Sermon for October 28, 2007

We were visiting with our grandsons a few weeks ago and I asked our eldest, our first grader, what he had learned in school the past week. He thought for a moment and then said, “nothing!” Now there could be some truth to his statement. His parents have read to him every day since he was born and he reads well beyond the first grade level. This summer he attended a science camp, a cooking camp, an Egyptian culture camp and an astrology camp. He has yet to be challenged by first grade, they haven't caught up to him yet.

Paul is asking about the same question of us and of the Church in Philippi. What have you learned? I like the way Eugene Peterson translates the first few verses of this second chapter of Philippians: “If you have gotten anything 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 heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with one another, 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 your self aside and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget your self long enough to lend a helping hand.

Think of your self the same way Christ thought of himself.”

Paul says, if you have learned anything you can make my joy complete if you follow what I have taught you, what you should have learned from me. Now what should they have learned? This is what we will examine in the next few minutes, what makes Paul's joy complete.

They need to be of the same mind. WOW! Nothing like starting at the top and working down. Can you hear someone asking, “Paul, do you know who we are?” They are a multi-cultural, diverse congregation, as were most of the congregations at that time. They had some of Jewish background and some of Greek background. Some who were more familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures while others were more familiar with the Greek philosophers. And we won't even get into social status differences or gender issues. The process to get along and agree takes work and then more work.

If you do not know it, the Evergreen Association, of which we are a member, does all its decision making by consensus. No decisions are implemented until a consensus is reached. At our annual session a few weeks ago there was an issue which took some time to reach a consensus on. We seemed to be going in circles and not reaching any type of consensus except that we had some disagreement. One could almost hear people's minds, “Let's just vote on it and get it over with.” But we did not vote. We listened, listened some more and then, after struggling with the issue, reached a consensus that all could agree on. It was not easy but it was accomplished. Paul writes that his joy is complete because the congregation at Philippi has learned to work, agree together.

The second emphasis of Paul is that they have the same love. Some translations say, “love one another” but the better translation is that they have the same love. This love is that the Gospel of Christ go forward. The good news is proclaimed and lives are changed because of the Gospel. There is a need to look beyond self and look forward to the good of others. There are several ways to get to the same destination and this is lived out in daily living. We need to rejoice in the ministries that others have been called to and not expect everyone to do everything the same way. The crucial element is the goal before us – that we have the same love, Christ.

Paul says that we are to let the Spirit of Christ rule in all things. I have just read the book, The Year of Living Biblically. A young Jewish (though not practicing) man decides that he needs to discover what it means to live Biblically and this book traces his success or lack of it over a full year. He discovers that it is impossible to keep the whole Law. What laws are more important than others or do they all carry equal weight? He is a workaholic and keeping the Sabbath is difficult for him. Is it okay to read emails on the Sabbath? Some say no. Others say that it is okay to read them but you can't respond to them. He concludes that we need to look at the whole picture rather than just a part of the snapshot. Paul would say that we need to let Christ's love become our love and we should do things in the spirit of that love.

Then Paul says that when we have conquered these we must move on to be more concerned about others than we are about ourselves. We live in a “me first” world. We want to know what is in things for us. I am sure that as Mike seeks votes from people around the region people often ask him, “What will they get out of it if he is elected.” They are not concerned how he will represent them but rather what they might get out of it. We live in a day of individualism. A recent book highlighting this is Bowling Alone. Here the author states that more and more people are bowling today, but bowling leagues are dying. People prefer to bowl alone.

Out of the ashes of the fires in Southern California communities are being born. People who before the fires did not know their neighbors are now discovering who their neighbors are as they seek to rebuild their communities. We have a friend who for a number of years ministered in a “dysfunctional” community. People would not talk to one another because of arguments their grandparents had! This spilled over into the Church. While he was there a major flood shattered the community. Suddenly enemies were working together, arm in arm to save each other's homes, etc. There emerged a new sense of community as they worked together. It is tragic that it often takes such tragedies to build true communities.

Paul reminds us that we are in this together and being in it together means letting self go and seeking the best for others. Virginia Satir in her book, Peoplemaking, has a wonderful exercise for groups. She forms the group into a circle and then takes a ball of string and tosses it back and forth through the group. Once you catch the ball you have to hold on to the string while tossing it across the group to another person. Soon you have wonderful “string art” and everyone is connected together. Then she asks one of the group to get up and get her a glass of water, but they cannot let go of the string!

Now, I can hear the readers of this letter in Philippi, and maybe even some of you saying: “Paul, this is a good idea but you don't have to live with _______.” Paul, expecting such a response, retorts: “Our guide is Jesus, who though he was God, humbled himself and become a man.” In a few weeks we will celebrate again Advent/Christmas—our reminder of the Incarnation, Christ becoming as we are. We will be reminded that Christ did not demand equality but set aside the kingly role that he might understand us, in our humanity, more fully. He would know pain, sorrow, the hurts of living, along with the joys and celebrations. He would become as we are and yet remain without sin. He would be obedient even to the cross.

Because of this he would be raised to the right hand of God and in doing so would stand in our stead before God. By giving of himself he would give to us the complete joy of God's love and forgiveness. He would become our example of what it means to live a life devoted to others and in doing so would find the complete joy of faith, hope and love.

We have our example, Christ.

Live for community rather than for individual
Love in an age of hate
Share in an age of selfishness
Hope in an age of hopelessness

We are called to do what we can, not what we can't. You have all heard the fable of the young boy who is walking the beach after a major storm. The storm has tossed thousands of starfish up on the sand and they lie, dying, out of the water. He slowly picks up the starfish, one at a time and tosses it back into the water. As he is doing this a man comes by and tells him that his work is futile. After all there are thousands of starfish, what difference can he make? He simply bends down, lifts another starfish and tosses it back into the deep water and says, “It made a difference to that one.”

Hear again Paul's words: “If you have gotten anything 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 heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with one another, 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 your self aside and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget your self long enough to lend a helping hand.

Think of your self the same way Christ thought of himself.”


First Baptist Church 22800 56th Ave. W. Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043-3922	(425) 778-2046 firstbap@FirstBaptist-MtlkTerr.org	©2004-2007 Last Modified 7 November 2007	Home Page