SUMMER PODCAST REBOOT – this episode was originally published in February 2020.

Welcome to Monday’s Podcast.  This week I’ll pick up the baton from Helen Ward and we’ll continue to make our way through Paul’s letters. Today, Monday, brings us to the very end of Philippians – Chapter 4, verses 14-23

Today we’ll focus on verse 14-15:

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;

REFLECTION:

As a parent it feels like we are regularly facing an uphill task with trying to instil in our kids ‘please’ and ‘thank-you’.  A few days after Christmas we were in the city centre – at a well-known department store.  I was with our children – our youngest in the pushchair – so it meant we were navigating a very crowded store full of very focused bargain hunters. Because it was so busy and I was pushing a pushchair and herding 2 kids, I was constantly stopping & starting.  Swerving.  Braking and telling the kids to get out of the way of the hordeing shoppers.   As my irritation levels began to rise I knew it was an opportunity to model to our children saying ‘please and thank you’.

On one of the many times we waited to let shoppers clutching loads of bags get past us in the crowded spaces – I said to my eldest – ‘notice how many people don’t say thank you’.   She noticed two things (kids are so observant) – everyone was rushing; only a very few slowed down enough to thank us for allowing them to pass.  The point wasn’t to sit in judgment on the stressed out shoppers but highlight that saying ‘thank you’ acknowledges people. It recognises they have done something for you.  Even if it’s to allow someone to walk past – there’s something deeply honouring about saying thank you.

As we conclude our journey through Philippians – these final verses reveal Paul’s heart on the subject of thanksgiving and gratitude.

Paul thanks the Philippians for their generosity.  Specifically their financial support – which far exceeds (according to him) any other support he’s received on his missionary journeys.  Paul sees this financial contribution as more than money in the missionary coffers.  He sees it as partnership. It’s him on the ground – it’s him doing the battle – the very fact that the Philippians have his back financially – it encourages him so much as he views it as they are in it together.  That’s a really significant point.  Financial support – or putting it another way, financial partnership – is a fundamental part of missionary work.  It can so tempting to think – I ‘only give’ – well to Paul, financial giving is an integral part of the work.   For Paul you’re shoulder to shoulder in the mission field.

It’s an understatement to say he’s thankful.  But in these final words gratitude overflows in the form of honour.

If you have been around STC for a while you’ll have picked up we place value on thanksgiving.  For good reason – gratitude is a fruit of God’s grace in our lives.

Saying thank you as Paul does here is really powerful.

Mick, our church leader, has taught a lot on the power of saying thank you and it’s something I want to borrow for a moment.

Thanksgiving or saying ‘thank you’ acknowledges a person’s actions.  I’m not saying when we say ‘cheers’ or ‘thanks for that’ or a GIF or emoji.  I’m talking about when we stop, slow down and genuinely look someone in the eye or take the time to send a message ‘thank you for doing X – I am so grateful to you’.  And tell them why.

Saying thank you acknowledges others’ contributions.  A habit of saying thank you reveals a heart of gratitude, which is honouring to God and to people.

Only the other day I received an email – out of the blue – from a man I had helped in my previous church...