Pentecost 19, 2011
“Attitude Check”
Philippians 2:1-11
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
In one of my favorite movies, Bagger Vance, is the character of Hardy Greaves. One of the pivotal moments of the movie for me is when Hardy is walking in the center of town with his friends and ignores his hard at work father. It was the Great Depression and Hardy’s Father took a job cleaning the streets. Hardy couldn’t stand seeing his father work such a menial job. It didn’t help that some of the parents of Hardy’s friends refused to work jobs that they viewed as “below them.” What Hardy didn’t know…and would later learn…was that his dad was truly an honorable man. His dad worked to pay the bills…doing whatever he could no matter how menial it seemed…as others racked up debt, kept living the “high life” in order to later declare bankruptcy and pay no one back. What Hardy needed…and received…was an “attitude check.”
Our Epistle lesson this morning also calls for us to have an “attitude check.” Listen to Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete.” (Philippians 2:1-2a)
My brothers and sisters in Christ…our text isn’t an “if” but a “because.” Because we have encouragement from being united with Christ…because we have comfort from His love…because we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit…because we have tenderness and compassion…then make my joy complete.
Here our Lord is calling for us as Christians who have received His wonderful gifts to make His joy complete. But how do we do that? “By being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:2b-4)
“Humility is a virtue all preach and few practice, and yet everybody is content to hear. The master thinks it’s good doctrine for his servant, the laity for the clergy, and the clergy for the laity.” How true those words are. While all of us are called to humility…we all sit back and say that’s a great thought…and point the finger at those around us that should be doing it while ignoring our own need to be humble.
Our text calls us to be like-minded and yet we struggle in our families, our schools, our communities, and our churches for what we think is best and right. We argue over how to spend money, what activities we should do, what role individuals should have, etc. We are then called to have the same love; to be one in spirit and purpose and yet we would all rather go in our own direction. The Epistle goes on to say that we should not look only “to our own interests, but also to the interests of others.” We talk about peace and unity…but mean that only if everyone else agrees with us. And so we think this Epistle is a lovely thought…but impossible to do.
But our text goes on. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)
Here is our attitude check! Here our text reminds us about who Jesus really is. Jesus is God and man. It also reminds us of what Jesus did…that Jesus, being God, humbled himself to be born of a virgin in order to overcome the sharpness of death and open the kingdom of heaven to all believers (The Te Deum Laudamus) (TLH p. 35-37)
Even as our text teaches us about the two natures of Christ (that He is both God and man) our text points us to Jesus as our example of humility. God became man. God did whatever it took to save His people. Truly Christ humbled Himself and became man; a slave so that we would be made children of God and heirs of heaven. Christ’s humility led Him to dying like a common criminal on the cross. God in the person of Jesus died on the cross for you. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
Seeing Jesus humble Himself…reminds us that we stand convicted of our lack of humility. Truly we should seek God’s forgiveness for our self-centeredness. “For wolves to devour sheep is no wonder, but for sheep to devour one another is monstrous and astonishing.” If we as a family, a community, as a church want to live in peace and harmony then we must imitate Christ’s humility. This can and is only done by faith! When we imitate Christ’s humility by faith; when we share God’s love by faith…then by God’s grace we shall be exalted to heaven.
We gain life by losing it in service to God and to others. We might think of the Arkansas River in Colorado. Formerly it flowed down a steep mountainside past a desert that lay parched for centuries. Year after year it deepened its own channel as it sped on its way to the ocean and oblivion. One winter a dam was built across the dry channel of the summer stream, stopping the flow of the water. Unable to follow its usual course, the river formed a lake from which the water was channeled and ditched into the desert. The former arid region now produces fields of waving grain. The free life of the stream was sacrificed, but it found itself again in the golden harvest. Those who live only for themselves are losing their lives. Those who live by faith for Christ and for others are finding real life—a full, happy, joyful eternal life of loving service.
By God’s grace we are able to put down our self-centeredness and humble ourselves to God’s service. And what a service that is…sharing Christ, caring for those in need, showing love to those around us, having peace and unity with family, neighbors, and within our Church.
My brothers and sisters in Christ: Christianity without joy is a betrayal of the One we follow. We are a forgiven, redeemed people, who belong to the faithful flock on the way to heaven. We are people with great joy. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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