the big story

We have been studying Paul's letter to the Philippians together for quite a while now. We are taking our time with it, looking at it verse by verse. While this approach is a great way to study God's word there are some drawbacks that need addressing. For example, looking at Scripture in bits and pieces like this can result in a scenario where one can't see the forest for the trees. The forest, in this case, is the great story of what God is doing in the world through the gospel. In Jesus' life, death and resurrection, God has revealed his love to all; and, through the church's embrace of the gospel, God is bringing redemption into this world through the transformation of individual lives. Though Paul tells it in many ways, the story, that God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, is the big story in which all of the bits and pieces have their meaning. Let's look at some examples of what we are talking about.

When we come upon an exhortation by Paul to imitate him (3:17vv.) we ask ourselves, "how does the bigger story help me understand this somewhat cryptic challenge?" The answer, of course, is that the only sort of imitating of Paul that would make sense within the bigger story would have to be an imitation of Paul's love for God's forgiveness and mercy which is found in the cross of Christ. Rather, than fumbling around for ideas of what a wooden imitation of Paul would like (e.g. Paul was a preacher, we should take stock and ask how we can imitate this in our lives; or, Paul made lots of sacrifices and so should we), we are invited to imitate Paul in his neediness and vulnerability. The one who counted everything for loss that he would have - at one point - counted for gain, lives very near the foot of the cross. When we imitate his proximity to the cross of Christ we are brought to the place where we may receive the same grace and power Paul did so that God's love might come to animate us in our unique skin and in our particular life-circumstances.

Take another example: Paul urges Euodia and Syntyche to be unified (4:2). With this verse we ought to ask, "why and how?". Here, Paul's version of the "big story" peculiar to his letter to the Philippians (Philippians 2:1-11) is immensely helpful; for, when he urges Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind, he is echoing the big story. In 2:2&5 we are to have the same mind as Christ Jesus by participating in his self-giving love, regarding others as better than ourselves. Hence, Euodia and Syntyche are given a rationale and means for reconciliation: they are to show the gospel to be at work in their community by participating in the gospel as it relates to their disagreement. There is no room for private agendas in the work of the kingdom because Jesus's self-giving love is pulling us to work together, setting aside our private agendas for the common good. Euodia and Syntyche are to love one another as Jesus has loved each of them.

Summary:
For Paul, the truest and most fulfilling life consists in living in joyful response to God's redeeming work in the world.

Suffering is to be endured because our suffering does not mean that God's love for us or others will be thwarted. Rather than becoming crippled by suffering and turning inward, God's work in us through the gospel gives us the joyful strength to love and be loved in the midst of extreme adversity. (Philippians 1:12-30)

Rather than limiting our growth and development by what we can imagine we are capable of given our intellectual, religious, emotional, and moral resources,the gospel invites us to ask God to give us newness of life. Amazingly, when we quit managing our sin according to our calculus of self-justification and self-loathing, love and creativity take over where they never lived before. (3:7-14)

Finally, we are to live the whole of of our lives not in fear of failure or in absurd self-reliance but in humble joy; our future belongs to the Lord. This is what Paul means when he says that we are working out our own salvation (2:12-14). In sobering awe (my paraphrase of fear and trembling), we respond joyfully to what God is doing in the world because he is in the one at work in our midst. We are those who know where we are going because the one who has gone before us is the one who also meets us along our way (3:20-21) this is the big story.

Questions for discussion

1. How can the idea of the big story discussed above help you think about your life's circumstances when you get bogged down in the miry clay of sin, disappointment or failure?

2. What are some ways we devise to keep ourselves from living in joyful response to the big story? What are some lies that we tell ourselves that keep us away from a joyful response to God's work in the world? Your answer will vary according to individual circumstances, of course, and if you are doing this in a group discussion think about what is appropriate to share for the whole group.

3. When suffering and adversity come upon you how do you respond? Sometimes, suffering and adversity call into question in our hearts and minds whether there is a big story at all. What do you do when you feel yourself questioning at that level?