Sermons for the Month
Five Weeks of Joy (3)
DATE: November 7, 1999
SERVICE: Pentecost XXIV (All Saints)
TEXT: Philippians 2:1-11“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
We move on this morning to Philippians Chapter 2. Up to this point Paul has been discussing his own situation. But here he looks at the situation faced by the Philippians. And in light of what he sees, he has one major thing to say: "You have to work on developing a harmonious fellowship." He sees a church which is no longer unified and he knows that unless they recover their sense of oneness in Christ, they will splinter under the assault of the false teachers who are holding forth in their area. Without a sense of unity, they will be like frightened horses that stampede off in all directions at the least sign of danger. So from 1:27 to 2:18, Paul describes how the Philippians can develop unity in their church. It is really very simple. The formula by which unity is achieved is not at all complex. All the Philippians have to do is to become humble servants concerned about the needs of others and the spread of the gospel to the unchurched. Unity will then emerge automatically. In other words, Paul is saying that if we look to the church only for what we get from it -- sort of like a consumer -- there will never be any unity. Unity is a by-product of the humility of a common vision in Christ. Of course, this is the rub. None of us is very good at humility. And as for looking out for the interests of others, we'd far prefer to look out for our own interests! With this being the case, it is important for all of us to listen with some care to what Paul has to say, because he is touching upon the kind of issues than can make us very resistant. We don't like to face and own our self-interest. So, let's pray as we begin this lesson that the Lord will give us unusual insight into our complex motivations, both in terns of how we relate within this church and how we relate to our family and friends. Let's pray: Lord Jesus, open our hearts and minds today that we may hear with clarity your word of truth. Help each of us to identify those areas in our own lives where self-interest tends to prevail. And then, in coming to see our sin, may we simultaneously see your grace which forgives and your powerful love which heals. We pray this in your name. AMEN. Paul does not confront this problem of disunity directly. He eases into it by focusing on the problem the Philippians are having with false teachers. He says, in essence, that the only way to cope with the false teachers is by presenting a unified front. Once he has defined the problem in this way, then he can go on to share with the Philippians how such unity can be achieved. This is an interesting approach on Paul's part. Were he to have hit them head on by saying: 'Look gang, you've got to get your act together. You are not unified,' he would have run the risk of creating defensiveness on their part. And you know what it is like when people are defensive. They don't hear a word you say. You may have life saving advice for them, but they are so busy defending themselves, they are unable to grasp what you are trying to communicate. But since Paul has put his advice in terms of the felt needs of the Philippians, they can and will listen to him. Let's begin by examining the first paragraph. In the course of defining the problem, Paul also offers us a fascinating glimpse into the nature and meaning of suffering. The Philippians are facing these issues: 1) They must make sure they conduct themselves in a manner worthy of Jesus. 2) They need to act in this way whether or not Paul is there. 3) They need to stand firm in one spirit, with one conviction. 4) There is a possibility that they will bolt from their faith like horses that have been shod. 5) They face a whole set of foes, foes who are expecting the church to self-destruct. In other words, the Philippians are facing two problems: pressure from without by false teachers and pressure from within by reason of disunity. And that brings us to the most important part of the letter, verses 5-11, which is really a hymn. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was* in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Now, I don't think Paul intended to make a major theological statement here by including this hymn. He was simply quoting it as a sort of a sermon illustration to make his point that self-sacrificing humility is the path to unity in the church. Paul's purpose was not to teach them about the nature of Jesus but to use Christ as an example of the kind of humility that he is urging on them. If they become like him, then the sort of unity will emerge that will enable them to resist the pressures being leveled against them. But for us, coming across this hymn is like finding a diamond in the rough. We are amazed and gladdened and astonished. And when we really hear what is being said in these verses, in wonder we such in our breath and then breathe out a prayer of praise to God for his incredible work of love. Think about what is said here. The Philippians were familiar with a man wanting to be a god, but a god who was willing to be a man? Now that was a new wrinkle. To think that a God would even want assume human form, well, that was a whole different dimension. Furthermore, when Jesus came he was not 'play-acting.' He came and lived and taught and died as a real man. No mere mask for this Jesus. Surely this was and is the most exciting news on the whole planet. That God should visit his creation is awesome enough--but that he should do so as one of his creatures, well…who could have imagined it? And then what does he do? He allows himself to be killed. Who would have thought it? The gods don't die. The gods have all the power on their side. They make others die. But the true God dies--and out of his death comes the very healing force that is able to cure the ills of the world. Do you see how amazing this hymn is? It sets on their head all of the presuppositions held by the Philippians. They thought: the gods rule, not serve. The gods kill, not die. The gods remain aloof from the creation; they do not become a part of it. The gods act out of power, not out of weakness. But when Jesus came along, he showed them that they were 180 degrees wrong about the true God. We know all this, of course. But on what level of our personality do we know it? When we can burst through our assumptions and view this story with fresh eyes, then we capture again the wonder of it all. And not only this. We are changed by what we have seen. Death is swallowed up in victory; sin has lost its power. This morning we especially affirm this cornerstone of our faith in remembrance of a number of saints who have left us to be with our Lord. This morning is All Saints Sunday, the Sunday of the year that we remember all those who have died in Jesus. We remember that because their faith in the grace of God sustained them in this life they now have newness of life in Christ. In a few moments, I will be asking you to take out a Litany of Remembrance to recall once again those of our family who have gone before us this past year. But before we do, it needs to be said once again that while a large part of us still mourns the loss of our loved ones, another part of us rejoices that someday because this God of ours was willing to become one of us, because this God of ours was willing to humble himself and even die like one of us, because this God of ours wants only what is life for us, our loved ones will one day be reunited with those they love. As Paul time and time again emphasized, because Jesus lives, those who are in Jesus, will live also and that neither death nor life, nor things present or things to come will ever separate them from the love of God in Jesus Christ. (Litany of Remembering) AMEN