I love watching the Olympics. Numerous times over the last two weeks, I found myself staying up later than normal, nodding off in my chair, and waking up to enjoy once again the thrill and drama of the world’s greatest sports spectacle. The Olympics were probably my first introduction as a child into being a world citizen. There is something wondrous about watching all those teams entering an Olympic stadium carrying their local flags for the opening ceremony, smiling and waving, glad and excited to be there. The personal stories of Olympians were a significant introduction for me as a child to the potential of the human spirit, how tremendous discipline and hard work, combined with just enough natural talent, can lead even an average person to the height of human accomplishment.
Our text today is about humility in service to others, about emptying oneself for the sake of Christian unity and mission. On the surface, the Olympics may appear to be just the opposite, not about humility and emptying oneself, but about lifting oneself up as high as possible. But when we hear the stories behind the successes, when we hear about the hours and hours and hours of training, when we hear about the long and difficult workouts and about their obedience to their coaches, every day, all year long, in order to gain just the possibility of competing, we begin realize the sacrifices that have been made. Over the past two weeks, we have heard many humble words about being compelled to do one’s best, not simply for one’s own sake, but for the sake of something much larger than themselves, for the sake of country, for the sake of team, for the sake of the spirit of the Olympics.
In the summer of 1990, after leaving an international accounting firm and the world of debits and credits, I spent most of the summer entering the world of Greek vocabulary and verb endings. My classmates at the seminary and I would have class from nine to noon, enjoy lunch in the refectory, then many of us would play volleyball on a court located just behind Campbell Hall. We would play for an hour or two, until it was time to return to our studies later in the day. One of the reasons I love watching the exciting Olympic volleyball games is because of my positive memories of that diverse seminary class coming together in joyful teamwork during warm afternoons on the volleyball court.
That next fall, I took my first exegesis course with Dr. David Moessner. The text chosen for the course was Paul’s Letter to the Church in Philippi, and I can honestly say that I received during that intensive course both a strong foundation for biblical studies as well as a more biblical understanding of the Church. For the major exegesis paper assigned, I chose Philippians 2:1-4, part of our text for today. What I learned from the work on that one exegesis paper, on those four verses from Philippians, was that:
1) A person could spend their whole life studying Holy Scripture and never exhaust all the treasures to be discovered, and
2) therefore I might actually be able to become a preacher.
I discovered that in just four short verses, there were multiple sermon possibilities. I discovered the many different directions a preacher could be led by one extended Pauline sentence. Biblical preaching, at its heart, is never dependent upon what the preacher has to say, but is based on the constantly flowing fountain of what God is still speaking to the Church in Holy Scripture.
So, what may God be speaking to the Church today in Philippians 2? Hear the Word of God:
Since then there is encouragement in Jesus Christ, since there is consolation from love,
since there is fellowship of the Holy Spirit, since there is affection and compassion,
complete my joy by minding the one thing, having the same love,
being united in spirit, being concerned for the one thing,
and doing nothing for personal advantage or vainglory
but in humility regarding others as better than yourselves,
not looking to one’s own interests but the interests of others. (translation from the Greek)
The central appeal of these verses, Philippians 2:1-4, is unity among the congregation. Paul offers his beloved congregation in Philippi one long, emotion-filled sentence in order to impress upon them the importance of being united as one. At the heart of Paul’s appeal is that since the church had experienced special fellowship with the Holy Spirit and warm and encouraging love for one another, they should continue to do so as one body. Consider this paraphrase as another way of restating Paul’s appeal:
Since our congregation has experienced encouragement and comfort from each other
in our lives as a Christian community, since we have felt the reassurance and consolation
from the love that we have shared, since we have been aware of the workings of the Holy Spirit
within our community life, and since we are aware that God in Jesus Christ
deeply loves and cares for each of us and has been merciful to us,
let us therefore allow God to make us whole through the unification of our minds,
our hearts, and our souls,
as we intentionally serve Jesus Christ together as a community of believers.
Let us do nothing out of selfish ambition or pride
or anything that seeks to bring into glory upon ourselves,
but let us regard each other always with mutual respect and love,
recognizing our own shortcomings and reliance on God’s grace.
Let us not be concerned with our own interests,
but let us constantly recognize and act upon the interests of others.
At the presbytery meeting yesterday, we honored outgoing presbytery executive Rev. Penny Hill. As some of you may know, Penny, who was not a smoker, has been suffering from and fighting hard against stage four lung cancer. The event was bittersweet – we witnessed a beautiful tribute to a vibrant and enthusiastic soul who has been greatly appreciated for her work in trying to keep conflicted churches together. Throughout the last four years, Penny embodied the heart of Philippians 2. Whenever Penny would visit a session of a church that was caught up in conflict, she would encourage the elders to “choose each other instead of choosing sides,” to love each other and worship with each other and share communion at a common table, especially when they disagreed with one another.
