Isaiah 64:
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 2as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. 5You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.
6We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.
Advent Season is the time of the year that we join millions of Christians all over the world in a time of waiting and watching. During this time we ask God to sanctify and stimulate our imagination so that we may join our hearts and minds to the hearts and minds of God's people who were awaiting the first advent of Jesus. In so doing, we are reminded of many important truths. Let's consider one of them here. The darkness of the world requires God's redemption, God's work, God's solution - not a solution of human making. We pick up this thought from the reading of Isaiah this Sunday. The prophet cries out for God to keep his promise to bring redemption to the world, confessing that only the God of Israel can do such a thing ("No ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait on him"). This language is picked up by Saint Paul and built upon when he talks to the Corinthians about the uniqueness of the gospel of the cross of Christ in 1 Corinthians 2:9 (No eye has seen or ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him), the point in Corinthians being that the cross of Christ is unique and basic to the heart of what God is doing to bring salvation to his people. This truth is foundational to our spiritual formation as Christians but we easily forget its importance. All too often we settle for a diminished experience of God's love because we have failed to ask him to open our hearts more fully to what he and he alone can do - transform us so that we are more fully capable of receiving his love, returning it to him, and more fully giving and receiving love in our relationships with others. The time of advent invites us to confess to God that we are not yet who we should be and that we will not flourish as well as we are intended to without the deep work of his spirit in us. So, we are to cry out with the prophet for God to tear open the heavens, come down to us, and do what only he can do in our hearts.
Questions for discussion:
1. Do you take opportunities during Advent Season or other times to ask God to work more deeply in your heart to put more of his love in you? Can you think of patterns of thinking and living of which you need to repent because they stand in your way of participating more fully in God's love and God's life?
2. Advent season reminds us pointedly that God's light and God's light alone is what is required to dispel the darkness in this world. How do you and I apply this imaginatively to the darkness that still lurks in our hearts? Here is one possible answer: there are many times in our lives when we struggle silently with what we know deep down are thoughts and inclinations that draw us away from the love of God. In some instances, these thoughts and inclinations have been lurking so long that they have taken up squatter's rights and we barely notice them. Asking God to shine his light on these intruders and move us away from them and towards a deeper experience of his love is one way to think imaginatively about applying what we confess to be true: that God's light and God's light alone is what is required...... can you think of other applications?
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
the church and culture/the church and mission
As Paul wrote to the Philippians, the relationship between the church and its social/cultural setting was never far from his mind, as he thought about what this young church needed to hear. Being fairly confident that this community of faith would likely come under the same persecution from Rome that he was experiencing personally (you recall that he wrote this letter from prison where he was jailed because of his faith) he is at great pains to remind the Philippians of their place as God's people in God's world. They are not to retreat into a cocoon. Instead they are to think carefully and discerningly about their relationship and interactions with the culture and society into which they were born and in which they are now born anew. Let's review a few of these instances:
1. Earlier, in 2:15, Paul characterized the mission of the Philippian church as those who shine like bright lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. The calling of God's people to reflect his gospel in word and deed is often characterized as being a light to the world (e.g. Matthew 5:14) and in Philippians Paul's intent in invoking this metaphor seems to be one of positive challenge. Suffering and persecution will come but he is hopeful that the Christians at Philippi will not yield to the temptation to succumb to despair and cynicism, but instead will continue to shine forth as bright lights to those who have not yet come to know God's love through faith in Christ. (For a more detailed discussion of this see the Homily Recap from (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)
2. In 1:27-29 we have another example of Paul encouraging the Philippians to stay on mission in the face of suffering. 1:27 could be translated this way: “Let your civic conduct (politeuesthe) be marked by your commitment to the gospel of Christ” (translation from Jeph Holloway, Cross and Community: Philippians as Pauline Political Discourse, Christian Ethics Today, Issue 42). Moreover, the Philippians, in the face of suffering, are to in no way "be intimidated" or diverted from their mission, as they are encouraged (v29) to view the story of their lives as belonging to the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Jesus lived to bring the love of God to others and did not allow suffering to divert him from the mission of God; the Philippians Christians belong to that story, hence they are not only those who believe in Jesus but suffer with him. Fred Craddock's words are helpful: "They cannot assume that outside opposition in and of itself will create internal unity. Even if it did it would be a unity defined by the opposition. Therefore the church must struggle together for the 'faith of the gospel'. If they cease to act and simply react, then it is no longer the gospel but the culture that gives the church its identity (From Philippians Commentary, Interpretation Series)". (For a more detailed discussion see the Homily Recap from Monday, July 6, 2009.)
Finally, in the remarks before us this week (4:8-9) we have yet another example of Paul's concern that God's people not imagine that their loyalty to Jesus should be construed as a call to escape from a dynamic involvement in their social/cultural setting. Our first clue that Paul has this in mind comes from the list of virtues he mentions. The list, what it covers, the way it is written, its grammar and its formatting all point to the fact that he is borrowing his language and categories from the Graeco-Roman world of ethical discourse, teachings on the good life. It was common in the great philosophers of Greek and Rome to talk about what is honorable, just, pure, etc. So, Paul is saying, understand your identity as a Christian not as a call to escape from the world but as a way to engage constructively the honorable, the just, the commendable wherever one finds it. As Christians, we should be eager to partner with those outside of the church to make contributions to the common good in the arenas of social justice, works of mercy, the arts, etc. It is unattractive when Christians make it seem that they believe that only the Christians are making important contributions to the world.
