Reflection on Philippians 2:1-13

Philippians 2:1-13 (NRSVue)

¹ If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection 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 empty 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 existed in the form of God,
  did not regard equality with God
  as something to be grasped,
 ⁷ but emptied himself,
  taking the form of a slave,
  assuming human likeness.
 And being found in appearance as a human,
  ⁸ he humbled himself
  and became obedient to the point of death—
  even death on a cross.

 ⁹ Therefore God exalted him even more highly
  and gave him the name
  that is above every other name,
 ¹⁰ so that at the name given to 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.

  ¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

 

Reflection

The very first quartet I ever heard was in church.  My English teacher’s adult children had come home for Christmas, and they sang a Christmas hymn the Sunday after Christmas Eve.  They were a quartet of two sons and two daughters.  They sang without piano - a cappella, and their harmonies were perfect.  When they took pauses to breathe, they paused in perfect unity, and when they started singing again, they started singing in absolute perfection and coordination.  When they finished singing, there was a pause as their last harmonies bounced through the air and trailed off into a stunned silence.  Applause broke out in this small church that never clapped for any special music because, for these Christians, special music was not a performance, but a gift given to God, like your Sunday morning offering.  No one claps because you put a twenty into the offering plate.  But what these four did was much more than scraping together a gift to give to God.  Their song was a gift of God to us, showing us what being “of the same mind” in Christ can sound like (Philippians 2:2).  It can sound like being so in tune with one another that you cannot hear where one person begins and another ends.

I have seen this same gift of being “of the same mind” in Christ in other areas of life as well.  The ministry team of carpenters that came to help us rebuild after the flood that harmed our home was so skilled and practiced at putting up sheetrock that they barely needed to talk with one another.  One guy measured and put up the previously cut sheet while another took the measured sheet and cut.  It was like watching a ballet, only instead of tights and perfectly positioned hands these guys were wearing dusty jeans and were wielding utility knives.  But not only were they of one mind while they worked, they were of one mind in their mission.  They were there to help people rebuild, no matter who the people were, no matter how much or little the people made for an income, and no matter what their past sins.  They were “of the same mind” in Christ, convinced that this was a ministry of grace and healing; no judgment, just new life.

Being “of the same mind” feels so impossible these days.  Paul encourages the Philippians to be of one mind, to be of one accord, and to find themselves in love with one another, having the same sort of love that God has for God’s children.  Paul is optimistic that this can actually be a thing in our divided world.    

Paul is optimistic that people who wildly disagree about so many things in our society can be “in full accord and of one mind” (Philippians 2:2).  He truly thinks that our divided world can figure out how to ignore our “own interests” but rather focus of “the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” Paul urges.

There does not have to be Cats vs. dogs, Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Minecraft vs. Roblox, sports socks vs. tube socks; or even Democrats vs. Republicans.  We do not have to live in a world where we refuse to be of one mind. 

So then, why aren’t we of one mind?  How did our world get so divided?  Why did we become so divided with our neighbors?  Why is it so important that we be right and others be wrong?

Paul seems to think that there are a couple of reasons that we get entangled in this trap of division.  You get a hint of it as Paul’s instructs the church in Philippi:

“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…” 

Selfish ambition (desiring success); conceit (thinking more of yourself than you ought); and loving yourself and paying attention to your own wants and desires rather than turning your attention toward your neighbors; these are all self-focused things.  And, when everyone is focused on themselves, there is little chance that we will be able to be of one mind about anything.  A land of a million kings is not a land that is united.  So, what do we do?

Remember those singers that I talked about, whose harmonies were so at one with one another that we were convinced it was a pure gift from God?  With that sort of example in mind, Paul turns to a song to help unite us.  It is an early Christian hymn.  We no longer know the tune, but we know the powerful words.  The Hymn that these early Christians sang together went like this:

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 2:5-8)

You can imagine hearing the harmonies and the words expressing Jesus’ love and humility as they lingered in the air after the congregation finished the song.  Songs are powerful things.  Songs can penetrate deeply into our souls in ways that preaching and speeches simply cannot.  Songs speak to our hearts.  O Holy Night opens me up to the power of the Christ Child every Christmas in a way that no sermon or speech ever could. 

