Grace and Peace to You -- 2 Corinthians 1:1-7; Philippians 1:1-11 (8th Sunday After Pentecost)
- Scott Clark
- Jul 19
- 10 min read
If you have ever received an email from me, you know that I begin most of my emails with the phrase: Grace and Peace. Grace and peace to you.
I did not invent that.
I have borrowed that from the Apostle Paul. That’s how he begins almost all of his letters that we find in Scripture.[1] And it seems like as worthy a greeting as can be – Grace and peace to you – and if you add, in the name of Jesus Christ, all the better.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul did not invent that either. He did innovate it.
In the New Testament, we have this wealth of letters from the Apostle Paul to communities – to congregations – he knew and loved. First and Second Thessalonians, Galatians, First and Second Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, and so on. For us, they are Scripture – sacred text. For Paul and those communities, they were... letters – real, in-the-moment communications – about what was going on in life – as they struggled together with how to follow the way of Jesus in the midst of it all.[2] These letters flow out of and address real life and real relationship.
I had an “aha moment” this week: The Apostle Paul had no idea that he was writing what we someday would claim as Scripture. Paul didn’t wake up in the morning, and say, “Oop, I need to get back to writing the Bible.” There were these communities that he loved. He received news that something had happened with them – some crisis, some trouble – or maybe he himself was in the midst of troubles – and so he wrote to them. I’ve heard that this has happened – don’t forget how much God loves us in Jesus Christ – here’s what I’m thinking.
But, in these letters, before the Apostle would get to the meat of the matter, always, he’d begin: Grace and peace to you.
The Apostle Paul wrote these letters in the Greco-Roman world around the Mediterranean – and he would have known and followed the letter-writing conventions of his day.
We know the American conventions. We learned in school to write business letters beginning, Dear Sir or Madam: And then to state our purpose. I write to you to find out more about....
As a child, I began most of my letters, mostly to my grandparents, the same way. Dear Grandma and Grandpa, How are you? I am fine.
I’ve learned that in French culture, you don’t dive right in at the start of a letter. You first need to say some polite things. I have read about your school and its respected academic programs, and so I am writing to find out more information about... In each culture, there are ways that we communicate, forms that help us understand each other, and there are ways to begin a letter.
The Apostle Paul’s letters begin with Grace and peace. Now that word “Grace” – Charis in Greek – is close to the ordinary way that folks would have greeted each other in Greek – Chaire.[3] It’s close, but it’s different. Charis, for the Apostle Paul and those who followed Jesus, was a greeting with substance, with meaning. It was an expression of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ – God’s unearned, unconditional, unshakeoffable love. God’s grace be upon you.
Grace and peace. The Greek word for peace is Eirene. Here’s a quiz...The Hebrew word for peace is...? Shalom. Shalom is how Jewish letter writers would have begun their letters. Shalom. Peace. Wholeness... to you.[4]
Grace and peace. A standard Greek greeting, and one that would have been familiar to Jewish readers. A greeting to Jews and Gentiles alike – to everyone without separation or distinction. Grace – God’s unconditional love to you – all of you – and Shalom – the wholeness that we know in God. Grace and peace to you in Jesus Christ.
It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful, loving way to begin.
Now, we know that what followed the lovely beginning of those letters wasn’t always sunshine and laughter. Remember, these were written into real life. The Apostle Paul knew the forms for beginning a letter, he used them, and he made them his own – he grounded them in Christ... and then he made them personal, specific. He was, after all, beginning a particular message to a particular people.
These letters were written out of and into real life, and all of real life’s complexity. They were written into challenging, troubling times – into the midst of suffering, and sometimes conflict – sometimes knock-down-drag-out conflict – and even so, with each letter, always, the Apostle Paul would begin again: Grace and peace to you.
In a bit, Maureen is going to read the beginning of two of those letters. Philippians is the letter that Paul wrote from jail, remember that? Late in his journeys, the Apostle Paul has been taken to Rome and imprisoned.[5] All his hopes for bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to more and more of the known world, seem to have come to an abrupt halt. He’s there in prison, dependent on those on the outside to provide food and support... And we know, we know... that the he will die in that prison.
There he sits, in the worst of times... and he writes some of the most beautiful words in Scripture.
He begins – Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ – to all the saints in Philippi. Grace and peace to you.
He begins with gratitude. Overflowing. Because you see, this little community has sent him support, and a helper. I thank my God every time I think of you. I give thanks for your partnership in the gospel – [literally, your sharing together]. I have you in my heart. How I long for you with the very love of Christ Jesus. He begins with a profound expression of community – the community they share in Christ.
He begins by naming the presence of God in the midst of it all. I am confident that God who began a good work in you is at work even now, bringing it to completion.
He begins by blessing them.[6] May your love – our love – abound more and more – in knowledge and depth of insight; may you continue to discern what is best; may you be filled with all the fruit of justice through Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul writes this letter out of the worst of times – from prison – into the challenges of the world – but before he says anything, he begins with Grace and Peace – he begins with gratitude and blessing.
In a few minutes, we’ll also hear how he begins 2 Corinthians. It’s not the best of times in Corinth either. The church in Corinth is in almost constant conflict – First Corinthians details the disagreements they are having with each other. And with Second Corinthians, apparently there is a deep disagreement with Paul himself. Paul writes into the mess of that.
