it’s coming, you don’t have to be splashed by their vomit. Maybe imagining it that viscerally will help you stay away from it.

In the letter to Titus 3:10 it’s written, “After a first and second warning, have nothing more to do with a person who causes conflict…”

Boundaries are good and healthy and necessary.

In the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says in chapter 7, “…don’t throw your pearls in front of pigs. They will stomp on the pearls, then turn around and attack you.” A pig has no interest in pearls. It doesn’t matter how exquisite the gift is, pigs have no use or interest in pearls. There may be folks that have no use or interest in the exquisite gift that is your life. It is ok, even necessary, to remind yourself that you aren’t here to be stepped on or attacked.

Forgiveness is central to the teachings of Jesus, and so is accountability, and justice, and dignity.

“Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats foolish mistakes.” We know what that looks like for ourselves, we know what that looks like for others, and we can all commit ourselves to doing our best not to return, and to not being splashed by others.

This brings us to Proverbs 17:9 where it’s written, “You will keep your friends if you forgive them, but you will lose your friends if you keep talking about what they did wrong.” (CEV)

Let’s imagine what this wisdom from the book of Proverbs would look like for the Philippians, because in a church, in a community, we’re going to hear certain things about one another. We are going to be handed all sorts of things and someone is going to say, did you hear about the argument that’s going on between Lucky and Success? There comes a time where we have to ask ourselves, and ask one another, is this really worth bringing up again?

Sometimes it will be, but other times we have to be the kind of people that move on.

As Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hate stirs up conflict, but love covers all offenses.”

You can have boundaries, you can create the distance the and the space that is necessary and needed for you and them to live in a healthy and holy way, and you can take a step towards love by choosing to be the kind of person that stops stirring things up.

What does one step away from anger, what does one step away from contempt, because that step away from anger, away from contempt is actually a step toward loves.

When we recognize that everything is connected, and when we take a step away from hatred and toward love, it makes all the difference in the world.

Hatred and anger will keep stirring things up, but love asks if there is another way we can go.

If, as Paul thinks, everything is connected, what does it look like when you take a small step forward in love this week knowing that it will make everything else in not only your life but the whole world a little better too

Maybe what you need to tell yourself this week is that being a follower of Christ is less about taking giant leaps, and more about endlessly taking small steps toward love. Just take a small step. The next time you are tempted to stir things up again, don’t. Take a breath and ask yourself what would love do?

Philippians is a letter written to a community, to a church, and one thing that we have to admit is that every church can leave emotional carnage in its wake. Grace is no exception to this. Don’t get me wrong, I feel blessed to be here with you and you are my gold medal, and at the very same time I know that Euodia and Syntyche are in our midst.

Church is where we talk about and devote ourselves to the things that are of the utmost importance. We are here to bring the fullness of ourselves, our hopes, our dreams, and even our unvarnished flaws into the everlasting light of God’s love. And as we do that, we have discussions about budgets and feasibility and liability and all the comes with conversations where we’re asked “did you hear about this” or “I heard from a friend who heard from someone else…” We have assumptions, we have rumors and gossip, we have miscommunication and misunderstandings and this year while all this is going on, we’re also in a pandemic choosing to be a responsible church, which isn’t fun even though it’s necessary.

As much as I sometimes wish we could go back to how things used to be, I know the only way things can go is forward. Just like Euodia and Syntyche and the whole Philippian church, we can’t ignore the issues between us, we have to deal with them, we have to come to an agreement, a φρονέω (phroneó), this pattern of thinking, feeling and acting like Christ. We can’t find that φρονέω (phroneó) by looking backwards, we can only try to move forward together.

We are all Euodia and Syntyche, so if there is something I keep stirring up, let me know, and I’ll do the same, so we can both take a step towards love.

Paul, in prison, on the other side of the empire, in the midst of this letter to everyone else, writes to these two women, these leaders in the church, and pleads to them and to us all, can you take a step towards love?

Is there something you need to say?

