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Office Of Readings | Week 26, Sunday, Ordinary Time | From The Letter Of Saint Polycarp To The Philippians | You Have Been Saved By Grace
‘You have been saved by grace.’
Saint Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians addresses the Christian community with encouragement and exhortation. Saint Polycarp begins by commending their faith, describing it as deeply rooted and fruitful in the service of Christ. The mention of those who bore chains for the gospel situates his words in the context of persecution: suffering for Christ is presented as both a mark of honour and a participation in the Lord’s own passion.
Central to the passage is the affirmation that salvation comes by grace. Polycarp underlines that it is not achieved by human effort or good works, but by the will of God revealed in Jesus Christ. This emphasis reflects the teaching already known from Paul’s letters: that grace precedes and grounds all Christian life. The response to this gift, however, is to live in accordance with God’s commandments. Salvation is not earned, but it does call for obedience and transformation.
Polycarp exhorts his readers to live in fear and sincerity before God, avoiding sin and imitating Christ’s patience and mercy. He recalls sayings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount: to forgive, to be merciful, not to judge, and to bless rather than curse. The ethical teaching is framed within the hope of resurrection: as God raised Christ from the dead, so he will also raise believers who remain faithful.
From The Letter Of Saint Polycarp To The Philippians | You Have Been Saved By Grace
Polycarp and the Elders with him, to the Church of God sojourning in Philippi: all mercy and peace to you, from God Almighty and Jesus Christ our Saviour.
When you welcomed those copies of the True Love and took the opportunity of setting them forward on their road, I rejoiced with you in Jesus Christ. The chains that bound them were the badges of saints, the diadems of men truly chosen by our Lord and God. I rejoiced too that your firmly rooted faith, so well-known since the earliest times, still flourishes and bears fruit for our Lord Jesus Christ. He bore the burden of our sins even as far as suffering death, and God raised him up, releasing him from the pains of the underworld; you did not see him but still you believed in him, in unspeakably glorious joy. Many desire to come into this joy, knowing that you are saved by grace, not by works, – not by your actions but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.
So gird up your loins and serve God in fear and sincerity. Leave aside empty vanities and vulgar error, believing in him who raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him glory and a throne on his right hand, to whom are subject all things in heaven and earth, whom everything that has breath serves, who is coming as the judge of the living and of the dead: God will require vengeance for his blood from any who disobey him.
Now he who raised him from the dead will also raise us up if we do his will and walk according to his commandments and love the things which he loved, if we refrain from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, and false witness, if we do not render evil with evil, abuse for abuse, blow for blow, or curse for curse, but if we remember what the Lord taught when he said, Do not judge, that you may not be judged; forgive and you will be forgiven; be merciful and you will receive mercy. For whatever you measure out to other people will be measured out to you also… Blessed are the poor, and they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ
Lord God,
you raised Jesus Christ from the dead
and set him at your right hand in glory.
By your grace you have called us into his joy;
strengthen us to live in faith and sincerity,
to forgive as we are forgiven,
and to love what Christ loved.
Keep us steadfast until the day
when you raise us with him to share your kingdom,
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Polycarp – 2nd-century bishop of Smyrna, disciple of the apostle John, and an early martyr. His letter to the Philippians is one of the earliest surviving Christian writings outside the New Testament.
Grace – God’s free gift of salvation in Christ, not earned by human effort.
Chains – Refers to Christians imprisoned for their faith; their suffering is regarded as a participation in Christ’s passion.
Judge of the living and the dead – A title of Christ, expressing his role at the final judgement.
Sermon on the Mount – Teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5–7, including commands to forgive, show mercy, and bless those who persecute.
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The passage belongs to a tradition known as the ‘Two Ways’ teaching. This form sets up a contrast between two modes of life. The ‘Way of Light’ represents the path aligned with God’s purposes, and by implication, the ‘Way of Darkness’ is its opposite—marked by self-interest, deception, violence, and disregard for God’s commandments. The use of this form in early Christian literature suggests its role as one of instruction, particularly for converts preparing for baptism or full entry into the community [ … ]
In the Discourse of the Mission, in Chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has instructed his disciples about evangelization. Now, in Chapter 11, we are told more of Jesus’ Mission in the region of Galilee – also known as the Lake of Gennesaret and as Lake Tiberius. The area in which Jesus preaches and performs his healing miracles is relatively small, and it is an obscure part of the Empire. In some ways, though, it is a microcosm of the world beyond and the world of later history to come, as we learn of those who will accept and those who will reject Jesus [ … ]