And when we sing them together as a group?  For that moment in time as the song pours from our all our lips together, we are one.  For a moment in this divided life, we are “of the same mind” as we sing our hymn.  We are “of the same mind” as we sing about Jesus and his kingdom.

As the Philippians sing together, they sing about a man who had as much power as God.  He could create as God creates, he could judge as God judges, and he was able to destroy as God is able to destroy. 

But rather than seeing the hate and division of the world, and thinking, “It is time for me to take over and take charge,” Paul says that he “did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”

I will stop right there.  How many of you have ever thought, “If I were emperor of the world, I would make everyone do this, this, and this, and the world would be a better place.”?  While driving together, a friend was once expressing to me how great it would be to become the emperor of the whole world.  The world would be a better place if only the world listened to his wisdom.  Just then his teenage children called, screaming on the phone.  They were fighting.  He tried to redirect the two teens, but they just kept screaming and eventually they just hung up on him.  So, I asked, “How’s being emperor of your home going?” 

But this song that the Philippians sing is about a man who has that kind of power.  He is the wise emperor with all the power.  He could just force everyone to bend to his ways.  He could force everyone to serve his vision of a new and better world. 

But rather than thinking, “It is time to destroy this mess of a world and start it all over again…how about another flood?” he came down from his heavenly heights, and he walked around for a while on the bloody soils of hate and division.  He allowed his own story to become a part of the world’s story.  “Though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped” (Philippians 2:6).

Rather he grasped onto all the hate and division that the world thrust his way.  Like a slave working in the fields, he carried that heavy burden all the way to a cross where he was nailed. 

“He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Though his arms were spread wide, he never stopped holding onto the hate and division and sin.  It was nailed to his hands, still in his bloody grasp when death consumed him.  He died.  And when he died, the hate and division died with him.

This man regarded other people’s lives better than his own; worth more than his own.  He died that others might have a better and blessed life.  His life was not shaped by his own needs, interests, and desires; rather, he focused on what others needed.  He acted, even though it meant dying on a cross.

If you want to lift someone in high regard, Paul says, lift that guy: Jesus Christ.  Jesus is “the name that is above every other name,” Paul preaches (Philippians 2:9).  His name is the name that “every tongue should confess as Lord” (Philippians 2:11).  He is the one worthy of devotion and praise.  He is the one worthy of being followed.  He is the one worthy of being emulated.  Jesus is our savior.

The Apostle Paul has an idea for us.  Rather than be guided by political leaders or their ideologies, or by the whims of celebrities, or by societal pressures, or even our own whims and desires, the Bible suggests that we live and think with the mind of Christ.  Join the song of Jesus Christ.  Sing in harmony with him.  Or another way to put it: join in the ballet of his work.

You see, the mind of Christ has never cared about success.  The mind of Christ has never dwelt on selfish notions.  And the mind of Christ has never focused on “me” or the need for me to have more and be more.  The mind of Christ did not even focus on making everyone believe that he was right.  Christ focused his mind on obeying God and saving others.  Does that sound familiar? 

Paul’s idea sounds a lot like the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

Join the Lord’s song.  Sing together the words of Christ.  Sing about the Lord healing when asked.  Sing about the Lord sharing a meal when needed.  Sing about the Lord freeing those who are captive and need to be set free.  Sing about the Lord of love.  “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).  Christ’s mind is full of love. 

It is real love.  It is love in action.  It is a sacrificial love. 

Christ made you a part of that love.  He died to make you a part of that love.  Christ made you a member of his body; a member of Godly love.  Sing Christ’s song!  Allow Christ’s song to drown out the divisions, and disagreements, and selfish desires.  Allow Christ’s song of forgiving love and sacrificial help of neighbor to linger its beautiful harmonies in the air.  Let Christ’s song linger and then let it sink deeply into your soul.