"Indecisive" [cropped] by Ben Seidelman via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) - Salvation workout

Come Sunday: Salvation workout

Poem by Kyle Oliver for prayr.cc (CC BY 2.0)
Photo: “Indecisive” [cropped] by Ben Seidelman via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

"Indecisive" [cropped] by Ben Seidelman via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) - Salvation work out

A poem in response to the epistle reading from Philippians 2 for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (aka Proper 21A):

So then, my beloved … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13, WEB, PD)

A therapist once told me
sin boldly—
Luther was a reformer
to be sure
but an obsessive to boot.

Not every
scruple
is a virtue.
Seeking to avoid
is no way to live.
Or seek.

Sin boldly means
“succeed we may” but
“act we must.”
Fear,
and overcome.
Tremble,
and trust.

If you are at
work in us
O God
enabling us
ennobling us then
dithering must be
tedious unto thy majesty.

At the very least we should not so
easily confuse it
with wisdom.

Philippians 2:1-13

1 If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, 2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.

5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.

Subscribe to this site to receive regular multimedia prayer resources via email. Check out this post to learn more about our mission. Support us by pledging on Patreon (many rewards available) or through purchases on Zazzle and Amazon.

You can reuse or remix all the resources on this site for any purpose as long as you give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license (usually CC BY 2.0), and indicate if changes were made. Learn more about reuse at creativecommons.org.

This site publishes and shares Creative Commons-licensed content but is not affiliated with or sponsored by Creative Commons in any way.