Content (Philippians 4:6-20) 
Rev. Peter Heckert 
11/23/22 

+ Grace to you, and peace, from God our heavenly Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. + Amen.

The text for our meditation on Thanksgiving eve comes from our epistle lesson, especially where Paul tells the Philippians, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Here ends our text; my dear Christian friends …

At the outset of writing this sermon, I can honestly say that I really didn’t know how Paul could have done it. Bear in mind that while he is writing this letter to the Christians in Philippi, he’s in jail. He’s not able to move about freely, which certainly seems to put a damper on his evangelistic mission, the work that Christ Himself had given him to do. I don’t think anyone can speak intelligently about the accommodations, the quality of the food provided for him, the company he had to keep, simply because Scripture is mum about these things. What we do know is that in spite of these hardships and trials that Paul was facing, he tells his beloved Philippian Christians, “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” He’s … content.

Paul is content where he’s at, and I was admittedly a little bit befuddled. How, in the midst of this rough situation, can he say that he’s able to be content? Indeed, what is contentment? It’s a word that, in America these days, is a bit foreign to us. One can describe it as a happy satisfaction, being satiated, having enough and not needing any more, and being quite okay with it. It’s an idea that we can understand in concept, philosophically, but I’ll be honest, I don’t know if many people actually know what it is to be content. 

But Paul seems to have figured it out. He’s learned to be content with whatever situation he’s in. Abundance? Wealth? Riches? Prestige? Fame? Fortune? A full belly? Health?  Happiness? … He could be content. Impoverished? Hungry? Imperiled? Shipwrecked? Injured? Ill? Desperate? Depressed? In mourning? Imprisoned? Hated? Beaten? Condemned to die? … He writes, “I am able to be content.” From the sound of it, Paul isn’t saying that he’s impervious to the ravages of this world. He truly does experience these things, the good and the bad, but he’s not whistling past the graveyard. He’s not looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. The situation in which Paul finds himself as he’s writing this letter is not good. But he’s not just making the most of it. He’s not trying to sweep the bad under the rug and pretend that they’re not there. He’s saying that, in spite of all of this, he’s content.

What’s the secret? It’s no secret. Paul explains exactly how he is able to be content, regardless of the circumstances, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” We know who Paul is talking about here. It is only in and through Christ Jesus, the One whom Paul persecuted as a young man (at that time named Saul), who saved him from his spiritual poverty and imprisonment, the One who gave him a new name and a new mission … it is because of Him that Paul can say that he is content and face the things that he must. His contentment lies in the very message that he had given to the Philippians: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Does that take away from the circumstances that Paul was facing? Does it detract from the everyday hardships of the Philippian Christians to whom he was writing? Does it lighten the load of trials and tribulations that you and I face, that our brothers and sisters in Christ across the globe face today? It does not. It doesn’t sweep them under the rug, it doesn’t dismiss them, it doesn’t try to say, “Oh, things aren’t as bad as they seem.” No, living in this vale of tears, this valley of the shadow of death is not sunshine and cupcakes. … But because of what our Lord Jesus endured on the cross, the humiliation and scorn, the horrors of the crucifixion, enduring the full weight of all human sin throughout time and space … our greatest need has been met. A right relationship with God is now possible for all who trust Jesus’ Word of promise: the debt has been paid, and we now have the promise of eternal life with the King of creation after He returns to finish off His enemies once and for all.

That’s the source of Paul’s contentment. That’s the source of our contentment, and certainly the reason for our thanksgiving to God. It’s not the only one – to be sure, with Luther, we give thanks to the Provider of all our first article needs for what He so richly bestows upon us: clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals and all that we have. However, there’s no denying that, when the day comes that all these things are taken from our possession – indeed, on the day when our very breath fails us and our eyes close in death – His promise that our sins are forgiven in Christ Jesus remains steadfast. That’s where our contentment lies, where our comfort lies, where our hope lies.

Enjoy your Thanksgivings. Enjoy the company and fellowship of friends and family. Enjoy the sumptuous meals which many hands have helped to prepare. Enjoy your football games and decorating for Christmas and even enjoy getting the good deals on goods and gifts for yourself and others on Black Friday. Do so with great thanksgiving to God, whose almighty hand had provided all of it. But especially … give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever, and be content in the forgiveness that is yours in Christ Jesus, our Savior. 

+ In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. + Amen.