Philipppians 1: 12-21: I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.
It’s true that some here preach Christ because with me out of the way, they think they’ll step right into the spotlight. But the others do it with the best heart in the world. One group is motivated by pure love, knowing that I am here defending the Message, wanting to help. The others, now that I’m out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better—they think—for them.
So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!
And I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.
As I read Paul's letter the Philippians, I immediately go to retail stores that are often denigrated for commercializing and secularizing the Christmas story. Hearing "Silent Night" while watching people hurriedly fill their shopping carts with glittery toys seems to miss the point. But, perhaps the sounds of the Christmas story being sung in the background prepares the soil for the seeds of the gospel to be planted? Cynically dismissing gracious acts as just being part of the Christmas facade does not recognize the desire of the person to act graciously, even if it only seems to happen when the person is in the Christmas spirit. A gracious act reveals God's love regardless of the time of year or circumstances, does it not? Perhaps we should give thanks for the opportunities we have in this Advent season to connect what we hear, see, and do in the name of Christmas spirit with the God who comes in the Christ-child.
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