St. Paul's Prison Letters

Homily for Wednesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time

St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon have one thing in common; namely, they were all written while St. Paul was imprisoned. That St. Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and in prison the first at Caesarea Maritima in Palestine and then in Rome is clear from several chapters in the Acts of the Apostles. This would mean that these letters were composed later in St. Paul’s career – in the late 50s or early 60s of the first century A.D. Consequently, they may very well be from an earlier imprisonment at Ephesus, which is not directly mentioned in the New Testament. This would better explain the situations presupposed in the letters. Ephesus was a major city for St. Paul’s activity during his life and probably the place of the Pauline “school” after his death. This would mean that he also wrote his Letter to the Galatians and his First and Second Letter to the Corinthians while imprisoned at Ephesus.

Rather than dwell upon his imprisonment, St. Paul concentrates on the fact that he is suffering for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and rejoices that even his imprisonment is contributing to the spreading of the Gospel. When we read in his letter to the Philippians that he is poured out like a libation upon the sacrificial service of the Philippians faith, we can be sure that he is referring to his imprisonment. In today’s Gospel text, Saint Luke repeats an oft used expression of Jesus’ when he mentions that one must take up his cross and follow him if he wishes to be a disciple. It is clear that St. Paul lived out this admonition.

No matter how many times the Scriptures referred to the fact that suffering is redemptive, we all recognize that it is not something that we enjoy; and yet, St. Paul is able to refer to his imprisonment as a cause for joy. He is not alone in this contention as the reaction of the apostles, Peter and his brother Andrew, also is cited as a cause for joy. This joy is founded on a principle of Greek philosophy that states that any historical change can only happen during the period of trial and tribulation. Several times, the travail of a woman in labor is used to describe the work of spreading the Gospel.

Strange as it may seem, the fact that we are called upon to suffer in this life links us with the work of the early Christian Church and continues the work of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our own day. As it was for them, it can be also for us - a source of joy and an assurance that we have been chosen to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.