Sermon Title:  Unity through Humility

Sermon Text:  Philippians 2:1-13

Sermon Date:  February 14, 2010

 

Philippians 2:1  If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Matthew 9:9-13                                 

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

 

MESSAGE

 

No one is perfect, you know.  And yet, we want everything to be perfect.  Perfect family, perfect job, perfect life, perfect church and perfect pastor.

There is a tongue in cheek chain letter about the perfect pastor that has made the rounds via email and internet that has circulated all over the world.

 

Text Box: The results of a computerized survey indicate the perfect minister preaches exactly fifteen minutes. He condemns sins but never upsets anyone. He works from 8:00 AM until midnight and is also a janitor. He makes $50 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books, drives a good car, and gives about $50 weekly to the poor. He is 28 years old and has preached 30 years. He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all of his time with senior citizens. The perfect minister smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work. He makes 15 calls daily on congregation families, shut-ins and the hospitalized, and is always in his office when needed. If your minister does not measure up, simply send this letter to six other churches that are tired of their minister, too. Then bundle up your minister and send him to the church on the top of the list. In one week, you will receive 1,643 ministers and one of them will be perfect. Have faith in this procedure. One church broke the chain and got its old minister back in less than three weeks....so don't break the chain.             No one is perfect.  Not me.  Not you.  Not our church or our lovely community.  Flaws are just part of life and Paul is telling us that isn’t the point.  The point is find unity through humility.

            Paul, still in prison and his congregation back at First Philippi is worried about him.  They love him as he loved them.  Under the circumstances they would want to match his words “If there is anything to this Christian faith of ours at all, make my joy complete…..”

Paul needs some good news, some joy.  And what brings Paul joy will, indeed, make Jesus feel joy too, because Paul is all about bringing Jesus joy.

There are two central characteristics that make for this kind of a “joyful” church. "...be of the same mind..." and, "...have the same love..."  Having the same mind means that the congregation has a single mindset which is centered in Christ and the good news. Having the same love is simply following the command of Christ to, "...love one another as I have loved you..."  As they live out these two key qualities, they translate to the very practical issues of humility and compassion. "Don't live out of your own ego and personal agenda," Paul enjoins them, "But look out for others, and defer to others before you seek gratification of your own interests."

What would happen if we were to do everything in our power to integrate just these two things into every aspect of our life as a church?  We would center our thinking in Christ and the good news and we would absolutely commit ourselves to having the love of Christ for each other.  And we might even find the perfection that we can attain.

You see, Paul is encouraging our mindset to be Christ’s mindset.  It means giving up on our own agenda (humility) and taking on the mindset that needs unity.

Paul is encouraging the Philippian Christians to get serious about what we can do as a church.  His point is this:  Christ did it for us – let’s live out our lives for him.

Let’s be honest, this is hard work.  Not only do we have to agree on what the mindset of Christ is, but we have to know what to do with it when we find it.

Music, for example, has always been a touchy subject in church.  Some love classical music, others traditional hymns, and there is a large group of people who find meaning in what is now called “praise” music.  There is no problem if only people who like classical music worship in your church.  There is agreement!  The problem happens when you like classical and I like praise music.  Or maybe another likes traditional hymns.  What is the mind of Christ about music?  I don’t know!  None of this music was around when Jesus was so how could we know?

The “mindset of Christ” has to go deeper.  What music allows us to be worshipful?  And then how can I allow someone else to feel worshipful in the same place at the same time?  What do we do if we cannot agree?

The mindset of Christ finds unity in humility.  Sometimes we give up our need to always sing traditional hymns because others find meaning in praise songs or in classical pieces.  The needs of the others sitting around us are as important as our own needs.  Unity through humility.

It is not easy to allow humility out.  In fact, it is miserable at times.  Putting aside our own ego and embracing the humility and love of Christ in a radical way for everyone not just some within the congregation is no easy task.

No wonder there aren't any perfect churches or perfect pastors or perfect people in churches!

Yet - there it is right in front of us in the scriptures.  This is not one of those esoteric, difficult to understand scripture lessons that needs the wisdom of brilliant scholars to explain.  This is not spiritual brain surgery.

"Get your act together! Think like Christ! Love like Christ! and be humble like Christ!"

That's all there is to it.  Easy to understand.  Almost impossible to accomplish.   Figuring out what Jesus wants, what God wants from us is nearly impossible.  But not entirely. 

The quote on the front of your bulletin says a lot:  “You do what you can.  Then you get out of the way,  because you’re not the one who does the work.”

But in order for God to work in us, we have to let God work in us.  Does that make sense?  Maybe I should say ‘in order for God to work through us, we have to let God work in us.’  We can do nothing unless we understand what God can do.  In other words, we need to have a sense of the mindset of Christ in order do be Christ in the world.

This letter ends with the secret how to, at least, be a perfect church.  We’re called to open our lives more fully to the work of God’s spirit in our lives.  We can’t become a great church on our own strength.  Look at the quote on the front of your bulletin. 

 

“You do what you can.  Then you get out of the way,

because you’re not the one who does the work.”

Ann Lamott

 

How do we do that?  Before we answer that, let’s think about reasons we might NOT do it.

It seems that there are three reasons a church wouldn’t seek the mindset of Christ.

1.     They think they are already know what that is.

2.     They are frightened to find out.

3.     They are not interested in learning what God wants them to do.  Instead they are more interested in doing what they want.

 

Even the first one – already knowing – is problematic because one needs

to constantly checking to see if what one believes is continuing to be true.  It’s like the woman who said to her husband “You never say I love you.”  He said, “I told you once.  If that ever changes I’ll let you know.”

            In theory I’m sure she got it, but in reality she wanted to hear it again and again.  Who doesn’t?

            We need to be close to God to ensure that the path we are on is indeed God’s path and not rely on our own sense of survival.  Survival is the last thing in God’s mindset for the church.

            God has a passionate desire for us to live lives that include what Jesus did in that house – loving the unlovables and sharing the word that God loves them. 

            How do we do this?  As a church and as individuals and families? 

            Thomas Merton says that we need to seek creative silence, for only in silence do we find ourselves.  “A Christian can realize himself called by God to periods of silence, reflection, meditation, and “listening.” We are perhaps too talkative, too activistic, in our conception of the Christian life. Our service of God and of the church does not consist only in talking and doing.”  (http://monasticdialog.com/a.php?id=268)

            This may seem like a strange place to end a sermon, but I want to leave you with a thought and invite you to try it this week.  Seek silence.  Invite God to put in your mind, the mindset God has for you and for us.

            We are not perfect, nor can we be perfect.  The church of Jesus Christ isn’t about keeping everyone happy all the time.  It is about worshiping an amazing God, following Jesus who willing died for us, and allowing the Holy Spirit to have a place in our lives….even to the point of us following their leading.

            Are we really followers?  Or are we trying to lead God into our own mindset?

 

No one is perfect. But everyone is changed in the silence of God.