Have you ever met someone who “lights up” the room just
by being in it?
Welcome to week four of our look at the letter of Paul to
the Christians in Philippi. You will remember that when Paul first visited the
city and made converts, starting a church, there was a riot and he was thrown
in prison. Now he is in prison again, on trial for his life. People in the
church seem to be stirring up trouble and rivalries, and he is constantly
pleading for unity. He starts his explanation in chapter one, that God is
working his purposes out even through his imprisonment. In chapter two he says
that as a result of our unity in Christ we should look to be like minded. We
should have the same mind set as Jesus, who accepted all that life had to throw
at him, not clinging to the privileges that he was due as son of God. Jesus
became obedient, even to the point of death, and humbled himself.
Since we are seeking to have the same mind set as Jesus,
we also are called to be obedient – it is a serious business. If we also have
humility and self-knowledge, we will also doubt our ability to live the obedient
life, but Paul reminds us that “it is God who works in you to will and act
according to his good pleasure”.
What does this obedient life look like? In negative
terms, it is to “do everything without complaining or arguing”. This does not
mean that we must always agree with each other or go along with everything we
are told. It is permissible to send an undrinkable cup of tea back! It
important to contribute positively to discussions and plans; it is good to seek
to avoid problems and make projects better.
The two words used are gongysmos and dialogismos.
Gongysmos carries the suggestion of murmuring,
backbiting, almost whining. Nothing is ever quite right or good enough. There
is always a problem. There is a whiff of the Victor Meldrew: “I don’t believe
it!” You can imagine if Laurel and Hardy had been thrown into jail in Philippi:
"Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." Jesus said:
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an
evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the
mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45)
Dialogismos speaks of one who just needs to be right. My
father is famous for liking a good discussion, and always to win. He is quite
capable of arguing forcefully for a point of view, but then to take the
opposite line on another occasion if it gets the discussion going. Sunday lunch
could be quite wearing. The truth of the gospel is important. Too often in the
church, however, we have contended for our own version of the truth, to the
exclusion of all others, and no matter what hurt is caused. The greatest truth
is love, and we are trying to be like-minded with Christ, which will mean that
we bring forth the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness and self-control. One of the wisest sayings I ever heard
was “I might be wrong”.
Jesus also said that outsiders would know that we are
Christians by our love for each other. We do not live this life of love by our
own efforts. I am not suggesting that we live our lives rigidly being kind and
polite and courteous, as a supreme act of will. This feels false. It is also
very hard work, and we always, eventually, let the mask slip, usually during
times of stress and difficulty.
So what can we do? First take comfort from the fact that
it is “it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good
pleasure”. It is his power at work in us. Later on during communion we will pray
“send your Holy Spirit and change us more and more to be like Jesus our
Saviour.” If grumbling and disputing reveals a basic attitude of lack of trust
and acceptance of God’s will, then we can learn lessons every time that we find
ourselves falling into to doing them. We ask forgiveness, and as the light of
his Spirit shines on our lives, so we see him transform us over time into the
humble, obedient, trusting children of God, who will light up a room by our
presence. It will be like the moon reflecting the sun’s light onto earth, as we
live bible-based lives that are rooted in sincerity and humility, and reflect
the light of God’s love in a dark world.
But this seems rather passive. So second, rejoice in the
Lord. Learn to sing praises, at all times and in all places, (even if we do it
internally and under our breath). Exercise your “praise muscles”.
Take care to warm them up, so you don’t give yourself a
strain. Again, during the communion prayer the president exhorts you to “lift
up your hearts”; it is good to remind and encourage each other to do this. See
yourself grow in this essential area of Christian life. When Paul and Silas
sang hymns and praises at midnight in jail in Philippi, this was not bravado or
a whim, but the fruit of years of consistent engagement with God, leading to
love, joy, peace and the rest.
You will recall from week one that I debated whether the
key word of Philippians is “fellowship” or “joy”. Paul says that it is possible
that he will be “poured out” like a wine offering at a sacrifice: he might be
about to die, he might suffer the death sentence for his faith. This completes
the explanation of his imprisonment started in the first chapter. His comfort
is his fellowship with the Philippian people who are living this life of
obedience and faith. This causes him to be filled with joy and to rejoice with them;
he urges them to be filled with joy and to rejoice with him as they share this
fellowship.
Rejoice!
Discussion starters
1. Have you ever had that feeling of dread that you do
not want to get up out of bed and face
what the day will bring? What is there in this passage to
help us?
2. What do you make of “continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling”? (Is it
significant that Paul has just been speaking of the
“throne room”, of every knee bowing and
every tongue confessing that Jesus is Lord?)
3. How would you say that we can “become blameless and
pure”, shining in the world?
4. What does it mean to you to “hold firmly to the word
of life”?
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