Philippians 2:5-11
We continue reading tonight from Paul’s letter to the Philippians with Chapter 2 verses 5 to 11, and I am reading from the English Standard Version translation:
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Have you ever read a book and discovered the words of the title in the prose? Recently, I noticed it when I read Where the Crawdads Sing and again in The Ragged Edge of Night. When you notice it, it can feel like the author has written that sentence just for you to find. Sometimes, preachers do this too; last May when Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preached at the royal wedding for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, he included the words from the well-known hymn “There is a Balm in Gilead’ in his sermon. In these six verses that we just heard from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, scholars think the apostle is quoting “an early Christian hymn or confession of faith.” [i]
It’s helpful to learn a little more about Philippi as we read more of Paul’s letter. Remember, he is writing to one of the scattered Christian communities in the Roman Empire. In 42 BCE the city had been the site of a Roman civil war. Caesar’s armies had triumphed and awarded land to loyal Roman soldiers and later Caesar colonized the city. At the time Paul is writing, closer to the middle of the first century CE, the city’s leaders are the descendants of those Romans.
As we will hear later in Paul’s letter, one of the reasons he is writing is because the congregation at Philippi is divided. Two people in the congregation, Euodia and Syntyche, are at odds and the congregation is suffering.[ii] Here, Paul is calling for unity because of their common bond in Christ Jesus. Much as he would write later in his letter to the Romans, he urges the Philippians to pattern their lives in the way of Jesus and not the world they lived in, which was one of Roman empire, might and the lordship of Caesar.
The verses of the “Christ Hymn” describe Christ as an obedient servant, contrasting divinity and humanity; death and life; humiliation and exultation; bending and raising; heaven and earth and things above and below.[iii]
Some may cry out at the futility of imitating Christ, but Paul encourages us that we can pattern our words, actions and thoughts after Him.
Following Christ in this way becomes a self-emptying practice, where we surrender everything selfish and self-serving so that we may be filled and animated by God’s Holy Spirit, for the sake of the world. And in the freedom our faith gives us, we live in service and in accompaniment with others, not for own sake, but for the joy of seeing Christ in each other.
Christ-like humility can be manifest in care and support, physical presence and service. But it isn’t only in acts of self-giving service that Christ shows humility.
In the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell the story of people bringing their children to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them. The disciples speak out sternly against them to discourage them, but Jesus rebukes the disciples and tells them, “Let the little children come to me.” [iv] It easy to forget that in the first century, children were not valued in the same way they are today, but Jesus insists that no one is excluded from God’s love.
Another example of Christ’s humility is seen in Matthew and Mark when Jesus encounters the Syrophoenician woman in the district of Tyre and Sidon, and she pleads for his mercy. At first he is dismissive, answering, “It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” but when she challenges him, saying, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Jesus relents and shows mercy.[v] He allows himself to learn both from a woman and a person who worshiped a different God, a person who had no status in his culture.
In Because of This I Rejoice, Methodist pastor and author Max O. Vincent writes, “Humility puts the interest of others before self-interest.” Christian unity grows out of this self-emptying practice that empowers us to seek the presence of God in each other, despite our differences. Importantly, unity does not mean uniformity; God creates us in all of our diversity and we celebrate everything God has made as good. Paul’s letter calls us to remember that regardless of our differences, above all, we are Christ’s.
Let us pray…
Holy God,
We give thanks for the self-emptying love Your Son gave us, taking on all of our sin and brokenness that we would be redeemed and called Your beloved children.
Give us courage to humble ourselves for the sake of the world.
By Your Spirit animate our lives that we are witnesses to your love and mercy.
We pray in the name of your Son Jesus.
Amen.
[i] “Christ Hymn of Philippians.” Enter The Bible. Luther Seminary. https://www.enterthebible.org/Controls/feature/tool_etb_resource_display/resourcebox.aspx?selected_rid=248&original_id=9, accessed 3/25/2019.
[ii] Sharon H. Ringe. “Commentary on Philippians 2:5-11.” Working Preacher Commentary. Luther Seminary.
[iii] C. Clifton Black. “Commentary on Philippians 2:5-11.” Working Preacher Commentary. Luther Seminary.
[iv] Matthew 19:13-14; Mark 10, 13-14; Luke 18:15-16
[v] Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30
No comments:
Post a Comment