Is there something you need to stop bringing up?

Is there a boundary that you have to set?

Is there something you have to let go of?

Throughout the letter to the Philippians, Paul keeps writing about this φρονέω (phroneó), this pattern of thinking, feeling and acting like Christ that we can all enter into, and yet there are so many awkward exchanges and misunderstandings that get in the way. This week, may you remember that reconciliation and forgiveness doesn’t happen in an instant, but it can begin with one small step towards love. So may you take those small steps this week, may you live into the love that God has for us and for everyone else by stepping towards this love again and again and again.

Philippians 4:1-3

Therefore my, [siblings in Christ] whom I love and  miss, who are my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord.  Love ones, I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord.  Yes, and I am also asking you, loyal friend, to help these women who have struggled together with me in the ministry of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the scroll of life.

Oct. 26 – 31

Click on the day to expand the guide.

As we begin Philippians chapter 4 in worship, we will be reviewing Philippians chapter 3 in our GPS this week

Monday

Read – Philippians 3:1-2

Notice – Without their setting, these two verses don’t seem to fit together. “Be glad in the Lord”—that’s Paul, focused on joy. “Watch out for the ‘dogs’—watch out for people who do evil things”—oops! Where’d the joy go, Paul? But there was tension in the Philippian church. In verse 2, Paul warned about “those who insist on circumcision.” He knew their “earn your way” approach to faith would rob all Christians of their God-given joy. Our culture generally loves dogs. Not so in New Testament times: non-Jews “remained Gentile outsiders, ‘dogs’ as some Jews referred to them. (Dogs in the ancient world were mostly wild and verminous, not often family pets.)” * Paul was ironically turning the insult around. The real “dogs,” he said, were those who called Gentile converts “dogs” if they didn’t keep the full Jewish law. What people have you seen Christians treat as “dogs”? How can you avoid doing that?

Pray – Jesus, your life offered all of us grace and a place with a God who loves relentlessly. Help me never to distort that message by denying grace to people who aren’t just like me. Amen.

*Wright, N.T., Paul for Everyone, The Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 116). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition

Tuesday

Read Philippians 3:3-7

Notice – Paul answered Christian teachers (cf. verse 2) who said circumcision was an act God still required of all Gentile men. They often called themselves “the circumcision.” Paul, raised as a devout Jew, listed his human credentials. He knew circumcision was a physical sign of God’s covenant with Abraham (cf. Genesis 17:13). But the apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, had agreed that in Christ’s new covenant of grace and love that was not required of Gentile converts (cf. Acts 15:1-21). Christianity’s roots were and are, of course, in Judaism. We value the Hebrew Scriptures, often called the Old Testament, as a part of God’s revelation. Paul claims ‘we are the circumcision.” What Paul means is that our heart, body, mind, and strength, our whole being, is devoted to grace and peace. In what ways do we commit our bodies, our tangible being, as a part of our faith? What are the physical signs of Christian faith?

Pray – Jesus, thank you for the gift of relationship that doesn’t depend on our successes. Help us to live into the covenant you have made with us based on your unconditional love for your people. Amen.

Wednesday

Read Philippians 3:8-11

Notice – In the film “The Greatest Showman”, vandals burned down the building that housed Barnum’s circus. In the wreckage, Phillip Carlyle said, “You know, Barnum…when I first met you…I had an inheritance, acclaim, an invitation to every party in town. And now, thanks to you, all that’s gone. All that’s left is friendship, love, and work that I adore. You brought joy into my life.” The apostle Paul wrote a remarkably similar message to the Philippians about how making Jesus his Lord had changed his life. Paul said he came to see all his human credentials—his top-notch rabbinic education (cf. Acts 22:3), his renown as a religious leader, his respectability and status—as “sewer trash” compared to the value of knowing Jesus. Of what achievements, degrees, or awards, if any, are you particularly proud? Would you rank knowing Jesus above them?

