Greetings

Scripture

Phil. 1:1   Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, 

 To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Phil. 1:2   Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Observation

This letter to the church in Philippi is written by Paul, most likely, while he is in prison in Rome. Timothy has been a partner with him in ministry and the word “servants” here is significant. This is the word for “slave” — making it abundantly clear that they have given their lives in service to the ministry of Jesus Christ, who is their Lord. 

The greetings are written to “all the saints” — which really refers to all the believers of the church in Philippi. Paul believes that all followers of Jesus Christ are called to be God’s holy people in the world. They are God’s holy people individually, but also collectively as the “saints” in Philippi. They are viewed as a collective group of holy people, ministering in this significant Roman colony. 

This is the only time in any of his letters that Paul addresses bishops and deacons. The bishops are the overseers of the work, but not in the formal sense that would develop later in Christianity. Both the bishops and the deacons are members of this congregation and there is no hierarchy, but simply duties which are fulfilled by the members. Some fulfill the work of overseers by helping to bring organization to the structure, while providing pastoral care. The deacons help to ensure that all receive the ministry that is needed within this community of faith. It may have been that these overseers and deacons had worked together to send an offering and so Paul wanted to make sure that the made mention of them. 

It’s easy to skip over Paul’s words of greeting, “grace and peace” because we read them so often, but they are filled with theological significance. Interestingly, he is using the same grammatical structure as the Greek-Romans would, but has a play on words. Flemming tells us, “He modifies the standard Greco-Roman letter greeting by changing the word “Greetings!” (charein) into the Christian term “grace” (charis), making a play on words. Paul then adds the traditional Jewish greeting, “peace” (shalom; here eirēnē in Greek).” (NBBC) 

Flemming goes on to explain, “Grace represents the full scope of God’s loving favor toward sinful humanity in Jesus Christ. Peace is the blessing of reconciliation and wholeness that results from God’s gracious saving work. Paul ascribes the source of these magnificent blessings to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (NBBC)

Application

There’s time to think these days as we remain under quarantine. I’ve been writing a lot of e-mails and reading many as well. That greeting, or even salutation, “Grace and Peace” is used so easily, and yet I wonder of we stop and consider the deep meaning. What do our greetings to one another mean? Are we greeting one another these days? I know that if you see someone outside, they cross to the other side of the road as we fear someone else’s germs. Some people don’t even want to acknowledge the existence of others, thinking that maybe if we ignore them, we can ignore their germs as well! 

Historically greetings have had significant meaning as they have expressed the genuine and heartfelt desire for the other. When I see someone on the road and shout out, “hello” — “how are you doing?” — is it with genuine concern? Do I really want to hear the answer? 

There are plenty of folks right now who need someone to reach out with a greeting. Lonely folks need someone to call them on the phone and chat. Have you noticed that we can become hungry for human interaction — for a greeting?

In our greeting, let’s make sure that we extend grace. Just as God’s grace reaches to the full scope of humanity, our participation in that grace should as well. We also participate in God’s peace when we are agents of reconciliation and wholeness. God’s grace and peace becomes transformational in our lives and then that grace and peace flows through us to others. Our greeting becomes reflective of what we value, and what we want to share with others. 

I greet you, my friends, in the grace and peace of the Triune God who welcomes us to participate in the divine nature. That, is life transforming. 

Prayer

Lord, I want to know you more and participate in your grace and peace. Please, open pathways of opportunity, even as we have to stay behind closed doors. Amen.