From the Daily Office, Proper 29, November 28, 2020
Philippians 2:1-11
2 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Verses 6-11 of the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians are called the “Christ hymn.” It is one of the most poetic and beloved of all of Paul’s writings. Please read it again, or perhaps try singing it, using whatever melody and rhythm you choose! It is probably a very early hymn sung in worship of Christ. It is a powerful and moving expression of the work of Christ in the world. There has been—and still is—much debate over the past seven decades or so over this hymn’s author, background, setting, and meaning. Nonetheless, Paul by inserting it into this letter has given it a pretty clear message: Rather than striving to be equal with God, Christ humbled himself, becoming human and submitting to death on the cross. God responded to this humble act of obedience by exalting Christ above everything else in creation, making him Lord of all. The hymn can be seen as having two parts, first the condescension of Christ (vv. 6-8), followed by the exaltation of Christ (vv. 9-11), from death to resurrection, from humiliation to exaltation, from being enslaved to being made master. Paul is using this hymn because Christ’s humble obedience provides a model of action for his followers, who should lower themselves for the sake of others. Christians by Christ’s example are to seek the good and work for the glory of others rather than for themselves. Later in the letter Paul also says that like Christ Paul himself is willing to be sacrificed for the Philippians, encouraging them to live in unity with one another through self-sacrificing love (Ref. Bart Ehrman The New Testament, A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings).
As an aside, this letter to the Philippians is one of the seven epistles undisputedly written by Paul (the others Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, and Philemon. Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians are called deutero-Pauline epistles because they are possibly pseudonymous, or written by someone else. The three “pastoral epistles”—1 and 2 Timothy and Titus—are probably pseudonymous.) Philippians was written to a community in Philippi, a Roman colony in Macedonia in northern Greece. The inhabitants were almost entirely Gentiles, with very few if any Jews. Paul wrote it from prison while awaiting trial, and although we don’t know where or exactly when, a good bet is that he was in prison in Rome around 61-63 CE, as tradition has it not long before he was martyred there. He is writing for several reasons, including to stress suffering as did Christ in the face of the persecution he knew the Christians there were experiencing, and also to exhort the converts in Philippi to turn away from partisan interests towards unity.
Let’s turn back to the “Christ hymn,” which had a great influence upon later theologians and their understanding of Christology, that being the person and nature of Christ. This hymn was later taken as an authoritative theological statement about the divine and human natures of Christ. Even more recently in the nineteenth century the kenotic (self-emptying) theory of the incarnation was based upon it. Surely Paul’s use of the hymn had no such lofty aspirations, but rather was to simply spell out for the Philippians the way in which those in Christ should live. So, while the passage has theological significance in that it has become an important Christological statement, Paul adds its ethical importance by using it to show us how we are to live as Christians, and in so doing helps us understand why theology and ethics are inseparable. Theological conviction leads to ethical demands. Christ is the incarnation of God and the revelation of God, “in the form of God” (verse 6). In his actions we see what God is like. We see the love and compassion of God. Paul’s basic ethical exhortation is to “be like God:” in effect, “behave like God,” by our self-emptying, self-humiliation, refusal to exploit our rights, and obedience to the will of God.
How are we as Christians doing with that? I will say that for me “Not so good!” In my defense I could declare “No wonder! The Son of God is born into weakness and humility?! The Son of God accepts poverty and vulnerability?! The Son of God dies on a cross?! And I am to follow this Way of life?” This is a world flipped upside down. What seems like human instinct is turned on its head. How can our world be so different from
the world which Jesus models and asks us to adopt? Yes, Paul’s words have indicted me, but so have they indicted other “Christians” and so often the Church. Look at a few of the descriptors of the Kingdom/Reign of God about which Jesus teaches: sacrifice, self-giving, good of community over good of ourselves, becoming less not more in the eyes of the world, humility rather than pride, love of neighbor including our enemies. The list goes on and on. It is so easy to ignore the implications of what our theological affirmations demand for the way we live our lives. I am not talking about living according to a set of rules, but rather in a manner worthy of Christ. Our theology is only authentic if it is reflected in our actions as Christ in the world. It is not easy, is it?
Where do we go from here? I pray for forgiveness. I give thanks for grace. I persevere. I ask for openness to the Spirit to move and breathe in me and in all of us. And perhaps especially, in the words of the prophet Micah: “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic 6.8).
Rev. Bob Donnell
November 28, 2020
Collect of the Incarnation (BCP p. 252)
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
