Friday, November 21, 2008



Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

Paul has suffered much in the ten years since founding the church at Philippi: beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck, hostility from jealous competitors. Surely he must have sometimes wondered, is it worth all this pain? Even as he writes this letter, he is under arrest, “in chains for Christ” (1:13). But whenever Paul’s thoughts turn to Philippi, the elderly apostle’s spirits lift.

If someone had bluntly asked him, “Paul, tell me, what keeps you going through hard times?” he likely would have answered with words straight out of this chapter. In Philippians 2, Paul reveals the source of his irrepressible drive. First, he gives the example of Jesus. In a stately hymn-like paragraph, he marvels that Jesus gave up all the glory of heaven to take on the form of man- and not just any man, but a servant, one who pours out his life for others. Paul takes on that pattern for himself.

Then, in a seeming paradox, Paul describes a kind of teamwork with God: While God is working within, we must “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling. A later spiritual giant named Saint Teresa of Avila would express the paradox this way: “I pray as if all depends on God; I work as if all depends on me.” Her formula aptly summarizes Paul’s spiritual style.

While Philippians gives an occasional glimpse of the apostle Paul’s fatigue, it also shows flashes of what keeps him from burnout. To him, the converts in Philippi shine “like stars in the universe.” Joy in his converts’ progress is what keeps Paul going.

Reflection
The cheerful sounds that we hear from Paul while he is sitting in a jail cell can be unexpected, to say the least. He proclaims to us in chapter 3 to “rejoice in the Lord”- all the while chained to a Roman guard. Is this guy for real? Paul probably wrote Philippians in Rome just about the time Nero began tossing Christians to ravenous lions and burning them as torches to illuminate his banquets. How could a rational man devote a letter to the topic of joy while his survival was in jeopardy? FAITH. God can take even the darkest moment in history and turn it into good. The cross, and Jesus’ triumph over death, prove that nothing is powerful enough to stamp out a reason for joy- joy in the Lord.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The text expresses the key to Christ-likeness : Be united with Christ. It is a heaven-marriage that includes : 1) being like-minded 2) having the same love 3) having one spirit 4) having one purpose. Paul says "Follow me as I follow Christ". It is the very same path and we are to imitate this lay-down-your-life humble servant of Christ.