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David Orendorff    Philippians 2:12-18   September 27, 2009

To review: Paul writes this letter to Philippi around 90 CE from prison. He is in prison accused of treason because he preaches, against Caesar, that Jesus Christ is the true son of God and the one Lord. He preaches that God wants unity by lovingkindness and humility, not a peace enforced by domination.

Paul writes to the small congregation in Philippi because he has heard of factions among them that have broken the unity of the community. He pleads with the whole congregation to end the factions by being humble with each other; by regarding the concerns of others as more important than their own; by seeking lovingkindness and unity rather than winning and domination. He pleads with them to have in them the mind of Christ.

I spent most of the sermon last Sunday describing the mind of Christ as Paul recites the early Christian hymn in Philippians 2:5-11. Succinctly Christ thought this way: Though he was equal with God, Jesus chooses not to exploit his power but to be humble and humiliated before all, giving the gift of nonviolent love, even dying on the cross. This loving gift is recognized by God and God raises Jesus to be the Christ, the Lord of all.

Paul seeks to live with the mind of Christ in him and, like Jesus, will literally give his life rather than recant God’s love as the true way to local and globally unity and peace. He sees this as his mission. There are several places in Paul’s letters which indicate that Paul’s vision of Christ’s body, the church, was a people unified, equal and at peace. He writes:

• in Romans 10:12: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, the same Lord is Lord of all…”
• in I Corinthians 12:13: “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free…”
• in Colossians 3:11: “…there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
• and probably most famously in Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

A possible mission statement for Paul might read, “To unite a divided world by God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ.” It would be a very good mission statement for any one of us and for a congregation. The focus is on bringing a unity of love, humility, servanthood, generosity and peace to diverse peoples. It is a purpose which transcends ethnic origins, political loyalties, economic polarities and gender. Paul calls the Philippians to have this purpose as their purpose, their mission.

For Paul, love, as revealed in Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection, is the salvation of persons and the world. Peace does not come by domination or a forced conformity. Peace is brought by lives that proclaim beyond our differences is the love of God. Of this mission, when writing the congregation in Corinth, he says,

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.[1]

And the power of God is love. He gives a clear statement of his vision when he writes the Corinthians.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.[2]

Our United Methodist understanding of a common mind of love leading to individual purpose is based in Paul’s understanding. Paul uses several metaphors to describe how God makes a diverse people unified for a single purpose. In I Corinthians 12 he talks about there being a great variety of Spiritual gifts but one Spirit, one Lord and one God and then says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” And he speaks of one body with many parts, each essential to the full life of the one body.

Paul fully understands he does not make himself love, but that the Spirit dwelling in him teaches and transforms him into lovingkindness. Christ came to Paul (then Saul) on the road to Damascus even as Paul persecuted Christ’s church, struck him down, blinded him and asked him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” And Saul/Paul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”[3]

It is God as the Spirit of Christ which enters Paul so that Paul is changed to becoming ever more just like Christ. Paul says that in his life he works this process out with “fear and trembling.” He doesn’t call the Philippians to have his mind or to do what he has done. Instead he says to them, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”[4]

The fear of God is not the same thing as fearing a mad man with a gun. For though God has the power of a mad man with a gun, God is not madness, but love. The fear of God is a full gut acknowledgement that God is absolutely in charge. And the trembling is not from fear but from relief. It is the trembling we feel when the danger has passed and we tremble, realizing we are now safe. It is a trembling of relief that God chooses the way of love and chooses us to make that love live.

As the Philippians find their way (work out their salvation) from factions to unity, they are to do so in absolute awe and obedience to God and with a trembling of relief that God will lead them with love. Paul writes to them, “For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

The question to the Philippians and to us is, “To what purpose or mission do we give our lives, even our deaths?” On a personal level, I can’t speak for any of you. But for me, I give my life to God, trusting God will transform me into an ever more loving person, trusting that God will use me for the healing transformation of the world.

I can, however, make some observations about Bear Creek and her mission. I have come to believe that the purpose Paul saw in his life is also the fundamental mission of Bear Creek. Bear Creek’s mission statement (look at it in your bulletin) says it this way, “The mission of Bear Creek is to create a diverse family place of belonging for all people to reach out and make disciples of Christ.” The words “diversity, family, belonging” all reflect the call to unity in love. And the focus upon Jesus Christ tells us that it is Christ-like love we seek for all.

Admittedly, it is sort of a messy way of saying it. This tells me that it was written by a large group on a weekend retreat; it tells me that those present worked hard to get all their important words said; and it tells me that the folks on that retreat worked diligently to love each other. When love is the Spirit that guides a community, then messy will be present. To Bear Creek loving is much more important than a tidy and neat phrase. This love makes Bear Creek a safe place for all of us to seek a deeper relationship with God and to find ways together to take the love we learn to the world. Admittedly, we are not perfect in our love. This means we will sometimes wound each other. But by the power of that Spirit, even the wounding becomes an opportunity for the Spirit to works its mystery in making us just like Jesus.

At Bear Creek we believe in a diverse family of belonging that both teaches and lives the love of Jesus Christ. We are a congregation called to reach out to the broken world with the love that will heal and unite. Cottage Lake needs communities like Bear Creek where messy diversity is celebrated. God needs people like us who gather to be made love and to stand firmly for God’s all inclusive forgiveness, which takes the wounded and makes them whole-a congregation dedicated, like Paul, to unity in the love of God.

Next Sunday we will take time in a mini retreat to look closely at our mission. Not so much to craft the words better, but to take it to heart and ask ourselves:

“Does this statement truly reflect our God-given purpose?”

“Am I cooperating with the Holy Spirit so that I am transformed to love?”

“Am I faithful in worship, study and service so that the Spirit is changing me from glory into glory?”

“How can we together be better at living our mission so that we care for each other in a way that deepens faith?

“How can we reach out with the love of God so that we build Bear Creek in Spirit and numbers for the transformation of the world?”

This is the beginning and the heart of our Spiritual Renewal as a congregation. Every one of you is invited to this mini retreat, to come for worship, stay for a brief congregational meeting, enjoy lunch together and get to work on Spiritual Renewal at Bear Creek.

Shalom and Amen.

[2] I Corinthians 13:1-8a

[3] Acts 9:1-9

[4] Philippians 2:12