Pray – Jesus, as I read Paul’s description of his life, my prayer is, in the words of the classic hymn, “Live out thy life within me, O Jesus, king of kings.” Dwell in my heart and keep shaping my existence. Amen.

Thursday

Read Philippians 3:12-15

Notice – Pastor/writer Frederick Buechner said, “Our mass culture…[says] the only thing that really matters about your work is how much it will get you in the way of salary and status….The world is full of people who seem to have listened to the wrong voice and are now engaged in life-work in which they find no pleasure or purpose….We should go with our lives where we most need to go and where we are most needed.” * Paul found the goal that gave his life joyous meaning, even in jail, and pursued it with all he had. Have you found the God-given, God-centered goal for your life?

Pray – God, let me hear and respond to your calling voice above all others. Give me the courage and the hunger to pursue your high calling wherever it leads me. Amen.

*Frederick Buechner, The Hungering Dark. San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1969, pp. 29-31.

Friday

Read – Philippians 3:16-19

Notice – Having told the Philippians he was all-in to reach his life’s goal, “the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14), Paul urged his Philippian friends to imitate him and “those who live this way.” Imitate him? He wasn’t a CEO with stock options that let him buy a superb suit and a sleek sports car. He was a prisoner in a Roman cell who wasn’t sure if his future life span was measured in years or just weeks or days (cf. Philippians 1:20-24). Yet he boldly said, “Use us as models.” If Paul were able to hold a seminar on “How to Live Successfully” and charged $99 for a 2-hour session, would you pay to attend? (You don’t have to—you have Philippians!) Scholar William Barclay wrote, “Few preachers would dare to make the appeal with which Paul begins this section… Paul was able to invite his friends, not simply to listen to him, but also to imitate him.” * What have you learned so far in studying this letter that you want to imitate in your own life?

Pray – Jesus, thank you that Paul loved his friends in Philippi enough to write this letter from which I can learn so much. Make me more eager to imitate Paul than the “influencers” our culture pushes me to imitate. Amen.

*William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 68

Saturday

ReadPhilippians 3:20-21

Notice – Paul wrote, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Scholar N. T. Wright helped us see what that meant: “We naturally suppose he means ‘and so we’re waiting until we can go and live in heaven where we belong’. But that’s not what he says, and it’s certainly not what he means. If someone in Philippi said, ‘We are citizens of Rome,’ they certainly wouldn’t mean ‘so we’re looking forward to going to live there.’ Being a colony works the other way round. The last thing the emperors wanted was a whole lot of colonists coming back to Rome. The capital was already overcrowded….No: the task of the Roman citizen in a place like Philippi was to bring Roman culture and rule to northern Greece, to expand Roman influence there….The church is at present a colony of heaven, with the responsibility (as we say in the Lord’s Prayer) for bringing the life and rule of heaven to bear on earth.” * Too often Christians think being “citizens of heaven” means that we don’t care what happens to this sad, troubled world we live in. But Jesus didn’t ignore people’s needs, saying “Someday I’ll make it all better” (cf. Matthew 4:23-24). Paul, following Jesus’ example, was in prison because instead of finding a quiet retreat he traveled constantly, calling often-hostile citizens of the Roman Empire to the better life that came with making Jesus, not Caesar, their true Lord. In keeping with the “colony” idea about which he wrote to the Philippians, he told another group of Christians, “We are ambassadors who represent Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). In what ways are you living as an ambassador, a colonist seeking to bring the life and rule of heaven to bear on earth? How can you join others in your congregation to carry out that mission?

Pray – Jesus, you’re not going to be my Lord “someday.” You are Lord of my life today, with work for me to do for your kingdom. Give me your heart for this hurting world. Amen.

* Wright, N.T., Paul for Everyone, The Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 126). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition

I have no idea what sport this is, I have no idea when this picture was taken, but I know this captures the joy of στέφανός (stephanos).

In 2004, Athens was the host of the summer olympics and in addition to the gold medals, athlete were given a στέφανός (stephanos), a garland, a crown, to wear as a sign of their victory.

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