Before coming to Mass on the Second Sunday of Advent, St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians deserves our attention. The second reading for the Mass (from Philippians 1, 3-6. 8-11) includes these words: “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the Gospel from the first day until now. 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.”
These hopeful words actually came out of a very dark situation. St. Paul, as he wrote the letter, was chained in a Roman prison, probably in Ephesus. And Biblical scholars are convinced that he wasn’t sure of getting out of that prison alive. Yet the letter is one of the most hopeful and joyful of all of St. Paul’s work. It shows that one can remain hopeful even when things look dark. From his prison cell, he is grateful for his friendship with the Philippians and is hopeful for their future. He cheerfully recalls their progress, as a local church, in the virtues of faith, hope, and love. They were no more perfect than other people, but St. Paul chose to celebrate their generosity. He praised them for helping to spread the good news from the days they first heard it.
***
In preparing for this weekend’s Mass, let’s remember that we can be tempted in dark times to look at everything with bleary eyes, pessimism, and even dread. But St. Paul bids us to look at life and at the people who surround us with hopeful eyes, even in dark times. To see people through hopeful eyes makes us aware of the good in their lives and in ours. St. Paul is encouraging us to see what we have done rather than what we have failed to do. He hopes that God, who began this good work among us, will bring it to completion. This is the same St. Paul who said “God’s grace is always enough.”
The truth is that we are “a work in progress” and God will bring His work to completion. We just need to cooperate with the working of His grace. By the end of our life, this work will be complete, and we will have reached ‘the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us.”