It is clear in Paul’s letter to Philippi that we was seeking to avoid in this beloved church some problems faced in other congregations. There seemed to have been a potential problem brewing between the two women mentioned in chapter 4, Euodia and Synteche. There also may have been some disagreement in the congregation related to particular teachings. And then there may have been issues related to Paul himself, to the feeling that he had unequal relationships with members of this beloved congregation. Paul let his beloved church know that his joy could become full to overflowing when the church discovered the ability to live in harmony through humble service.
Whatever the potential problems in Philippi, Paul’s answer was for them “to mind the one”, literally in the Greek. Paul was not asking the congregation for uniform opinions nor for doctrinal orthodoxy, for that in itself would have created dissension. Rather, Paul was seeking an harmonious disposition, a loving attitude toward one another. Paul was so emphatic about this call for unity that he repeated his plea in four similar phrases.
Mind the one,
have the same love,
be united in spirit,
be concerned for the one.
Paul appeals not only to the way we think about each other, but also to the way we feel about each, the way we act toward each, the attitude toward each other we possess.
In Olympic volleyball, chemistry among teammates is critical. No matter how much skill a group of unusually tall athletes may have in bumping, setting, and spiking, if there is little chemistry between the players, they will not be able to compete. An Olympic volleyball team is required to “mind the one,” to be united in spirit, and often to humble oneself for the sake of the team. In volleyball, like many team sports, one player, even an exceptional player, cannot be overly concerned with their own interests, but must mind the interests and needs of others.
Paul’s antidote for any threat of disunity lies in doing nothing for personal advantage or selfish ambition,
and doing nothing for empty glory, but in humility, regarding others as better than yourselves, and looking not to your own interests but to the interests of others. The Olympic teams that took on this mindset, that held this attitude over the last two weeks, have competed very well and have brought joy to their coaches and countries. Self-assertion will create rivalries and jealousies and will ultimately destroy community life. Humility and minding the needs of others follows the example of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself and became obedient for the sake of all.
I did good work on that paper for Dr. Moessner years ago, but he “dinged” me on one aspect. He commented that I could have made more of a connection with the following verses, 5-11, which is known as the Christ hymn. The force and meaning of verses 1-4 are dependent upon verses 5-11. Christian unity and humility are dependent upon the One who came to reveal to us the still more excellent way, the way of self-giving, other-oriented agape love. Speaking strongly against self-centeredness and partisanship, Paul lifts up the attitude of Jesus Christ – one of self-emptying love and humble service with an ultimate concern for the other – the attitude that ultimately leads to the glory of God and the fulfillment of God’s will.
Scholars view the Christ hymn not simply as a moral example, but as a confession of faith, a reminder to the congregation that their foundation is Jesus Christ, and it is his life, death and resurrection that will unite them as a community, come what may.
Hear the Word of God from Philippians 2:5-11:
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, 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.
Over the past two weeks, it seemed that there was an attitude among many Olympic athletes that they were blessed to be there. Even though they have been incredibly disciplined in their training, even though they have committed themselves to hours and hours of workouts, even though they have humbled themselves in obedience to the technical and motivational directions of their world class coaches, even though they have faced all the challenges of teamwork, from the wonder of synchronized swimming, which boggles my mind, to the coordination of the roster of all-star basketball team, there remained an attitude among many of humble service to something greater than themselves.
Whether it was the US women’s relay team huddling for a prayer after every race, or the indomitable Usain Bolt crossing himself and pointing heavenward as a preparation for each race, or the sincere comments of all the unknown athletes who spoke about what a privilege it was to represent their country, the shared humanity of the privilege of Olympic competition was evident.
Paul’s encouragement to the church in Philippi, and my encouragement to this congregation, is to recognize, remember, and act upon the privilege of humble Christian service. Friends, since we have known encouragement in our faith in Jesus Christ, since we have experienced deep consolation in our love for one another, since we know the warm fellowship we have shared in the Holy Spirit, and since we know the deep affection and compassion that Jesus Christ has been given to us, then let us, by God’s grace, live as a community where there is no place for rivalry or selfishness, and where each member puts the interests and concerns of others before his or her own. In such a community of faith, the church grows strong against every external and internal threat, individual members are strengthened in faith, hope and love, and unity in humble service thrives to the glory and praise of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
August 21, 2016
