“If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal I persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless. [But] whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:4-11).”
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, in order to show that he has the authority to challenge the Judaizers (those who maintain that converts must be circumcised), he included a brief autobiography. He showed the superiority of his credentials to preach the Gospel. He was a learned, devout Jew from the tribe of Benjamin who had been chosen by Christ to preach the Gospel (Acts 9:5-6).
After Solomon’s death in 922 BC the Kingdom of Israel split in two. The tribes of Benjamin and Judah were in the South with Jerusalem as the capital (Judah), and the other 10 tribes were in the North with Samaria as the capital (Israel). All twelve tribes were unfaithful to the Davidic Dynasty and followed some of the Canaanite religions and deities (1 Kings 11:1-39). Around 722 BC the 10 tribes in the North were destroyed by the Assyrians and scattered among other countries to the North of Israel (2 Kings 17:6-41). They became the lost tribes of Israel. Judah and Benjamin in the South were captured by the Babylonians around 608 BC (2 Kings 25) but survived, and after being released from captivity in 538 BC they remained faithful to God (2 Chron. 36:15-33). This is also an explanation of verses 1 & 3 of the first reading for Sunday, July 18, 2021 (Cycle B) (Jeremiah 23:1-6). The shepherds were the leaders of Israel.
St. Paul was a well-schooled devout Pharisee who studied under Gamaliel (Acts 5:34; 22:3). He also had a personal experience of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9)) where he experienced an immediate and profound conversion. He told the Philippians that everything he understood before his conversion was of no value when compared to the deep, personal experience of Christ. All righteousness comes through faith in Christ. They must strive to have a deep, personal relationship with Christ and be transformed (2 Cor. 3:18). If they share in the weakness of Christ’s sufferings, they will eventually experience the power and glory of Christ’s resurrection.
Almighty God, in weakness we are made strong if only we put our trust in you. Grant us the grace to have a deep, personal experience of Christ and be converted so that we may conform our lives to His and through our willingness to share in his suffering be brought to the glory of his resurrection. This we pray through the same Christ our lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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