Pause, Refresh, Reset -- Philippians 4:4-8 (5th Sunday After Pentecost)
- Scott Clark
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
As I mentioned right at the start of the service, July 2 was the mid-point of the year.
Connecting with the rhythms of the year is something we do here all the time – we seek to find meaning in our days. We have the church calendar that begins in the anticipation of Advent. Then, Epiphany speaks to us of the unfolding discovery of God in the midst of us. We travel along the way that Jesus walked: in Lent, travelling with Jesus even to the cross, and then beyond that into the celebration of Resurrection in the season of Easter. We experience the continuing coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, and, from there, as the days roll on, we look for the Spirit moving in us through even our ordinary days – through the whole of life.
Along the way we think of civic holidays – how they connect to our life of faith – Mother’s and Father’s Days, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving. And we mark the significant days in the life of our community – homecoming in September, when we are gathered back in after all this coming and going – our annual meeting, the election of officers (next week) – baptisms, celebrations of life, and communion on first Sundays.
In the regular flow and cadence of life, we seek to make meaning of our days.
In all of that, I’ve never thought of the mid-point of the year: “We’re halfway there! Yay!!!” Melissa Kirsch, a writer and deputy editor at the New York Times, noticed this mid-point for the first time this year, too.[1] And what she suggests is that we pause, and reflect on the year. Take a breath. Reset. We do something like that at the beginning of the year – New Year’s Resolutions and all that – but, as Kirsch writes, that’s in “the grip of winter”– and it’s so serious – it can be a lot of pressure. (So don’t worry. I am NOT going to ask us how we are doing on our New Year’s Resolutions.)
That’s winter. Summer is, well, more summery. As Kirsch puts it, “We’re in summer mode, a little less coiled up than we might have been in January.” It’s a more relaxed opportunity to really take a breath, reflect, refresh.
This making meaning of our days – I wonder if that’s what the Apostle Paul is doing in this lovely passage from Philippians.[2] The Apostle is in prison in Rome. As the days pass, I wonder if he makes tick marks on the wall, just to keep track. He has lots of time to think and reflect. We know that he won’t get out, that he will die there. And yet there he is... reflecting... in jail... and he writes: “Rejoice in God in all times! Again, I say rejoice.”
This community that he loves in Philippi – at the far end of Greece, almost to Turkey – is sending him support in jail – they even send someone to keep him company. And the Apostle is sending this blessing – this letter - back to them. All these things he’s thinking... mulling: Rejoice. Let your gentleness be made known to all. God is near. God will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God will be with you. As he sits there in jail, day after day, this is how he makes meaning of his days.
The Apostle offers some suggestions on how to go about this meaning-making. Be anxious for nothing. Ugh. Easier said than done, right? “Be anxious for nothing.” Here’s what I noticed this week: The Greek word for that “being anxious.” It’s merimnao [3]– it sounds like murmuring. You know, that anxiety-filled murmuring: mmmrrrrrmmmmrrrrmmmmmrrrrr. The Apostle Paul says – “Don’t do that” – God is near.
But he doesn’t stop there. He goes on. Sitting in prison, he writes, “Don’t sit there and murmur – don’t sit there and stew. No.... think on these things: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Make meaning of your days there. Let your gentleness be made known to all. God is near. Spend your time there. And then, the Apostle writes... put all this.... into practice. Think on these things... and then go live it out.
At the mid-point of the year, Melissa Kirsch suggests we pause, and take a breath, and reflect. She calls it “a Summer Reset” (which she capitalizes because she says that makes it official).[4] She suggests just looking back over our shoulder at this first half of the year, just lived, and asking: These patterns I’ve been living – Are they making my life bigger? And then, look forward to the next half of the year – what she calls “the better half” – Where do you want to be on December 31? What might add some love and joy?[5] (“Again, I say Rejoice!”)
Here’s what I propose we do. For our Summer Reset, let’s go back to that first Sunday of the year – and our 7 spiritual practices. Do you remember? We said that we were going to try to start each new day looking for the new thing that God was doing. A suggestion for that was this list of "7 spiritual practices for waking to the new life that God is bringing into the new day."
And just as a reminder, they are:
(1) mindful breathing;
(2) morning mantras;
(3) practice of gratitude;
(4) spiritual reading/Scripture;
(5) setting intentions;
(6) "no internet before 8am"; and
(7) praying for others, ourselves, and the world.
