May Christ build you up in faith and in truth

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Thursday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Philippians (3: 1-16) entitled “The example of Paul”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter to the Philippians by Saint Polycarp, bishop and martyr.

Saint Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, and a disciple of the apostles, accompanied saint Ignatius of Antioch to Rome to confer with pope Anicetus concerning the celebration of Easter. About the year 155 he suffered martyrdom him by burning at the stake in the amphitheater at Smyrna.

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians is an epistle attributed to Polycarp, an early bishop of Smyrna, and addressed to the early Christian church in Philippi. It is widely believed to be a composite of material written at two different times, in the first half of the second century. Polycarp encourages the Philippians to seek Jesus as their truest example in humble endurance. In recognizing the accomplishment Christ made on the cross and resurrection, he reminds the church to imitate Jesus's sacrificial love and patience.

Philippians is written to a group of believers with whom Paul founded a church, during his second missionary journey in approximately AD 49. Philippi was a Roman colony, with believers consisting primarily of Gentiles. This letter, written about 12 years after the founding of the Philippian church, is largely a thank you letter to the Philippians. The main message of the Book of Philippians is for the Christian community in Philippi to be steadfast in faith and to express joy. Philippians is recognized as Paul's joyous epistle and is also known as the "friendship letter" because of its tone. However, because Paul wrote this letter during a time of house arrest in Rome, it includes the major theme of rejoicing during suffering.