2023 Sun Oct 15

Editor’s Note – Since 1987, October has been designated Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the United States. This October, domestic violence was already in the public eye due to a series of incidents involving professional football players. According to statistics compiled by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), one in three women has experienced physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner. For 3.2 million women, that violence is “severe.” Less frequently, but no less seriously, men are victims: One in ten has been stalked, physically harmed, or raped by an intimate partner. Domestic violence constitutes 15 percent of all violent crimes.

This Odyssey Networks story takes issues of public and private wrangling evident with the Philippians in our Epistle this week and links them to issues of bullying and domestic violence in our time.

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By Summerlee Staten, Trinity NY

“Last April (2023), Trinity (NY) pilgrims visited Philippi (shown in the image), where the Apostle Paul founded the church that received his letter to the Philippians. Visiting the site of Lydia’s baptism, we celebrated the ministry of women in the early church. Lydia and her household were the first Christian converts of St. Paul in Europe. Link to Trinity’s trip

“Wherever I go these days, both inside and outside the church, I hear people talk about how disheartened and nervous they are. Our news feeds and social media pages barrage us with stories of displacement, war, racial violence, and families torn apart by political disagreements. We are filled with grief at the losses we see around us, but also afraid for our own security in a world that feels inherently insecure. Divisiveness is everywhere, and with this discord comes a profound lack of trust in community.

“As it turns out, the Apostle Paul was no stranger to the problems of divisiveness and worry. This past summer at Trinity, in an intensive Bible study on his letter to the Philippians, we saw how Paul encouraged the early church to be of one “mind,” or phroneo in Greek, a word that indicates a wise pattern of thought. Paul uses this word repeatedly to indicate that the transformation of our minds — our very ways of thinking — only occurs when we are rooted in our unity with Christ.

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Pieter Brughel, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The Wedding Dance in a Barn, c. 1616

From John Pilch’s article on the Sunday website of Saint Louis University 

"Some background knowledge of meals in antiquity sheds light on today’s parable. Meals reproduce in miniature the everyday social relations of a society. Who eats with whom at a given table reflects who can associate with whom in the larger society.

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Edward Gomez

 “What are you going to do with this?”

—Matthew 22:1-14

Many years ago, when I was studying for the priesthood, we were called to help on Sundays at some of the local parishes. That semester I was called to serve at St. Thomas More Church. New to the area, I was unaware that this church was one of the most affluent churches in the diocese. I entered the sacristy that Sunday and met the rector. He turned to me impeccably dressed in a black suit and with an extended hand and a broad welcoming smile, introduced himself saying, “Hi! Welcome to our church!” Then, almost immediately, from behind came another priest who did not fit the dress code of this marble-laden English castle, who gave me a surprising I’ve known you all my life embrace! I smiled — actually laughed — and said, Hi! He was a missionary in Africa and the guest preacher that day.

His sermon was moving as he shared his experience with the poor. I felt like I got hit in the chest with God asking me, “So what are you going to do with this?” The collection that day was for the missions. After the service I was invited to lunch with the rector, the missionary preacher and other guests of the ector. During lunch, a man entered handed a small envelope to the rector saying, “What shall I do with this?” The envelope contained a set of earrings and a note saying, “Take these and have them appraised, and whatever that amount is, I will sell them and give the money to the missions.” We were all taken aback by this act of giving. But it was not until almost a month later that we learned the earrings were valued at $175,000!

When you encounter God’s call, the almost immediate reaction is to let go of everything you thought important so that you can be free to love. Giving generously becomes easy because at some level you realize that what you have is not yours — but God’s. And if wealth or privilege has been entrusted to you, then you know — with certainty — that you must share it.

I don’t know who this woman was, or her life circumstances. I just know that when she ripped off those earrings, she responded to God’s question, “So now what are you going to do with this?” She acted and gave far more than expensive earrings; she gave of herself honestly, freely and out of pure love.

Edward Gomez is Vicar of St. Paul’s/San Pablo Episcopal Church in Houston. His ministry has led him from the Lancandonan jungle of Mexico to the Peruvian province of Madre de Dios as a missionary, to the nonprofit world, where he has served in various leadership roles, including as the Executive Director of El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission in Austin. He is married to Denise Trevino-Gomez; they have three children and one adorable granddaughter.