With regard to the relationship between church and culture, I have found N.T. Wright's remarks to be helpful:
'From the beginning no serious Christian has been able to say ‘this is my culture, so I must adapt the gospel to fit within it’, just as no serious Christian has been able to say ‘this is my surrounding culture, so I must oppose it tooth and nail’. Christians are neither chameleons, changing colour to suit their surroundings, nor rhinoceroses, ready to charge at anything in sight. There is no straightforward transference between any item of ordinary culture and the gospel, since all has been distorted by evil; but likewise there is nothing so twisted that it cannot be redeemed, and nothing evil in itself. The Christian is thus committed, precisely as a careful reader of scripture, to a nuanced reading of culture and a nuanced understanding of the response of the gospel to different elements of culture. You can see this in Philippians, where Paul is clear that as a Christian you must live your public life in a manner worthy of the gospel, and that whatever is pure, lovely and of good report must be celebrated – but also that Jesus is Lord while Caesar isn’t, and that we are commanded to shine like lights in a dark world. There are no short cuts here, no easy answers. Prayer, scripture and complex negotiation are the order of the day."N.T. Wright
Questions for discussion:
1. When are you tempted to be a chameleon (see above)? What makes you susceptible to this temptation? How can you guard against it?
2. When are you tempted to be a rhinoceros (see above)? What make sou susceptible to this temptation? How can you guard against this?
3. Can you give a good example of what it looks like to constructively engage the culture as a Christian or as the church?
1. Earlier, in 2:15, Paul characterized the mission of the Philippian church as those who shine like bright lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. The calling of God's people to reflect his gospel in word and deed is often characterized as being a light to the world (e.g. Matthew 5:14) and in Philippians Paul's intent in invoking this metaphor seems to be one of positive challenge. Suffering and persecution will come but he is hopeful that the Christians at Philippi will not yield to the temptation to succumb to despair and cynicism, but instead will continue to shine forth as bright lights to those who have not yet come to know God's love through faith in Christ. (For a more detailed discussion of this see the Homily Recap from (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)
2. In 1:27-29 we have another example of Paul encouraging the Philippians to stay on mission in the face of suffering. 1:27 could be translated this way: “Let your civic conduct (politeuesthe) be marked by your commitment to the gospel of Christ” (translation from Jeph Holloway, Cross and Community: Philippians as Pauline Political Discourse, Christian Ethics Today, Issue 42). Moreover, the Philippians, in the face of suffering, are to in no way "be intimidated" or diverted from their mission, as they are encouraged (v29) to view the story of their lives as belonging to the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Jesus lived to bring the love of God to others and did not allow suffering to divert him from the mission of God; the Philippians Christians belong to that story, hence they are not only those who believe in Jesus but suffer with him. Fred Craddock's words are helpful: "They cannot assume that outside opposition in and of itself will create internal unity. Even if it did it would be a unity defined by the opposition. Therefore the church must struggle together for the 'faith of the gospel'. If they cease to act and simply react, then it is no longer the gospel but the culture that gives the church its identity (From Philippians Commentary, Interpretation Series)". (For a more detailed discussion see the Homily Recap from Monday, July 6, 2009.)
Finally, in the remarks before us this week (4:8-9) we have yet another example of Paul's concern that God's people not imagine that their loyalty to Jesus should be construed as a call to escape from a dynamic involvement in their social/cultural setting. Our first clue that Paul has this in mind comes from the list of virtues he mentions. The list, what it covers, the way it is written, its grammar and its formatting all point to the fact that he is borrowing his language and categories from the Graeco-Roman world of ethical discourse, teachings on the good life. It was common in the great philosophers of Greek and Rome to talk about what is honorable, just, pure, etc. So, Paul is saying, understand your identity as a Christian not as a call to escape from the world but as a way to engage constructively the honorable, the just, the commendable wherever one finds it. As Christians, we should be eager to partner with those outside of the church to make contributions to the common good in the arenas of social justice, works of mercy, the arts, etc. It is unattractive when Christians make it seem that they believe that only the Christians are making important contributions to the world.
With regard to the relationship between church and culture, I have found N.T. Wright's remarks to be helpful:
'From the beginning no serious Christian has been able to say ‘this is my culture, so I must adapt the gospel to fit within it’, just as no serious Christian has been able to say ‘this is my surrounding culture, so I must oppose it tooth and nail’. Christians are neither chameleons, changing colour to suit their surroundings, nor rhinoceroses, ready to charge at anything in sight. There is no straightforward transference between any item of ordinary culture and the gospel, since all has been distorted by evil; but likewise there is nothing so twisted that it cannot be redeemed, and nothing evil in itself. The Christian is thus committed, precisely as a careful reader of scripture, to a nuanced reading of culture and a nuanced understanding of the response of the gospel to different elements of culture. You can see this in Philippians, where Paul is clear that as a Christian you must live your public life in a manner worthy of the gospel, and that whatever is pure, lovely and of good report must be celebrated – but also that Jesus is Lord while Caesar isn’t, and that we are commanded to shine like lights in a dark world. There are no short cuts here, no easy answers. Prayer, scripture and complex negotiation are the order of the day."N.T. Wright
Questions for discussion:
1. When are you tempted to be a chameleon (see above)? What makes you susceptible to this temptation? How can you guard against it?
2. When are you tempted to be a rhinoceros (see above)? What make sou susceptible to this temptation? How can you guard against this?
3. Can you give a good example of what it looks like to constructively engage the culture as a Christian or as the church?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
when Peace=Security and Security becomes an Idol
I recently heard Tim Keller, the Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, speak about his new book, Counterfeit Gods. In the book he helps his readers understand that at the heart of the human condition is a sinful tendency to make idols out of just about anything. In his book he taps a rich vein of contemplative theologians within our Christian tradition as he explores our susceptibility to place the weight of the affections of our heart on everything from sexual gratification to the addiction of pleasing people. As I heard him talk and reflected on the passage we are looking at Philippians right now I thought about how many of us are tempted to make security and safety into an idol. In Philippians 4, Paul promises that the Christian who relies upon the Lord in prayer will be guarded by the peace of God. The word which is often translated, "guard", is a Greek word commonly used in military contexts, invoking an image that God's peace would be, for the Philippians Christians, a garrison around them. But he is telling them this as he is in prison and even as he is warning them that the same persecution will come to them. So, the question arises naturally, what is the peace of God that is promised? We talked about this some last week (for that discussion please consult the previous homily recap) but for the sake of continuity I include here the last paragraph from that recap:
"Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption."
