Text: Philippians 2:1-13
Focus: the sacrifice of Christ
Function: to help us appreciate World Wide Communion Sunday
1-4If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
12-13What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
I love this passage, It gives us a perspective on how we are to live our lives. Which is like Jesus did, who lived his life with the purpose of caring for and loving others.
Today is World Wide Communion Sunday and I chose this passage out of our lectionary because it deals with the community of believers worldwide.
Because of Christ and his mission of salvation for us, we share with believers across the planet a memorial this morning to the sacrifice of Christ.
Jesus said, “Do this to remember me.”
Remember him when we live our lives and we have to make a choice about sacrificing our pride, ego, money or time to forgive others and or care for the least of these.
At least, that is one of the points that he is making in this passage. He says, “Think of yourselves the way Christ thought of himself…”
And there are a lot of ways to consider how Jesus thought of himself, but he emphasizes the fact that Jesus came and lived as a servant for others.
Think of yourselves in the same way.
My theology professor said at the core of all sin is selfishness.
When we take on the attitude of Christ, the attitude of someone who has come to serve rather than to serve, the problem of selfishness seems to diminish.
Of course, all of this, the passage says is done in the power of God, or, as our translator put it, “In God’s energy.”
If we rely on our own power, we are tempted to be selfish over loving others. The passage promises that the Spirit of God is inside of us to empower us to live this kind of sacrificial life.
Let the Spirit of God lead and control your life.
I do that through prayer, bible study and acts of charity. As we perform Christian action, the bible says that the Spirit of God flows out our bellies like rivers of living water.
Baking cookies for Kairos is a great example of this. As we gather together, we are in that beloved community that cares for each other and that community in turn reaches out collectively in care for others. It is a pattern repeated often in scripture.
How do we clothe ourselves with Christ? How do we take on that nature?
Apparently it is a decision we make. It is a choice, we are faced with every time that selfish nature raises its ugly head. We choose to be like Jesus.
Who, the passage says, made an huge choice. He was God and he gave up the privileges of being Deity to lower himself into mere human form. He lowered himself to be with us.
We can lower ourselves as well to be with those that society calls outcasts. I think one of my favorite parts about giving my dollar bills to the homeless who are begging on the street corners, after the proverbial “God bless you,” which I know God does because those who give to the poor lend to the Lord, is talking with them human to human.
We have a second until the traffic light changes, but I can ask them about the weather, or talk about my car, or anything to humanize them so that they know that I see the Christ that is inside of them. Remember, when we meet them, we are meeting the Christ. It changes our perspective on how we treat them.
The passage emphasizes that Jesus gave up his privilege as deity to become human and show us the way. He lowered himself and calls us to the same.
And the result of that action brought salvation to the entire world.
There is a promise, or a prophecy in this passage that says that eventually, I believe at the judgment seat of Christ, every single knee shall bow and every single tongue shall confess Jesus is Lord.
That is what the text says. In the Greek, it implies that they will do it willingly.
This is an extreme message that upsets those who would add to grace their own conditions. I quoted this scripture at a District meeting and got accused of being a universalist and banned from preaching in of the churches in the district. But the thing is, I am the one being true to scripture.
I, like Alexander Mack, the founder of the Church of the Brethren, believe in this passage and its promise of a universal restoration which is the faith empowered in everyone without force.
Perhaps at the Judgment seat of Christ, Jesus’s incredible love and sacrifice will overwhelm those who did not choose Jesus while living here on earth. And they too, will join the family of God.
It makes sense if you believe that there is no other way to God. At the end, when all souls are gathered on the glassy sea, if there really is no other option for salvation, then trusting Jesus will be so obvious that all will accept. There would be no other choice. And Jesus mission to seek and save the lost will be fulfilled.
God’s mercy and grace always triumphs over judgment.
And Jesus came to break down the barriers between God and human and human with human. Jesus came to reconcile and as we partake together of this bread and cup communion, let us rejoice that we are one with believers in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Iran, Iraq, every nation we are at peace with and every nation on our bad list, all believers everywhere are part of a kingdom that supersedes the kingdoms of men.
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