Grace to you and peace from God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s good to be back. Although it’s nice to be away, it’s always good to be back and get back into a regular routine, isn’t it?
I heard that I kind of messed up last week. That I gave Pastor Funk the wrong scripture lesson to preach on. So, my apologies for that. But, in a way, it may be a positive thing. You heard the story of Peter’s vision and of his experience with Cornelius, the first Gentile converted into the early church. It was Peter’s vision and this incident that was the beginning of the sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ outside the Jewish community. This incident led to Paul’s commissioning to go into the broader world--the broader Gentile world.
The lesson you should have heard last week was from the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Now, if you recall, we heard about the church at Philippi a few weeks ago. It’s first convert was Lydia, a wealthy woman who sold purple cloth and who also opened up her home to Paul and Silas. We know, from this letter, that Paul had very warm feelings toward this congregation. This wasn’t always so with Paul and his churches. When he wrote the letter to the Galatian church, for example, he was very angry.
But, this wasn’t the case with the Philippians. We know that Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison. In the ancient world, prison wasn’t like it is in our world. If you were imprisoned, you had no food or rations unless people from the outside brought them to you. We know that the church in Philippians sent him food and other gifts in prison. They also sent a member to minister to Paul’s needs and to act as a messenger. A man named Epaphroditus, who we read about in the second half of chapter 2.
So Paul deeply loved this congregation. And part of his reason for writing to them was to express his gratitude, plus to give an update on what was happening to him. But, there was another reason that Paul was writing to them. There was conflict happening in the young church, growing divisions. The fellowship of the Philippi church was becoming fractured, not by doctrinal factors, but by personal differences. Differences that arose out of rivalries, out of selfishness, out of vanity, out of animosity.
This is the primary reason that Paul is writing them--to help them find the way to overcome their divisions. How does he do it? He points them back to Jesus. To the divine becoming human. To a God who is downwardly mobile. To a God who empties Godself by taking on the form of a slave.
In our 21st century sensibilities, we don’t fully understand the counter-cultural aspect of what this meant to the ancient world. In that culture, a God who was a “self-demoting” God was not a God who was useful for human life. It was one thing for Zeus to become human for a day to play tricks on people, but it was a whole other thing for the God of the universe to come down and take on the form of a slave.
Who needs a God like that? This doesn’t sound like a God who is winner. Like a mighty deity who comes to the aid of powerless humans. Like the “kick-butt-and-take-names” kind of God that we would want on our side. Not some “loser God.” Because in the Roman Empire, dominance and victory and upward mobility were a sign of power and authority. Funny, how that hasn’t changed much, has it?
Yet, Jesus empties himself. Becomes a servant. Fully inhabits humanity. Fully incorporates human life into divine life. Not just for a day, but for a lifetime, during which he submits to all of the indignities and joys of human life, including death. Death on the cross.
It is in Jesus that we witness the full revealing of who God is. A God who doesn’t withhold love until we come up to God’s level, but a God who stoops to our level. And who scoops us up in all our messiness and who makes us part of God’s life, of the Triune life. A life where we are healed and saved.
This is the God Paul is writing about to the church in conflict in Philippians. It’s the God Paul is writing to us about, too.
We live in a divided world. We have begun to sort ourselves into our own little, like-minded groups. Where the news we listen to or the conversation we engage in reinforces our divisions. Conservative versus liberal. Rich versus poor. Gay versus straight. Male versus female. Black versus white.
It has worked its way into the church, too. Where things that are said become politicized. Where differences become sources of division. Where we forget who we are as people of God. People of a downwardly-mobile God.
Paul reminds the Philippians and us of his vision for a counter-cultural church. An odd assortment of people. A people who can love each other even though we might not agree. Where we are unified even though we aren’t uniform. Where we agree upon the goal even though we might not always agree on how to best achieve those goals. Because we understand that our unity is in Christ. That even though God has created each one of us to be unique and distinct individuals, we are unified in Christ.
This is the most profound and counter-cultural message for us to proclaim to the world. It is the most profound and counter-cultural way for us to live. With the “same mind that was in Christ Jesus.” Humble. Servant-like.
This past week, the church council approved an updated statement on behalf of our congregation--a statement that more fully explains what it means to be a “Reconciling in Christ” congregation, something this congregation has been from its very beginning 20 years ago. Something that, in that time, was very counter-cultural. Something that continues to be counter-cultural.
You have a copy of it in your worship folder today. I’d invite you to locate it. And, then, let’s read it together:
As a community of the people of God,
we are called to minister to all people of our world,
knowing that the world is often an unloving place
and can be a place of alienation and brokenness.
Christ calls us to reconciliation and wholeness
and challenges us through the Gospel
to be agents of healing.
We, at Grace & Glory, are a
Reconciling in Christ congregation.
This means that we welcome all
who are seeking God’s love and grace.
Therefore, we affirm and welcome all,
regardless of age, race or culture,
sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression or relationship status.
We also affirm and welcome all
without regard to addictions,
physical or mental health issues,
imprisonment, socio-economic circumstances,
or anything else that may divide us.
Our unity is in Christ.
Amen.
Preached May 13, 2018, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Easter 7
Readings: Luke 6:43-45, Philippians 2:1-13
No comments:
Post a Comment