So, the peace of God that affects us is not the absence of pain, fear, suffering, and even persecution. Neither is the experience of God's peace a stoic face-down of pain. Rather, the peace of God is the presence of Jesus in the midst of fear, suffering, and adversity. But it is not a static experience of Jesus' presence that Paul has in mind, for the actions and movements of the Philippian Christians are in view: "let your gentleness be evident to all". It is fair to say that Paul is concerned that the Philippian church not let their fear and anxiety eclipse their mission to give and receive Christ's love to one another and to those outside of their Christian community. So, the garrison of Christ's peace which will guard them does not guard them so that they may be safe from harm and danger, but their confidence in their ultimate destiny in Christ frees them to continue to give an receive love even in terrible times.
As Christian people in Chicago today our fears and anxieties are different in many ways from the church to which Paul wrote this letter. Each of us is responsible to hear those edifying words and think imaginatively and prayerfully about how they apply to our own circumstances.
In instances of anxiety and fear over loss of jobs and financial security, health, relationship struggles, etc. we must be careful to be honest about our fears and sadness and not pretend that the peace of God and the hope of the resurrection keep us from sadness. Moreover, as a Christian community we must be the sort of community which encourages honesty over fears and struggles and offers sympathy and empathy to those who struggle. Not allowing these fears to eclipse our mission to love and be loved as Christ has loved us does not come at the price of denying our frailty and confusion. I think what is to be prayed for and striven towards is a dynamic equilibrium (dynamic equilibrium, I think comes from C.F.D. Moule and is not original with me) wherein we grieve "but not as those who grieve without hope"; we grieve but we also have joy in the midst of the grief. We grieve but we still love and receive love.
In instances where we think of God's rule protecting us from harm we need to remember that we can turn security into an idol. Recently Miroslav Volf said the following at a lecture series at Yale's Center for Faith and Culture - the title of the series was "Are we Safe Yet?". One purpose of the series was to help Christians in the post 9/11 world think about how to tell when an obsession with security violates a gospel motivated affirmation of regarding a certain degree of vulnerability as quintessential to what it means to be human. Here is Volf: "vulnerability is obviously the reason why we pursue security. If we were not vulnerable, the question of security would never arise. I’m a theologian, and presumably I can say with some degree of confidence that God needs no security force to protect God’s throne. God is by definition inviolable. Human beings are not by definition inviolable. We need to have our existence and our well being secured. That is why those lights flash on the buses when kids get on and off of them; that’s why we lock our homes at night and sometimes also during the day; that’s why we have a police force, and so on. But vulnerability also touches on security in another way: human vulnerability places a limit on the pursuit of security. It determines in part, or at least shapes in part, the nature of what it means to be secure. For vulnerability is fundamental to who we are as human beings. To be inviolable is to be divine; to be human is to be, and I think is always to remain, vulnerable. You can almost put it this way, that vulnerability is the essential condition of human life. No vulnerability, no human life."
Now, many of you reading this will immediately evaluate some or all of what Volf says here in light of your political theory. Some of you will think he is right on, others will think he is not being pacifistic enough, while others of you will find the direction he is taking to be naive (it would be hard, though, to call him naive since he has served in the military in the former Yugoslavia, was persecuted for his faith under the communist regime, and witnessed the ethnic cleansing undertaken in the war Serbian/Croatian war). At any rate, I think that all of us, regardless of our view of America's place in the world around these issues of "security", need to be careful to remember that, as Christians, we confess that the mission of the church cannot be ultimately defined by a quest to be secure. It is rather the case that to follow Jesus is to embrace always a certain degree of vulnerability.
Finally, we talked on Sunday about how many of us can make being safe and secure against potential hurt into an idol. C.S. Lewis speaks chillingly about this in the Four Loves:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.” - C.S. Lewis
Questions for discussion:
1. What does it look like to have joy in the midst of suffering? Can one be sad and joyful at the same time?
2. A friend comes to you and says: "I want to move out of the city because I don't feel safe here anymore. Can you help me think through whether this is consistent with the gospel?"
How would you help your friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
3. Another friend comes to you and says: "I am not going to open myself up to anyone again after my last relationship ended the way it did. Am I justified in doing this?" How would you help this friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
4. Another friend comes up to you and says: "I just spoke with Jezebel and she told me that I should get over being sad and walk in the peace of Christ. She said my faith was weak, but I am still sad in the wake of my family's recent tragedy. I want to have joy, what does that look like?" What would you say to this friend?
5. How can you tell if you have made security into an idol?
"Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption."
So, the peace of God that affects us is not the absence of pain, fear, suffering, and even persecution. Neither is the experience of God's peace a stoic face-down of pain. Rather, the peace of God is the presence of Jesus in the midst of fear, suffering, and adversity. But it is not a static experience of Jesus' presence that Paul has in mind, for the actions and movements of the Philippian Christians are in view: "let your gentleness be evident to all". It is fair to say that Paul is concerned that the Philippian church not let their fear and anxiety eclipse their mission to give and receive Christ's love to one another and to those outside of their Christian community. So, the garrison of Christ's peace which will guard them does not guard them so that they may be safe from harm and danger, but their confidence in their ultimate destiny in Christ frees them to continue to give an receive love even in terrible times.
As Christian people in Chicago today our fears and anxieties are different in many ways from the church to which Paul wrote this letter. Each of us is responsible to hear those edifying words and think imaginatively and prayerfully about how they apply to our own circumstances.
In instances of anxiety and fear over loss of jobs and financial security, health, relationship struggles, etc. we must be careful to be honest about our fears and sadness and not pretend that the peace of God and the hope of the resurrection keep us from sadness. Moreover, as a Christian community we must be the sort of community which encourages honesty over fears and struggles and offers sympathy and empathy to those who struggle. Not allowing these fears to eclipse our mission to love and be loved as Christ has loved us does not come at the price of denying our frailty and confusion. I think what is to be prayed for and striven towards is a dynamic equilibrium (dynamic equilibrium, I think comes from C.F.D. Moule and is not original with me) wherein we grieve "but not as those who grieve without hope"; we grieve but we also have joy in the midst of the grief. We grieve but we still love and receive love.
