Reflections on Paul 

Number 3

The third “Psalm” of Sunday Evening Prayer 1 which falls on 4th Saturday of the 4 week Psalter is the hymn from Philippians. That means, taking other factors into account which dictate the contents of Liturgy of the Hours, we pray the Hymn 9 or 10 times a year. That would include, by coincidence, last night. I am, therefore, familiar with the Hymn and have spent some time reflecting on it.

Still, I have never considered it in the manner suggested by the Father Neyrey. Prior reflections have led me to think of verse 6, which points out that Jesus did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, to mean that Jesus, though divine, wanted us to see him in human form and that all expressions of his divine power were strictly related to service of others.

He did not throw himself off a high precipice when tempted by Satan just to prove his power. Instead he resisted temptation which was something he calls all of to do on a daily basis. Even though he had the power to pull down the walls of the temple in the same manner that Joshua brought down walls of Jericho he stuck to the message of his gospels that center on matters of heaven and eternity. I was close but I did not see the even bigger picture – Jesus is the new Adam but where Adam and Eve thought themselves equal to God when they grasped the fruit and ate it, Jesus remained perfectly obedient. 

Cool stuff. 

Peace.