On Personal Devotion to Christ

Anglican Ascetic · Oct 9, 2023 · 13m

[Note: the audio recording above will vary in places from the prepared text below.]

I want to reflect today on the first verse from Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Church in Philippi. He writes, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” What Paul is talking about is his own devotion to Christ. His devotion to Christ has an intentionality to it—his choosing to “press on”—that is, with effort, a choice to work in the vineyard to harvest fruit, so as to cooperate with the grace given him by the Holy Spirit.

Yet we must remember that in reading Paul’s…