"The mystery of Christ among you, your hope of glory." Paul's words put before us an important part of God's revelation and hence of our faith. For us, "hope" is not an emotion or a mere human attitude. For us, hope is essentially incarnate in the presence of Christ. Our hope is Jesus the Son of God made flesh, He who died for us and rose to conquer death forever.

This hope animates Paul in his prison letters. Thus today's passage begins with one of Paul's profoundly enlightening and moving statements. "I find joy in the suffering I endure for you". It is not of course the suffering as such which gives him joy. His joy, rather lies in the fact that this suffering is endured "for you", for the sake of the Church in union with Jesus. It is this "for you" which gives his suffering a purpose. It is his union with Jesus, especially in his mystical body the Church, which gives his suffering its meaning. Because of his union with Christ, Paul does not experience suffering as a threat or a disaster. Suffering is the context of further care and concern for the community.