“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”
Let your reasonableness be known to all. The Lord is at hand — epieikeia (gentleness, reasonableness, fairness) should be public: their conduct reflects Christ. 'The Lord is at hand' (ho kyrios engys) may mean immanent (present) or imminent (coming soon): the ambiguity is intentional. Presence or coming, Christ's nearness transforms ethics. Gentleness flows from awareness of divine nearness. Urgency produces not anxiety but grace.
Church Fathers on Philippians 4:5
“Blessed are they that mourn,” and “woe unto them that laugh” Matthew 5:4; Luke 6:25, says Christ. How then says Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always”? “Woe to them that laugh,” said Christ, the laughter of this world which arises from the things which are present. He blessed also those that mourn, not simply for the loss of relatives, but those who are pricked at heart, who mourn their own faults, and take count of their own sins, or even those of others. This joy is not…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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