In instances where we think of God's rule protecting us from harm we need to remember that we can turn security into an idol. Recently Miroslav Volf said the following at a lecture series at Yale's Center for Faith and Culture - the title of the series was "Are we Safe Yet?". One purpose of the series was to help Christians in the post 9/11 world think about how to tell when an obsession with security violates a gospel motivated affirmation of regarding a certain degree of vulnerability as quintessential to what it means to be human. Here is Volf: "vulnerability is obviously the reason why we pursue security. If we were not vulnerable, the question of security would never arise. I’m a theologian, and presumably I can say with some degree of confidence that God needs no security force to protect God’s throne. God is by definition inviolable. Human beings are not by definition inviolable. We need to have our existence and our well being secured. That is why those lights flash on the buses when kids get on and off of them; that’s why we lock our homes at night and sometimes also during the day; that’s why we have a police force, and so on. But vulnerability also touches on security in another way: human vulnerability places a limit on the pursuit of security. It determines in part, or at least shapes in part, the nature of what it means to be secure. For vulnerability is fundamental to who we are as human beings. To be inviolable is to be divine; to be human is to be, and I think is always to remain, vulnerable. You can almost put it this way, that vulnerability is the essential condition of human life. No vulnerability, no human life."
Now, many of you reading this will immediately evaluate some or all of what Volf says here in light of your political theory. Some of you will think he is right on, others will think he is not being pacifistic enough, while others of you will find the direction he is taking to be naive (it would be hard, though, to call him naive since he has served in the military in the former Yugoslavia, was persecuted for his faith under the communist regime, and witnessed the ethnic cleansing undertaken in the war Serbian/Croatian war). At any rate, I think that all of us, regardless of our view of America's place in the world around these issues of "security", need to be careful to remember that, as Christians, we confess that the mission of the church cannot be ultimately defined by a quest to be secure. It is rather the case that to follow Jesus is to embrace always a certain degree of vulnerability.
Finally, we talked on Sunday about how many of us can make being safe and secure against potential hurt into an idol. C.S. Lewis speaks chillingly about this in the Four Loves:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.” - C.S. Lewis
Questions for discussion:
1. What does it look like to have joy in the midst of suffering? Can one be sad and joyful at the same time?
2. A friend comes to you and says: "I want to move out of the city because I don't feel safe here anymore. Can you help me think through whether this is consistent with the gospel?"
How would you help your friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
3. Another friend comes to you and says: "I am not going to open myself up to anyone again after my last relationship ended the way it did. Am I justified in doing this?" How would you help this friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
4. Another friend comes up to you and says: "I just spoke with Jezebel and she told me that I should get over being sad and walk in the peace of Christ. She said my faith was weak, but I am still sad in the wake of my family's recent tragedy. I want to have joy, what does that look like?" What would you say to this friend?
5. How can you tell if you have made security into an idol?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
the Peace of God will guard your hearts in Christ Jesus
This week we came to a passage in Philippians which is very familiar to many of us who grew up with a knowledge of the Bible. Philippians 4:6......"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I fear, though, that in some instances, we have become so familiar with this passage that we do not stop to think about what is really meant by these encouraging words. For instance, does Paul mean that if we pray in the way he exhorts us to that we will never or rarely worry, be sad, or doubt God's goodness in the midst of adverse circumstances? Does the peace that surpasses all understanding speak mainly to our interior emotional state or does it have as much if not more to do with the way we relate to suffering in our lives and the lives of others.
In order to get at what Paul means and doesn't mean in this passage we need to think about the peace of which is he is speaking as the peace of Jesus' kingdom, recalling that the Roman Empire celebrated the peace of the empire in quasi-religious language even as it celebrated Caesar as savior and lord. Just as Paul crafts his language in chapter 2 of this letter to remind the Philippians that Jesus is Savior, Lord, and King over against Caesar, here he proclaims Jesus' peace as the true peace of which Rome's peace is an absurd distortion, a parody. So, as we approach Paul's remarks about the peace of Jesus' kingdom let's begin by thinking together about what clues Jesus offers us in these words to his disciples in John 14: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives."
The world's offers of peace come in all shapes and sizes. Many of Jesus' contemporaries wanted him to draw on the resources of this world's ideas of how to achieve peace by taking up the vocation of a violent Messiah who would rule according to political power and military might. This approach was in the same family of peace ideas that Rome offered its subjects - to those loyal to the Caesar there would be peace. But this peace was propped up by the violence of a tyrant and did not extend to anyone who dissented. But Jesus, it seems, also has in mind how the disciples will perceive and be blessed by the peace he will give - not like the world gives.
Jesus' disciples and the Philippian Christians would undergo fear, confusion, anxiety, and discouragement as they had to wrestle with persecution and threats of persecution. Moreover, they were, in general, regarded with disdain by many, as they were perceived to be threats to the public life of the rest of the world. In the face of this trouble they are to "not let their hearts be troubled" and to trust in Jesus' peace which surpasses all understanding. As we unpack how Jesus' peace affects them (and us) I suggest that it is Jesus' compassionate presence with his people, through the Holy Spirit, that is the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding". This is suggested by the overall context of Jesus' remarks in John's gospel about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who unites us to the risen Lord Jesus, and by Paul's remarks that God's peace will guard us "in Christ Jesus" (see Philippians 4). "In Christ Jesus" is one of Paul's favorite shorthand phrases which expresses the deep theological truth that we are united to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, as he is present to us through the same Spirit.
