Partners With the Gospel

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul gives thanks for the members of this community “because of your partnership for the gospel.” More than being partners for the gospel, however, I believe we are called to be partners with the gospel.

What does it mean to be in partnership with the gospel? It means letting the good news permeate our lives and then responding to it as we find ourselves this day. I am at present a 56-year-old female Benedictine writer living in a monastery in northeastern Kansas in the United States. How I respond to John the Baptist’s call to make ready the way of the Lord will be very different from the response of a 25-year-old subsistence farmer with a wife and two children who lives in Honduras and is desperate to escape his corrupt and violent country. Although our circumstances are very different, God needs us both to listen and act out of trust and compassion. Because we are all connected in the body of Christ, our attempts to live according to God’s word will nurture each other, regardless of how different our lives appear.

We are fortunate to be in partnership with a gospel that consoles, inspires, and challenges us. When we commit to this partnership, one thing is certain: life will never be boring. As Advent reminds us, it’s time to awaken from sleep and follow the example of St. Augustine, who heard the call to “take up and read.” When we do so, the gospel will point us in the right direction.