“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of
my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock
and my redeemer.”
Amen.
Good morning everyone! How many of you remember that movie Ferris
Bueller’s Day Off? It came
out in the ‘80s, and was about a high school boy who, well, decides to take a
day off of school. He had a really excruciatingly
boring, American history teacher who spoke in a very dry monotone way, like this, (in very slow monotone) “Turn your textbooks to page xxx.. today we are going to study the
Transcontinental Railroad…”
In fact, that teacher reminded me of
the history teacher I had for American History class in high school! (Tortured look)
However, I do enjoy history. Especially those history shows on PBS like “American Experience” and the Ken Burns
films. How many of you watched the Ken Burns series on
The Roosevelts the other week? Wasn’t
that interesting?
There is also another show on PBS that
I really like, a history – mystery show called (say in heavy, mysterious voice) “Secrets of the Dead”. A
real head turner with that title I know!
These shows are very, very good at drawing
you in as they tell the story. They
are very well done, wonderfully researched and creatively dramatized and filmed.
One thing they teach us is that there is
always more to the story than we previously thought. Many perspectives!
Every week when I begin the arduous process
of writing a sermon, the first thing I do is research the scripture passage’s,
or the story’s background and history. Context as it
is called. What was the setting? The geography? The history?
Who were the people in the story?
How did things change over time?
It helps me to imagine what was going
on way back then. It sets the
stage. Whether or not I include this
information in the sermon is another thing, but having this information helps
me to better understand…and “see” in my mind’s eye “the story”.
Notice every Sunday service we have
four scripture readings; an Old
Testament reading, a Psalm, a second reading, usually an epistle, and a Gospel passage. Most sermons focus on the Gospel, sometimes
the Old Testament reading. The epistle
usually gets overlooked. So for today,
let’s focus on the second reading, the epistle, Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
What is going on in Philippians? Who were the Philippians? Why is this letter in the Bible? What mysteries of history does it have for
us today? And what spiritual wisdom can
we glean from this scripture passage?
This epistle, (Greek for ‘letter’), was
written by Paul to the people of the church in the city of Philippi in about
the year 61 or 62 AD, while he was in jail.
So, with the epistles, ancient letters, we are reading really, really
old mail!
But first, where was / is the city of
Philippi?
It
is located in northern region of Greece, in Macedonia & Thrace, up near
modern day Bulgaria, where the land arches around the sea towards what is
modern day Turkey.
Philippi is named after Philip II of Macedon, the father of
Alexander the Great. The famous saying,
“divide
and conquer” is attributed to Philip II. And as we know, his son Alexander certainly
took that lesson to heart!
The church at
Philippi is actually very important in history. It was the first
Christian church congregation started on the continent of Europe!
So, here we have Paul writing to the
church in Philippi from his jail cell.
And in his letter he mentions the names of two women, Euodia (pronounced
EEOODA) and Syntyche (SIHN-tih-chee).
Euodia & Syntyche were church
members, and they were having a squabble or disagreement of some sort. It was really
affecting the church and not for the positive.
Well, we know this NEVER happens in churches anymore!!! Right? (Smile!)
This is proof that tensions in church congregations are no modern
problem!
Paul says, “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” In
other words, he is telling them to refocus!
To focus on God.
Be of one mind, in other words, stay as
one!
I did find it ironic that the city of Philippi,
named after the person who coined to phrase “divide and conquer”, and yet Paul’s letter to the Philippians is
about unity!
So many political and military leaders
throughout history have employed “divide and conquer” in their pursuits. And it does work, as far as taking over organizations,
nations, fighting military battles and overpowering others.
But as we know, with family, friends,
co-workers and colleagues, this does not at all work. That is unless you wish to split up the
organization. One may win an argument,
but in the process alienate everyone.
Win the battle, lose the war, so to
speak.
And so, Paul encourages unity and focusing on God.
Aside from encouraging unity, joy
is a central concept in his letter. Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will
say, Rejoice!”
I ask you, are you joyful? Are you a joyful person?
One can be joyful anytime,
anywhere… even in the most difficult of circumstances. Joy is a discipline of perception. Think of a time when you felt God’s joy…in
spite of being in a very difficult place in life.
It is interesting to note,
that Paul here is writing about joy as he sits in prison waiting his sentence,
which he knows will probably be death.
And yet, he is expressing, teaching and living God’s joy!
Happiness? We know that
is a whole other thing, isn’t it? Happiness, and the pursuit of it, is based on
circumstances. Joy is not.
And so, in his letter to the
Philippians, Paul encourages the church to rejoice together, for joy is
incomplete unless it is shared.
Joy, like love is
subversive. It overturns threatening
situations and frustrates those with selfish plans. Tyrants and dictators in every age have
feared it, because they do not understand its origin.
Paul then talks about prayer
in his letter. It comes naturally to
Paul that prayer should be intimately associated with joy in the Lord. Prayer
here is not a technique, it is relationship with God.
Like joy, prayer is not an
escape but a practice of regarding some painful situation from another angle, open
to multiple resolutions that God may want us to consider.
Let me re-read to you the
soothing passages in Paul’s letter:
‘Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord
is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus’.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is
commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of
praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have
learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be
with you.’
These words Paul writes are
not just platitudes and feel good passages.
Keep in mind, Paul is writing this to a church that is having conflict. Opposition
and struggle within and without the church form the context of this passage.
Many quit coming to church
because of “drama”, the arguing, the disagreements, the games people play, and
yes, the mean spirited comments. It is
not easy! Believe me, I know!
But spiritual growth takes
more than just being on a “spiritual journey” and doing it all alone. We need others! We humans are social animals! We need community! We learn from each other. We help one
another. We share in each others joys and sorrows.
However, as we all know, when
you have three people (or more) you have politics. And this is true anywhere; for families,
friends and every organization, not just churches. And yes, sometimes (sigh) we have differences
and disagreements.
When this happens… and it
always will… let us remember what Paul teaches.
Refocus! Focus
on God. The church at Philippi
may be a church in ancient history, of people that lived long ago and have long
since been dead. But the spiritual truths and the lessons are very much alive for
us today.
In God’s kingdom, “divide and
conquer” does not work. You will win the
battle, but lose the war.
Let us focus on God. Rejoice
in the Lord always…and let your gentleness be known to everyone. And the peace of God, which passes all
understanding, will be with you.
Let the people hear what the
Spirit is saying!
Amen.
[Sermon by the Rev. Laura Adelia, given Sunday, Oct 12, 2014.]
No comments:
Post a Comment