The Wednesday after the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on November 20, 2024 by under
Scripture: Philippians 3:2-11 (NKJV)
3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Devotion
If anyone had reasons to boast in the flesh it was St. Paul. He lists a number of his fleshly qualifications in our reading for today: circumcised on the eighth day, born of the stock of Israel, specifically from the tribe of Benjamin. He had everything going for him, according to the flesh, and according to those who valued those things.
But St. Paul very specifically says that he counts all of those things not as gain to him, but loss. This is because our hope and our trust must be in Christ, and not in our own flesh. St. Paul understood this very well. This was why he warned the Philippians about the “dogs” who were encouraging people to return to the righteousness of the Law.
As St. Paul points out, true righteousness comes from faith in Christ, not through the Law. Even St. Paul, with all of his fleshly accomplishments, boasts not in his own merit and work. Rather, he would suffer the loss of those things and be found in Christ. It is this righteousness that comes from Christ through faith. This gives us the same hope that we too will share in Christ’s resurrection someday, and that we will spend eternity in glory with our Lord and Savior.
Collect: O God, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Thy Holy Spirit, that being ever mindful of the end of all things, and the day of Thy just judgment, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here, and dwell with Thee forever hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