So, how is Jesus' presence with us a comfort? Here, I find Rowan Williams (from his book, the Truce of God) to be of help as he writes: "Christ's peace, then is given us as we are drawn into his world, as we enter his space. When we hear the good news of peace we do not comfortably relax in the confidence that a particularly tricky problem has been solved. On the contrary, we are invited to live in the world of Jesus - which means bearing as he did the tensions of knowing the full force both of hope and of grief.... we are aware of ourselves and the whole world as objects of an infinite compassion which calls us to the same compassion and sustains us as we try to embody it..... having seen how decisively in Jesus this faith can reconstruct the patterns of human relations and the forms of corporate life, we enter on the project of compassion, trusting in its re-creative power."
Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption.
1. Can you offer some examples from our cultural setting of bogus offers of peace which tempt you to turn away from the peace of Christ?
2. What role does prayer play in our participation in Jesus' peace? Read Philippians 4:4-7 before you answer this question.
3. What role do you think being vibrantly involved in the community of the local church plays in being affected rightly by Jesus' peace?
4. In the last sentence we refer to the future being open to redemption? How does this keep us from identifying ourselves as victims when we suffer?
In order to get at what Paul means and doesn't mean in this passage we need to think about the peace of which is he is speaking as the peace of Jesus' kingdom, recalling that the Roman Empire celebrated the peace of the empire in quasi-religious language even as it celebrated Caesar as savior and lord. Just as Paul crafts his language in chapter 2 of this letter to remind the Philippians that Jesus is Savior, Lord, and King over against Caesar, here he proclaims Jesus' peace as the true peace of which Rome's peace is an absurd distortion, a parody. So, as we approach Paul's remarks about the peace of Jesus' kingdom let's begin by thinking together about what clues Jesus offers us in these words to his disciples in John 14: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives."
The world's offers of peace come in all shapes and sizes. Many of Jesus' contemporaries wanted him to draw on the resources of this world's ideas of how to achieve peace by taking up the vocation of a violent Messiah who would rule according to political power and military might. This approach was in the same family of peace ideas that Rome offered its subjects - to those loyal to the Caesar there would be peace. But this peace was propped up by the violence of a tyrant and did not extend to anyone who dissented. But Jesus, it seems, also has in mind how the disciples will perceive and be blessed by the peace he will give - not like the world gives.
Jesus' disciples and the Philippian Christians would undergo fear, confusion, anxiety, and discouragement as they had to wrestle with persecution and threats of persecution. Moreover, they were, in general, regarded with disdain by many, as they were perceived to be threats to the public life of the rest of the world. In the face of this trouble they are to "not let their hearts be troubled" and to trust in Jesus' peace which surpasses all understanding. As we unpack how Jesus' peace affects them (and us) I suggest that it is Jesus' compassionate presence with his people, through the Holy Spirit, that is the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding". This is suggested by the overall context of Jesus' remarks in John's gospel about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who unites us to the risen Lord Jesus, and by Paul's remarks that God's peace will guard us "in Christ Jesus" (see Philippians 4). "In Christ Jesus" is one of Paul's favorite shorthand phrases which expresses the deep theological truth that we are united to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, as he is present to us through the same Spirit.
So, how is Jesus' presence with us a comfort? Here, I find Rowan Williams (from his book, the Truce of God) to be of help as he writes: "Christ's peace, then is given us as we are drawn into his world, as we enter his space. When we hear the good news of peace we do not comfortably relax in the confidence that a particularly tricky problem has been solved. On the contrary, we are invited to live in the world of Jesus - which means bearing as he did the tensions of knowing the full force both of hope and of grief.... we are aware of ourselves and the whole world as objects of an infinite compassion which calls us to the same compassion and sustains us as we try to embody it..... having seen how decisively in Jesus this faith can reconstruct the patterns of human relations and the forms of corporate life, we enter on the project of compassion, trusting in its re-creative power."
Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption.
1. Can you offer some examples from our cultural setting of bogus offers of peace which tempt you to turn away from the peace of Christ?
2. What role does prayer play in our participation in Jesus' peace? Read Philippians 4:4-7 before you answer this question.
3. What role do you think being vibrantly involved in the community of the local church plays in being affected rightly by Jesus' peace?
4. In the last sentence we refer to the future being open to redemption? How does this keep us from identifying ourselves as victims when we suffer?
Monday, October 19, 2009
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?
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?
Monday, October 12, 2009
unity in the church: Jesus cares about our relationships
We came this past Sunday to the passage in Philippians where we meet two leaders in the church who are apparently in need of reconciling to one another. Their names are Euodia and Syntyche. Here are the passages I read prior to the homily:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:3-8)
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.(2:19-24)
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone.(4:2-5)
Most New Testament teachers agree that the conflict between these two sisters in Christ is a conflict related to the working out of the mission of the church in Philippi (in other words, it is most likely not foremost a personal conflict with two people over something personal in nature). It is certainly helpful for us to consider what we might learn from how Paul addresses this sort of conflict since, as a young church, we are bound to wrestle with these interpersonal issues in the life of our church. However, there are things that we can learn from how Paul addresses that particular issue that are generally applicable to situations where we are in conflict with others or are witnesses to those who are in conflict. So, now let's take a look at how Paul approaches the conflict between Euodia and Syntyche.
Were Euodia and Syntyche reconciled? We don't know. But what we have here is a treasure of an example of how to approach a difficult circumstance that so often occurs in the church - when people get sideways with each other. Note, Paul does not presume to adjudicate the situation and declare one person right and one person wrong. This is not to say that there are not times to offer clear judgment for the protection of the peace of the church and the well being of the people. But this example reminds us that there are a great many instances when strained relationships have arisen from mistakes made on both sides; to bring the weight of judgment on the front-end of the process of reconciliation would actually be harmful because it would short-circuit the process of God's work in the hearts of those who have become estranged. Instead, Paul leaves room for the Holy Spirit to work. For example, through participation in Jesus' self-giving love in the power of the Spirit (see discussion below) each or both of the estranged parties might come to see her own mistakes more clearly while simultaneously acknowledging a mis-perception of the motives of the other. Or, through God's work of mercy and grace one might come to desire so powerfully to forgive the other that the need for judgment of right or wrong simply disappears in the renewed relationship, love covering a multitude of sins. In any event, Paul knew that true reconciliation can only come through participation in Jesus' self-giving love, through the Spirit's empowering presence. So, how does he encourage reconciliation based on this?