I heard from a number of you – how you’ve embraced one or more of these. And, I’ve been a part of several conversations wondering how one could ever, ever wait until 8am for the internet – and our strategies for that.
So we’re going to do what the Apostle Paul says do. We’re going to put those into practice, right here, right now. We’ve already done one and two (1) breathing, and (2) our Sunday morning mantra: “This is the day.” Now, (3) we’ve already passed 8am, so let’s do this. Everyone power down your phones. There we go. That’s a third.
(4) And let’s settle in, and first up, let’s just spend some quality time with this lovely scripture. No pressure. You’ve already heard the sermon. This is just a time for us to read it together. Enjoy it. And see what we notice. I will read it through – and as I read it – the invitation is to listen for a word, phrase, or image that is shimmering for you. That’s all.
a reading of Scripture in the pattern of Lectio Divina
4 Rejoice in God always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be made known to all. God is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally – brothers, sisters, siblings – whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you
In the quiet following this reading, if you’d like, feel free to speak out loud that “word, phrase, or image” that was shimmering for you. Now, that word phrase or image – you could, if you want to – use that as your mantra for today. “Let your gentleness be made known.”
(5) OK, now something we do every Sunday is our practice of gratitude. Let’s settle back in. Take a few deep breaths. And then as we start that, just for a few moments, let’s reflect back over the year – back from January till now. What are the things you have experienced? The people you have encountered? Where have you felt energy flowing through you? Where have you felt energy draining out of you? Hold all this with the same grace for yourself that you’d give to someone else sitting in this room. Remember: Grace abounds. What has it looked like, this life you have lived?
And now, out of the past few months, or if it’s easier, just think about this past week:
What is one good thing that has come your way that (1) you did not earn, and (2) that you did not create? What’s one good thing that has come your way? Remember what that was like. Just to receive that. Savor that. Offer up a prayer of thanksgiving for that. It can be as simple as: “Thank you, God.”[6] (When you get a chance, Google: What’s the effectiveness of a gratitude practice?[7])
(6) So we’ve looked at the past, and the present moment – as we sit at this mid-point, let’s look some toward what comes next – this next half of the year – as we think about intentions. Now a “practice of setting intentions” is a little different from making resolutions. It’s a pause at the beginning of the day to think: What do I want to bring into this day? What value do I want to live out? That’s it – just a mindful reset for the day, a mindful intention, rather than hurtling through the day untethered from the things that bring you life.
Let’s settle back in, and let’s try this thinking just for this week. Think of this week. What lies ahead? What are things you have planned? What does your regular routine look like? Who might you encounter? Use your imagination – what does that look like?
With that in mind – what quality do you most what to bring to life – to carry into the day with you? Is it patience, lovingkindness, gentleness, resistance....?
What would it look like to bring that quality to this week?
If your intention is gentleness, what would gentleness look like?
If your intention is resistance, what would resistance look like?
What are the challenges?
What does it look like to embody this intention?
May the Spirit of Christ be within you as you put that intention into practice – as you live it out.
That’s 6 of our 7 practices. These practices – they are all forms of prayer – being present with God. What we are doing is pausing – in the rush of life – and remembering that God is near – opening up again to that fundamental, life-sustaining truth – and then living it out.
Now, the final one of these 7 practices – it may be what we think of first when we think of prayer: Praying for others, ourselves, and the world. Please God. Help. And for that, we’ll pray the way we pray every Sunday...
the sermon closes with a sung prayer, silence, and the Prayer that Jesus Taught.
© 2025 Scott Clark
[2] For general background on this text and Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, see Morna D. Hooker, “The Letter to the Philippians,” New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. xi (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000); Karla Werks, Commentary on Working Preacher at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-of-advent-3/commentary-on-philippians-44-7-5 ; Michael Joseph Brown, Commentary on Working Preacher at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-of-advent-3/commentary-on-philippians-44-7-2 . And, for more on the life of the Apostle Paul in relationship to his letters and theology, see Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology (trans. M.E. Boring) (New York: Baker Publishing Group, 2005).
[3] See Brown, supra.
[5] See id.
[6] This gratitude prompt is based on a gratitude meditation by Matthew Hepburn from the Ten Percent Happier app (now, “Happier”).
[7] See for example, this summary of research from UCLA, https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/health-benefits-gratitude , or what the NIH says: https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/03/practicing-gratitude
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