NL 439: The Christ Hymn
Philippians 2:1-13
May 29, 2022
Philippians 2:1-13
Initial Thoughts
Another passage often taken out of the context of the preceding verses (I [Eric] am often guilty of this:
Philippians 1:27-30 (NRSV) Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well— since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Paul is responding to a problem - division within the church
Bible Study
For the sake of the community
“You are standing first in one spirit”
“Be of the same mind”, “having the same love”, “being in full accord”, “of one mind”
Not a mindless conformity or blind faith. One mind “phroneo suggests one having a certain attitude based on careful consideration that is a combination of intellectual and affective activity.” Monya A. Stubbs, “Philippians”, True to Our Native Land, p. 370.
Not your own interests, but the interests of others
This is what it means to tbe a slave to Christ- it isn’t about you, it’s about what Christ is doing through you.
Everything is given for the sake of the greater community
Dismantles our individualistic notions of a separate and personal salvation and ties our salvation to a greater community
Not a denial of the self, but an acknowledgement of the self as an inseparable, integrated part of the “we”, the “us”, the community.
Root of social justice and social gospel
Ubuntu philosophy, “I am, because we are”
'A person is a person through other people' strikes an affirmation of one’s humanity through recognition of an ‘other’ in his or her uniqueness and difference. It is a demand for a creative intersubjective formation in which the ‘other’ becomes a mirror (but only a mirror) for my subjectivity. This idealism suggests to us that humanity is not embedded in my person solely as an individual; my humanity is co-substantively bestowed upon the other and me. Humanity is a quality we owe to each other. We create each other and need to sustain this otherness creation. And if we belong to each other, we participate in our creations: we are because you are, and since you are, definitely I am. The ‘I am’ is not a rigid subject, but a dynamic self-constitution dependent on this otherness creation of relation and distance”. Eze, Michael Onyebuchi (2010). Intellectual history in contemporary South Africa. Palgrave Macmillan.
“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.” Desmond Tutu
“A traveler through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food and attend him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?” Nelson Mandela
Kenosis - the Self emptying of Jesus in v. 7
Christ as Exemplar
What does it mean to limit our power or privilege for the sake of the greater community?
We must first be aware of our power and privilege- Jesus was not ignorant of his divinity, but still chose to limit himself, to die on the cross instead of violently resisting.
Jesus showed a way of obedience and forgiveness, even unto death on the cross, not because he had to, but because he chose to in order to show the way of true forgiveness and non-violent love (even for one’s enemies)
We humble ourselves, we empty ourselves because we know that we cannot succeed unless all succeed
“In a real sense all life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be...This is the inter-related structure of reality.” MLK Jr. Letter from a Birmingham Jail
To be Christ-like, to impersonate Christ is to have an extroverted view of creation, church and self.
Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling
Salvation is offered, eternal life- living fully as God intended- is offered to us, but we have to live and love into it.
We have to allow God to work in and through us
Limiting and humbling ourselves allows God to work through us and others in ways we cannot imagine
God is at work in “you”- the you in plural. God is at work in the community
Take risk, be bold in love, be extravagant in forgiveness, take great leaps of faith in one another.
Thoughts and Questions
Fear and Trembling - this is not easy. Imitating Christ means surrendering control to God and to others. Western culture hates surrendering control to anyone.
Having an extroverted worldview does not mean ignoring or denying your own needs. Rather it is the acknowledgement that our needs can only be met within a greater community. I cannot be unless we are.
How can we imitate Christ? Nonviolently speaking truth to power, seeing the humanity (and divinity?) in our enemies, focusing on the greater community. My life only matters because black lives matter.
Opening music: Misirlou, One Man 90 Instruments by Joe Penna/MysteryGuitarMan at MIM
Closing Song by Bryan Odeen