And he begins, as he always does: Paul, an apostle of God by the will of Christ, to the church in Corinth and all the saints in the region: Grace and peace to you.
On good days and bad: Grace and peace to you.
And before he dives into the bitter disagreement they have – he goes on – and he begins with... words of comfort. He names how painful this moment is for them: suffering, affliction, distress, troubles, hardship. He names the pain – and he names the comfort that God brings.[7]
The Apostle begins there. He grounds all the hard things he will say into the hardship they are going through. Blessed be the God of all compassion and all comfort. God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we might comfort others who are in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive. As we share in suffering, God’s comfort abounds. Our hope is firm, because just as we share in our sufferings, we also share in God’s comfort.
In every circumstance, writing these letters into every manner of trouble, the Apostle Paul always begins again with the sure promise of God’s love, and presence, and comfort. Grace and peace to you.
We have been thinking this summer on the theme Always We Begin Again, looking at the beginnings of the big stories in Scripture.
· Last week, we said that the beginning of Wisdom is knowing that God is God, that we are not, and that God is good – that God empowers us to find together ways of living that lead to more life. A good way to begin.
· Those ways that lead to more life include a calling to challenge the powers. The prophets begin with a word of what God is bringing to an end, so that we can live into the new beginning that God is bringing to life.
· With Shiphrah and Puah – the midwives who began the revolution – we discovered that God is always beginning again in God’s work of liberation.
· And with the beginning of the Gospels, we saw that all this comes to life in us – in our voice, and in our life.
· And then, remember back to the very beginning, of creation – all creation, all life begins with a breath – God breathing in, and out – and us too. Creation begins with a breath, and then there is a rhythm – a pulse – of working and of rest.
We are beginning our season of renewal – as I head out on sabbatical, and as you engage together in your own season of renewal.
So I’ve wondered what to say at this beginning – something that will last for three months.
So, as a first thing: Remember our seven spiritual practices for grounding our days.[8] Remember those from last year?
1. Center in our breathing – our breathing in, and our breathing out. Our breath is something we always carry with us – always available to bring us into the present moment. Mindful breathing, right here, right now.
2. Our morning mantras – short phrases that we can carry throughout the day. This is the day that God has made. Grace abounds. Grace and peace. We can breathe those prayers in and out.
3. Our practice of gratitude – every day throughout the day – in the rush of life ,what’s one thing for which you are grateful? A practice of gratitude is one of the most healthy things we can do.
4. Setting a daily intention. Living out of our values, what core value do I want to bring to my day? What do I intend to embody this day.
5. There’s praying with a sacred text. With Scripture. With poetry. What word is shimmering for me?
6. No internet before 8am.
7. And then there is the classic praying for ourselves and others. Connecting with God and the needs we see in the world. Praying for those we love. Those we don’t know. Maybe even our adversaries. May they be safe. May they be healthy. May they live in peace. May the be free.
We’ve got those seven basic practices that we can continue to share during this season of renewal. And then, I think there are three important truths to glean from how the Apostle Paul begins all these letters.
First, no matter the circumstance, no matter the distance, we are in this together, never alone. Before the Apostle says anything else, he reminds the people he loves that life in Christ is life in community. We are, together, part of the Body of Christ – one body – when one suffers, all suffer; when one rejoices, all rejoice. We share our work, our worship, and our life. He pretty much says: Together We Serve... and learn... and live.
Second, in every bit of life, in the good, the not so good, and the in-between, in every moment: God is near. That is understood – it is essential in that Grace and Peace – God is near – God’s grace – God’s unshakeoffable love – and God’s shalom. Every moment. All the time. God is near. The Apostle will say it even more fully toward the end of Philippians: Rejoice in God always. Again I say rejoice. Let your gentleness be made known to all. God is near. Be anxious for nothing. But in prayer, let your requests be made known to God and the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
And third, the beginning is just... the beginning. The Apostle Paul begins his letters “Grace and peace to you”... and then a lot of life flows out of that. He wades right in – into the real stuff of life – to see what new life, what new freedom, what new love God is breathing into us even now. Always we begin again, and again, and again.
So in this worship service, we have been moving toward the beginning. One of my aha’s as I put the service together is that our worship (even when you flip the order) our worship begins and ends in blessing. Grace and peace to you. Christ above us. Christ within us. And at the heart, there is an experience of the Living Word of God in Jesus Christ. We can change the order, but nothing will ever change those truths.
Those are truths we can carry with us as we begin this season of renewal.
No matter the circumstance, no matter the distance,
we are in this together.
God is near.
The beginning is just... the beginning.
Grace and peace to you in the name of our savior Jesus Christ.
© 2026 Scott Clark
[1] For general background on the Apostle Paul’s letters, 2 Corinthians, and Philippians, see Morna D. Hooker, “The Letter to the Philippians,” New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. xi (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000); Guy Nave, “Second Corinthians” in New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. x (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002); J. Paul Sampley, “The Second Letter to the Corinthians,” New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. xi (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000); Robert W. Wall, “Introduction to Epistolary Literature,” New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. x (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002).
[2] See Wall, p.371.
[3] See Wall, p.380.
[4] See id.
[5] For thorough consideration of the life- and world-context of Paul, his letters, and the communities he served, see Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology (trans. M.E. Boring) (New York: Baker Publishing Group, 2005).
[6] See Hooker, pp.479-80.
[7] See Sampley, pp.40-41.
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