1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
-Philippians 1:1-6, NRSV
I’m not sure if apostles are supposed to play favorites… but it seems that the Philippians are the apostle Paul’s favorite church. He remembers them and prays for them as he does with all of his church… but when he remembers and prays for the Philippians, he does so with joy. The Philippians bring him joy. Their faith, their faithfulness, brings him joy.
And so, as he remembers them and prays for them, he gives thanks for them. “I thank my God,” he writes, “every time I remember you” (Philippians 1:3, NRSV).
While Paul wrote these words with particular intentions at a particular time for a particular church, those words have taken on a more universal quality. I thank my God every time I remember you. Those words don’t only capture the way Paul felt about the Philippian church. Those words also capture the way we feel about so many of the people in our lives, the people we remember in prayer, the people for whom we give thanks. I thank my God every time I remember you.
In this strange season of coronavirus, I think those words also capture the way we feel about those who are the front lines of this pandemic: healthcare workers, first responders, grocery workers, and delivery workers, among so many others. In this season, we remember them. We pray for them. We give thanks for them.
For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been working on a church-wide photo collage project to honor and lift up these front-line heroes. I offer it now to you… in the hopes that you’ll find ways to offer it to them. Print a copy and place it on your front door to bless those who deliver packages there. Mail a copy to your go-to grocery store. Send a copy to your own doctor’s office, or to a hospital worker you know and love.
Here at Wesley, we’re people blessing people… so in this season of coronavirus, let’s bless these front-line heroes. Let them know that you’re thinking of them… praying for them… giving thanks to God for them, every time you remember them.
And remember, you people-blessing-people:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
