27th Day of Lent

Friday, April 4, 2025

Philippians 2:25-31, NIV

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.

Reflection - Pastor Caroline Bashore, First UCC, Royersford and Linfield UCC

As a child, I didn’t recognize the names inscribed in the front of the hymnals, on the plaques at the ends of pews, or at the base of the stained-glass windows in my church. They weren’t names I heard in sermons or read in the Bible, but they were people of deep faith who made a difference in the life of the church. Their generosity and devotion shaped the very sanctuary in which I worshiped.

Epaphroditus was like one of those names that might have been overlooked. He wasn’t an apostle, didn’t write scripture, and wasn’t widely known, but Paul calls him a brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier of the faith. He risked his life for the sake of Christ, not for recognition, but out of love and service.

The He Gets Us Super Bowl commercial, What is Greatness?, is determined to make us question our expectations. In images of everyday people helping one another, living, working, and grieving alongside one another, the commercial demonstrates that greatness isn’t about fame or power but about humility, sacrifice, and love. The world celebrates those in the spotlight, but Jesus lifts up those behind the scenes—the ones who quietly serve, who care for the hurting, who give without expecting anything in return.

True greatness isn’t about being seen. It’s about making a difference. So today, let’s honor the Epaphroditus’s in our lives—the ones who love, serve, and follow Christ, even when no one is watching.

Prayer: God of the unseen, help me seek greatness not in recognition but in quiet faithfulness, loving and serving as you do. May my life reflect the kind of love that gives, lifts, and endures—even when no one is watching. Amen.