First, by appealing to both of them based on his love and respect for each of them. He showed respect by not rushing to judgment or taking sides (see above), and his love for them is implicit in Paul's naming their names. Far from shaming them (which is how naming their names might appear to us because of our cultural distance), friends were named in this way in ancient letter writing because of mutual affection and concern for the well being of the relationship. What we can learn from this is that many times a person will come to his senses when he is reminded that he is loved. Also, an aspect of showing his love and respect is manifested not just in his refusal to judge but in his refusal even to take sides or suggest that his "loyal companion" should take sides. He dignifies Euodia and Syntyche by asking them to work things out rather than telling them what they should do in a hand-holding or patronizing way. Secondly, he encourages reconciliation by appealing to another friend, the loyal companion, to help. In appealing to his "loyal companion", Paul is signaling to Euodia and Syntyche that their disagreement is not a private matter but is taking its toll on the peace of the community. Sometimes it takes a realization that our sins of omission or commission are hurting others in order for us to come to our senses. Now, let's look at Paul's specific exhortation to the two women.
He urges the two of them to be of the "same mind in the Lord". This language about being of the "same mind in the Lord" may seem too flowery, sentimental and ethereal to offer any substantive application. However, we realize this is far from the case when we note that Paul is deliberately echoing his exhortation from chapter 2 when he says, "let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus". The appeal, then, to Euodia and Syntyche is in substance to look to Christ's self-giving love as the pattern and means by which they should re-approach each other. Without knowing specifics I could imagine an approach where pattern and means are thought about in this way: pattern - that each of them should follow in Jesus' cruciform pattern of setting aside his own interests for the interests of others. In this spirit each of them should be willing to humble herself so that she might find out how much pride and selfishness have contributed to the rift. By means, I mean that each of them should seek, in diligent prayer, God's superabundant gift of Jesus' self-giving love so that each of them would be empowered to express to the other a desire to be reconciled and then begin the hard work for reconciliation in that same power.
As we said earlier, we do not know if Euodia or Syntyche were reconciled. But what we do have here is an example of how to honestly work for reconciliation. Sometimes, we work for and desire reconciliation for our entire lives without seeing it come in some situations. While not giving up in our hearts, we may reach a point where we realize actual reconciliation is likely not going to happen in this life. But even in those instances, Paul's example offers guidelines that enable us to live in managed hope, reminding us that (a) we are to treat those with whom we disagree with respect, refusing to demonize them, and (b) to ask the Lord to be at work to bring his grace and mercy to bear on the relationship, trusting the future to him.
Finally, behind all of Paul's concerns above are some assumptions about community that we need to make sure we share as a church.
the common good is more important than the desires of any one individual (for example, if I can take a moment of personal privilege to illustrate this point, as the founding minister of the church I can say with confidence that if it were up to me I would give way to my individual desires for Grace Chicago Church but instead I deliberately set those aside for the common good, and work with a plurality of opinions and advice to help give shape to the culture and programs of the church)
the self becomes who he or she is supposed to become through the process of being in a church community where a strong value is placed on regarding the others' needs as more important than one's own
authority in the church is manifested in the spirit of self-giving love and in the patient bearing witness to the gospel
Questions for discussion:
1. What might we learn from Paul's refusal to take sides in this matter between Euodia and Syntyche?
2. Drawing from some of the ideas mentioned above, please explain why it is important to be patient when involved in helping two people be reconciled. Also, if you are trying to be reconciled to someone, could you explain why it is important that you be patient in that process?
3. Would you say that you have a healthy concern for being reconciled to people when their is a fissure in your relationship with them? If so, what has taught you to pay attention to this area in your life? If not, how can you work on this aspect of your life?
4. How can you know when it is appropriate to stop actively seeking reconciliation if the other party is unwilling? How can you stop actively seeking reconciliation and guard against bitterness and other sins?
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:3-8)
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.(2:19-24)
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone.(4:2-5)
Most New Testament teachers agree that the conflict between these two sisters in Christ is a conflict related to the working out of the mission of the church in Philippi (in other words, it is most likely not foremost a personal conflict with two people over something personal in nature). It is certainly helpful for us to consider what we might learn from how Paul addresses this sort of conflict since, as a young church, we are bound to wrestle with these interpersonal issues in the life of our church. However, there are things that we can learn from how Paul addresses that particular issue that are generally applicable to situations where we are in conflict with others or are witnesses to those who are in conflict. So, now let's take a look at how Paul approaches the conflict between Euodia and Syntyche.
Were Euodia and Syntyche reconciled? We don't know. But what we have here is a treasure of an example of how to approach a difficult circumstance that so often occurs in the church - when people get sideways with each other. Note, Paul does not presume to adjudicate the situation and declare one person right and one person wrong. This is not to say that there are not times to offer clear judgment for the protection of the peace of the church and the well being of the people. But this example reminds us that there are a great many instances when strained relationships have arisen from mistakes made on both sides; to bring the weight of judgment on the front-end of the process of reconciliation would actually be harmful because it would short-circuit the process of God's work in the hearts of those who have become estranged. Instead, Paul leaves room for the Holy Spirit to work. For example, through participation in Jesus' self-giving love in the power of the Spirit (see discussion below) each or both of the estranged parties might come to see her own mistakes more clearly while simultaneously acknowledging a mis-perception of the motives of the other. Or, through God's work of mercy and grace one might come to desire so powerfully to forgive the other that the need for judgment of right or wrong simply disappears in the renewed relationship, love covering a multitude of sins. In any event, Paul knew that true reconciliation can only come through participation in Jesus' self-giving love, through the Spirit's empowering presence. So, how does he encourage reconciliation based on this?
