Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

On Epaphroditus

²⁵ But I did think it was necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. He is my brother; he has worked alongside me and fought alongside me; and he’s served as your agent in tending to my needs. ²⁶ He was longing for you all, you see, and he was upset because you heard that he was sick. ²⁷ And he really was sick, too; he nearly died. But God took pity on him—yes, and on me as well, so that I wouldn’t have one sorrow piled on top of another.

²⁸ This has made me all the more eager to send him, so that you’ll see him again and be glad, and my own anxieties will be laid to rest. ²⁹ So give him a wonderfully happy welcome in the Lord, and hold people like him in special respect. ³⁰ He came close to death through risking his life for the Messiah’s work, so that he could complete the service to me that you hadn’t been able to perform.