Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost 2006

20 Pentecost A 08
September 28, 2008

Phil 2:1-13 (NRSV)
1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 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.
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Who We Sing About

Paul is thinking of the Philippians because he himself is enduring persecution at the hands of the authorities, probably in Ephesus. You may remember that Paul’s preaching was so successful there that he undermined the local idol-manufacturing business. People stopped buying idols.
And there he was suffering, apparently pretty horribly, as death seemed a genuine possibility. Yet he seemed genuinely hopeful that he would be released, especially when he remembered his beloved congregation at Philippi, whom he had heard were enduring similar persecutions.

It’s hard to imagine isn’t it? But when people begin to really be threatened, when people begin to get arrested, beaten, thrown into jail or even killed for believing in and acting on something like the kingdom of God, it’s got to be hard on a congregation. Particularly if you throw in some families with children. Most people who have children are pretty protective of them. They might be willing to sacrifice even their most deeply cherished beliefs for the sake of children. Some Jews in Nazi Germany converted, not because they believed in Jesus, but to protect their children from the camps. Who could blame them? How many families with children do you think were at Philippi?

And so there were arguments, I’m sure.

“Why do we keep taking food to the people in the jails? It draws attention to us!”

“Why does that prophet Syntyche go into the city marketplace and carry on about Jesus? She should keep her mouth shut. She’s putting us all in danger.”

“Rome keeps us safe. All of our business opportunities are because they patrol the roads. We haven’t had any warfare near us for years. What harm is there in kissing the emperor’s statue? Why not have one up there on the altar, next to the cross?”

“None of you really are Christians anyway, because you don’t keep the Jewish law. If we just kept the purity laws, we could forget about all this political stuff.”

“Who needs law? We’re free! Why not go to the pagan dinner parties? What harm is there in it?”
And then of course there was probably some wise old guy in the church who would stand up and say something like, “Hey, we all love each other. We take care of each other. That’s all that matters. Forget about all that other stuff. We can just be quiet about all that, ignore it, and take care of each other.”

And everyone nods and thinks, “Wow, we sure are glad we elected him to be elder.”

And someone wonders what the apostle Paul would think about it. It’s like that moment in a church’s life when somebody says, “I’ve got a radical new idea. Let’s look in the bible.”

And Paul hears about all this somewhere sometime, and it’s not until he’s in a filthy, disease-ridden jail in Ephesus that he remembers what’s going on there in Philippi.

And Paul, consummate pastor that he is, begins with Philippi’s strength, right where the wise old elder left off. “OK,” he says, “you’re right of course. Love one another, take care of one another, bear with one another. It’s clear you’re doing that already, and that’s wonderful. And if you’re already doing that, let me urge you to go just a little farther.”

What if all this wonderful stuff that is going on among you is really and truly only because the Spirit of God has come among you?

And everyone goes, “Well, duh.”

“Yes, yes,” Paul says, “of course, you acknowledge the Spirit. That’s good. But when you think of God, what words come to your mind?”

And everyone looks at everyone else, and we say, “Glory.”

Lots of nods. Yes that’s it.

“Power.”

Yes, yes, of course.

“Victory.”

We like it, yes!

“Love.”

That’s the best of all!

And Paul says, “Have you thought about: ‘Obedience’, ‘Death’, ‘Lowly’, ‘Pathetic’ or ‘Shame’?”

And everyone looks at each other and thinks, “Paul is such a downer.”

And Paul says: You sing this in your hymns every week when you get together for church!
You know people believe what they sing more than what they read or hear.

I went looking for this hymn that Paul quotes here in the passage. We know it’s a hymn because in Greek it is composed of metered lines with rhyming couplets. I went looking for this hymn in our hymnbook.

Did you know there’s not even a category in our hymnbook index for “humility?” I think that’s kind of a problem.

Let’s look at the hymns that are based on Philippians 2. Open your Chalice Hymnals.

Hymn 92: “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” Well, that’s a good one. That’s the verse that’s on our bulletin cover too. Anything in here about humility? Well, I guess when we sing praise to Jesus we are kind of humbling ourselves. Anything in here about being of the same mind as Jesus? No, no, I don’t think so.

Then the index says that Hymn 107 is also from Philippians 2. We don’t know this one; it’s one of those Spanish hymns. It’s good though. Always good to praise the name of Jesus. Anything in here about being of the same mind, humbling ourselves? Hmmm.

How bout 117, also based on Philippians 2. Yep, there’s “every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Anything about why? Because he humbled himself? Because we should too?

Here’s an old chestnut, a favorite that supposed to be based on Philippians 2. 625, “Precious Name.” It has to do with the name of Jesus, how powerful it is. Why is it powerful? Anything about emptying, serving, obeying, death?

No.

Many will say, “Lord, Lord,” Jesus said, and many do. But do they know whose name they are saying?

But wait, here’s one, #208. “He Never Said a Mumblin’ Word.” Well now. Here’s a song about a humble savior. Here’s a song about suffering, bleeding and dying. It seems someone knows who they are talking about when they say the precious name.

Whatever is wonderful about Philippi, and there are many wonderful things about Philippi (there’s about a hundred of them who have come here this morning), whatever is good, whatever is attractive, there is a reason for every one of them. The reason is God. And this is the wall we run into when we start bragging on what a great bunch of people we are, or how much better we are than other congregations in the area, or how superior our village is, is that whatever is good about us God is doing and God alone.

Moreover, it is the same God who emptied himself and became a slave to God and to all of humankind in a suffering obedience that led to execution by the powers of the world. So Paul is saying to us this morning, “be very, very careful: this is God we’re talking about here.”

In our hymnal, there’s one more hymn based on Philippians 2. It’s an old hymn, and by old I don’t mean fifty years. I don’t mean a hundred years. I mean a thousand. Yes, I said a thousand year-old hymn. It’s number 127.

Creator of the stars of night, your people’s everlasting light
O Christ, redeemer of us all, we pray you, hear us when we call.

To you the deep travail was know that made the whole creation groan.
You came, O Savior, to set free your own in glorious liberty.

When this old world drew on toward night, you came, but not in splendor bright,
Not as a monarch but the child of Mary, blameless mother mild.

At your great name, O Jesus, now all knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
All things on earth with one accord, like those in heaven shall call you Lord.

Amen.