First, by appealing to both of them based on his love and respect for each of them. He showed respect by not rushing to judgment or taking sides (see above), and his love for them is implicit in Paul's naming their names. Far from shaming them (which is how naming their names might appear to us because of our cultural distance), friends were named in this way in ancient letter writing because of mutual affection and concern for the well being of the relationship. What we can learn from this is that many times a person will come to his senses when he is reminded that he is loved. Also, an aspect of showing his love and respect is manifested not just in his refusal to judge but in his refusal even to take sides or suggest that his "loyal companion" should take sides. He dignifies Euodia and Syntyche by asking them to work things out rather than telling them what they should do in a hand-holding or patronizing way. Secondly, he encourages reconciliation by appealing to another friend, the loyal companion, to help. In appealing to his "loyal companion", Paul is signaling to Euodia and Syntyche that their disagreement is not a private matter but is taking its toll on the peace of the community. Sometimes it takes a realization that our sins of omission or commission are hurting others in order for us to come to our senses. Now, let's look at Paul's specific exhortation to the two women.
He urges the two of them to be of the "same mind in the Lord". This language about being of the "same mind in the Lord" may seem too flowery, sentimental and ethereal to offer any substantive application. However, we realize this is far from the case when we note that Paul is deliberately echoing his exhortation from chapter 2 when he says, "let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus". The appeal, then, to Euodia and Syntyche is in substance to look to Christ's self-giving love as the pattern and means by which they should re-approach each other. Without knowing specifics I could imagine an approach where pattern and means are thought about in this way: pattern - that each of them should follow in Jesus' cruciform pattern of setting aside his own interests for the interests of others. In this spirit each of them should be willing to humble herself so that she might find out how much pride and selfishness have contributed to the rift. By means, I mean that each of them should seek, in diligent prayer, God's superabundant gift of Jesus' self-giving love so that each of them would be empowered to express to the other a desire to be reconciled and then begin the hard work for reconciliation in that same power.
As we said earlier, we do not know if Euodia or Syntyche were reconciled. But what we do have here is an example of how to honestly work for reconciliation. Sometimes, we work for and desire reconciliation for our entire lives without seeing it come in some situations. While not giving up in our hearts, we may reach a point where we realize actual reconciliation is likely not going to happen in this life. But even in those instances, Paul's example offers guidelines that enable us to live in managed hope, reminding us that (a) we are to treat those with whom we disagree with respect, refusing to demonize them, and (b) to ask the Lord to be at work to bring his grace and mercy to bear on the relationship, trusting the future to him.
Finally, behind all of Paul's concerns above are some assumptions about community that we need to make sure we share as a church.
the common good is more important than the desires of any one individual (for example, if I can take a moment of personal privilege to illustrate this point, as the founding minister of the church I can say with confidence that if it were up to me I would give way to my individual desires for Grace Chicago Church but instead I deliberately set those aside for the common good, and work with a plurality of opinions and advice to help give shape to the culture and programs of the church)
the self becomes who he or she is supposed to become through the process of being in a church community where a strong value is placed on regarding the others' needs as more important than one's own
authority in the church is manifested in the spirit of self-giving love and in the patient bearing witness to the gospel
Questions for discussion:
1. What might we learn from Paul's refusal to take sides in this matter between Euodia and Syntyche?
2. Drawing from some of the ideas mentioned above, please explain why it is important to be patient when involved in helping two people be reconciled. Also, if you are trying to be reconciled to someone, could you explain why it is important that you be patient in that process?
3. Would you say that you have a healthy concern for being reconciled to people when their is a fissure in your relationship with them? If so, what has taught you to pay attention to this area in your life? If not, how can you work on this aspect of your life?
4. How can you know when it is appropriate to stop actively seeking reconciliation if the other party is unwilling? How can you stop actively seeking reconciliation and guard against bitterness and other sins?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
friends of the cross/enemies of the cross
This past Sunday we came to this passage in our series on Philippians:
Philippians 3:17~21
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you
have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I
tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame;
their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we
are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that
it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things
subject to himself.
In this passage we meet Paul with a broken heart. Why is his heart broken? Because many have chosen a life of stubbornly resisting God's love found in the cross of Christ. For Paul, there are two ways to live: to glory in oneself or in the cross of Christ (or, as Bob Dylan put it, "you got to serve somebody; it may be the devil or it may be the Lord but you got to serve somebody".) To glory in the the cross is to acknowledge regularly our need for forgiveness and love; and to confess that our reason and desires left to our own understanding will lead us to self-destruction. To glory in the cross is to offer our desire to love and be loved to the one who can love us the best. To glory in the cross is to desire Jesus' self-giving love to come to control our choices and attitudes more and more, having the same mind as Christ Jesus => that he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but gave himself away even to death on the cross. And, to glory in the cross is to repent of the occasions when we attempt to find in cheap substitutes the life and love that only God can give.
My colleague, Chuck DeGroat of City Church San Francisco, through a discussion of the fruits of the spirit has offered a helpful way of understanding the difference between the true life Christ offers and the life where we attempt to create our own glory and satisfaction to our shame:
Chuck: "I’ve found that my prayer in recent years has become a simple one: Hide my life in yours, Jesus. It comes from St. Paul: For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. This is vintage ‘New Exodus’ Paul. It’s the death-to-life pattern of Jesus, living out the Exodus pattern of Israel. We were lost in the wilderness, but now we’re found – found to God, found to others, found to ourselves.
I hide in a thousand other things. I avoid God, and in doing so avoid myself in the many false selves and false identities I live out of. After a while, I’ve forgotten myself, and feel lost to God. Descending into the wilderness, I am stripped of these counter-identities, and reminded of my Eden-born identity as God’s image, never completely lost but hidden as a treasure in God’s heart. The lessons of the wilderness are hard. I find that I’m stripped of reputation, identity-through-achievement, love when I want it, progress on my terms, and more. But as we’ve said before, it is a stripping down which actually reveals our hidden life in God, our real selves, our deepest identity.
