My Friends in Christ,
Our second reading today comes from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philipians. While many of Saint Paul’s epistles deal with problems that the different communities he founded were having, his letter to the Philipians is a letter of encouragement. The Philipians were those who lived in the major city of Philippi in northeast Greece. It was basically Boston for the Ancient Greeks. The Church in Philippi was the first to be founded by Paul in mainland Europe. His letter to this community was likely written while he was imprisoned in Rome around the year 62 AD. In our reading this morning Saint Paul is encouraging and challenging those in the Philippian Church to grow in their spiritual lives by imitating Christ. In order to do this, we need to put the interests of others before our own through humility and sacrifice. We should take inspiration from the lives of the saints of course, but also Christ himself. “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus Christ lived so much for the lives of others that endured a painful death on the cross so that we may attain eternal life with him in heaven.
Sadly today many in our society do not follow Saint Paul’s words of encouragement to the Philipians. Not only do they not imitate Christ, they have no room for Him in their lives. We can see this in how there is no longer and decency in the public discourse. If someone disagrees with your political position, you must hate that person and if they declare a position publicly that you do not like, you must destroy their lives and their career. Gone are the days of the most admired friendship between Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who while they held opposing positions, they still respected each other and were even close friends. Such a thing is unthinkable in today’s climate. We are constantly fed lies and propaganda from the media, meanwhile radical anarchists seek to burn down our cities. God only knows what the next month leading up to the election will bring.
While our present situation may seem bleak, we need to remember the hope, the Christian Hope, that is possible because Jesus Christ conquered death and rose from the dead. One of the darkest chapters in recent American history was the horrible terrorist attacks of September 11th. I remember being in just 6th grade and watching the Twin Towers fall as my class stared at the TV in disbelief. The following day at his weekly general audience, Pope St. John Paul II said these words to the American people: “But faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ’s word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say. Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time our prayerful trust draws strength from it.”
One of my seminary professors consistently recommends this spiritual exercise for us. Go out at night and look up to the stars. Say you are God, and I am not. This may sound a bit simple, but the truth that is found in it is quite profound and a necessary reminder for us. While we may be troubled or even angered at the current situation, everything is in God’s hands. We need to put our trust in Him and not in slogans, movements, or politicians. God is the one who is in control. If we keep up our Christian duties, namely going to Mass every Sunday, receiving the Eucharist, going to confession when necessary, and giving to the poor, we will have nothing to worry about.
My friends, I think Padre Pio said it best: “pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Keep trying to imitate Christ in your everyday life. Keep remembering the truth of Christian Hope. Remember that He is God and we are not. When we do theses things we will have the same “attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.”
Hound of the Lord 