2nd Reading, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20

Thanks for Help Received (Continuation)

[12] I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. [13] I can do all things in him who strengthens me. [14] Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

[19] And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. [20] To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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Commentary:

10-20. Gratitude is a very characteristic feature of Christian life; in this passage we can see the noble soul of St Paul, ever appreciative of any sign of affection and thoughtfulness.

It also shows what great confidence St Paul had in the Philippians; from them alone did he accept help, for his general policy was not to accept material aid so as to leave no one in any doubt about the purity of his intentions in preaching the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor 9:18; 2 Cor 12:14-18). This meant that he was also practicing the virtue of poverty, being content with what he had.

Financial resources do make a person's life easier and by helping us meet our material needs they allow us to cultivate friendship with God and go to the help of others, but these resources are not an end in themselves; they are only a means. Therefore there is nothing essentially bad about not having money or property: one can get to heaven without them. However, if a person is well-to-do and is attached to his wealth, that is bad. That is what St Paul is saying. "If you want to be your own masters at all times, I advise you to make a very real effort to be detached from everything, and to do so without fear or hesitation. Then, when you go about your various duties, whether personal, family or otherwise, make honest use of legitimate human resources with a view to serving God, his Church, your family, your profession, your country, and the whole of mankind. Remember that what really matters is not whether you have this or lack that, but whether you are living according to the truth taught us by our Christian faith, which tells us that created goods are only a means, nothing more. So, do not be beguiled into imagining that they are in any way definitive" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 118).

13. "In him who strengthens me": the proposition "in" often refers to the place "where", in which case the text would mean that the person who lives in Christ, who is identified with him, can do all things. However, in biblical Greek it frequently has a causal meaning, in which case the Apostle would be saying that he can do all things because God lends him his strength.

The difficulties which can arise in apostolic work or in one's search for personal holiness are not an insuperable obstacle, for we can always count on God's support. So, we need to let ourselves be helped; we need to go to the Lord whenever we are tempted or feel discouraged ("Thou art the God in whom I take refuge": Ps 43:2), humbly recognizing that we need his help, for we can do nothing on our own. St Alphonsus encourages us always to put our trust in God: "The proud person relies on his strength and he falls; but the humble person, who puts all his trust in God, holds his ground and does not succumb, no matter how severely he is tempted" ("The Love of God Reduced to Practice", 9).

"I have asked you", St. Escriva says, "to keep on lifting your eyes up to heaven as you go about your work, because hope encourages us to catch hold of the strong hand which God never ceases to reach out to us, to keep us from losing our supernatural point of view. Let us persevere even when our passions rear up and attack us, attempting to imprison us within the narrow confines of our selfishness; or when puerile vanity makes us think we are the center of the universe. I am convinced that unless I look upward, unless I have Jesus, I shall never accomplish anything. And I know that the strength to conquer myself and to win comes from repeating that cry, 'I can do all things in him who strengthens me' (Phil 4:13), words which reflect God's firm promise not to abandon his children if they do not abandon him" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 213).

17-19. Using a metaphor taken from commercial life, the Apostle gives us an insight into the value of generosity. He is not asking the Philippians for donations: he can survive without them; he is seeking the good that will redound to them on account of their almsgiving (cf. v. 17): and, given their own limited financial resources, they are in fact being particularly generous (cf. 2 Cor 8:2).

Since God is the one who rewards men for their actions, then clearly a person who gives alms ultimately benefits more than he who receives alms. As a reward for their almsgiving the Philippians will receive nothing less than the eternal glory won for us by Christ Jesus. And so St Leo the Great recommends that "whoever gives alms should do so with detachment and joy, for the less he keep back for himself, the greater will be his gain" ("Tenth Lenten Sermon").
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.