The journey up and out of the wilderness leads to the freedom of life as it was meant to be lived. And St. Paul gives definition to that, as well. He calls it “fruit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Love, once mis-directed to a thousand false loves, is now re-directed and renewed in its First Love. Joy, once found in a temporary pleasure that could be bought or controlled at will, is now found in longing, sometimes without immediate gratification, for the greater Joy. Peace, defined as conflict avoidance and repressed desire, now becomes a verb – the renewal of shalom, the re-ordering of relationships and the reconciliation of those at war with one another. Patience, replaced by remote-controls that falsely convince us that we can control pleasure and quick spiritual fixes which sell us on 3 steps to our best life, now finds renewal in a heart that waits longingly for a deeper satisfaction. Kindness, domesticated in fixed smiles on Christian faces, now becomes a risky compassion (suffering with another) that deepens relationship and bestows dignity on another. Faithfulness, crushed into definitions mandating dogmatic certainty at the expense of relationship, now flourishes in commitment to living out (delightfully) the command to love our neighbors and relentlessly pursue (rather than demonize) those we differ with. Gentleness, exposing our need to power over and control, invites a vulnerability which may in fact expose our weakness but show Christ’s strength. Self-control, rather than a behavioral call to pull-ourselves-up-by-our-bootstraps, actually manifests in surrender to God, which can feel like being out-of-control to control freaks like me.
These are the fruits of the New Exodus journey." - From drchuckdegroat.wordpress.com
Questions for discussion:
1. Paul urges and imitation of him as a way of not being an enemy of the cross. But what does the one who said that he regards everything as loss have to imitate? Use this passage as a way of thinking about what imitating Paul would like:
"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith." Philippians 3:7-9
2. Pick one of the fruits of the spirit that Chuck talks about above and use it as a framework for talking about why it is difficult to embrace life according to God's gracious rule and provision. In other words, why do we prefer our own fruit to God's?
3. Paul says that he is weeping over those who are enemies of the cross. How does his emotional response help you think about your own emotional responses to your sin and the sins of others?
Philippians 3:17~21
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you
have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I
tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame;
their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we
are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that
it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things
subject to himself.
In this passage we meet Paul with a broken heart. Why is his heart broken? Because many have chosen a life of stubbornly resisting God's love found in the cross of Christ. For Paul, there are two ways to live: to glory in oneself or in the cross of Christ (or, as Bob Dylan put it, "you got to serve somebody; it may be the devil or it may be the Lord but you got to serve somebody".) To glory in the the cross is to acknowledge regularly our need for forgiveness and love; and to confess that our reason and desires left to our own understanding will lead us to self-destruction. To glory in the cross is to offer our desire to love and be loved to the one who can love us the best. To glory in the cross is to desire Jesus' self-giving love to come to control our choices and attitudes more and more, having the same mind as Christ Jesus => that he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but gave himself away even to death on the cross. And, to glory in the cross is to repent of the occasions when we attempt to find in cheap substitutes the life and love that only God can give.
My colleague, Chuck DeGroat of City Church San Francisco, through a discussion of the fruits of the spirit has offered a helpful way of understanding the difference between the true life Christ offers and the life where we attempt to create our own glory and satisfaction to our shame:
Chuck: "I’ve found that my prayer in recent years has become a simple one: Hide my life in yours, Jesus. It comes from St. Paul: For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. This is vintage ‘New Exodus’ Paul. It’s the death-to-life pattern of Jesus, living out the Exodus pattern of Israel. We were lost in the wilderness, but now we’re found – found to God, found to others, found to ourselves.
I hide in a thousand other things. I avoid God, and in doing so avoid myself in the many false selves and false identities I live out of. After a while, I’ve forgotten myself, and feel lost to God. Descending into the wilderness, I am stripped of these counter-identities, and reminded of my Eden-born identity as God’s image, never completely lost but hidden as a treasure in God’s heart. The lessons of the wilderness are hard. I find that I’m stripped of reputation, identity-through-achievement, love when I want it, progress on my terms, and more. But as we’ve said before, it is a stripping down which actually reveals our hidden life in God, our real selves, our deepest identity.
The journey up and out of the wilderness leads to the freedom of life as it was meant to be lived. And St. Paul gives definition to that, as well. He calls it “fruit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Love, once mis-directed to a thousand false loves, is now re-directed and renewed in its First Love. Joy, once found in a temporary pleasure that could be bought or controlled at will, is now found in longing, sometimes without immediate gratification, for the greater Joy. Peace, defined as conflict avoidance and repressed desire, now becomes a verb – the renewal of shalom, the re-ordering of relationships and the reconciliation of those at war with one another. Patience, replaced by remote-controls that falsely convince us that we can control pleasure and quick spiritual fixes which sell us on 3 steps to our best life, now finds renewal in a heart that waits longingly for a deeper satisfaction. Kindness, domesticated in fixed smiles on Christian faces, now becomes a risky compassion (suffering with another) that deepens relationship and bestows dignity on another. Faithfulness, crushed into definitions mandating dogmatic certainty at the expense of relationship, now flourishes in commitment to living out (delightfully) the command to love our neighbors and relentlessly pursue (rather than demonize) those we differ with. Gentleness, exposing our need to power over and control, invites a vulnerability which may in fact expose our weakness but show Christ’s strength. Self-control, rather than a behavioral call to pull-ourselves-up-by-our-bootstraps, actually manifests in surrender to God, which can feel like being out-of-control to control freaks like me.
These are the fruits of the New Exodus journey." - From drchuckdegroat.wordpress.com
Questions for discussion:
1. Paul urges and imitation of him as a way of not being an enemy of the cross. But what does the one who said that he regards everything as loss have to imitate? Use this passage as a way of thinking about what imitating Paul would like:
"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith." Philippians 3:7-9
2. Pick one of the fruits of the spirit that Chuck talks about above and use it as a framework for talking about why it is difficult to embrace life according to God's gracious rule and provision. In other words, why do we prefer our own fruit to God's?
3. Paul says that he is weeping over those who are enemies of the cross. How does his emotional response help you think about your own emotional responses to your sin and the sins of others?
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