Self Giving Love

Our lesson today from Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one of the most elegant verses of his oeuvre. In fact many consider this to be a well-known hymn that was sung in the Philippian church. Some think that it is Paul’s own composition because it fits his message so well and the transition between it and the rest of the letter is so smooth. As in most situations like this, the answer may be a little bit of both. We remember that Paul is writing to the Philippians in joy, hoping to see them again but fearing that he may not. So he, with this poem, is reminding them of the model for their lives - Jesus Christ. This is not a new theme for Paul. It is found in all of his letters in one form or another. When you choose what to do in any situation remember what Jesus gave up for you. Remember Jesus’ self-sacrificial love to guide your decision.

That is a difficult lesson to learn especially in our day and age when we are bombarded by the opposite message. While we grew up with the golden rule – do unto others as you would like them to do to you – and the ten commandments, mass media and peer pressure soon overtook our childhood lessons with the message of selfishness and that we should put ourselves over others because we deserve it. Paul is not saying that it is easy to answer God’s call. It is not. Even Jesus struggled with this – remember the garden of Gethsemane where he prayed that his task be removed. If we are to humble ourselves as Jesus did, we also will be beset by difficult and, sometimes, unwanted tasks. Tasks like taking care of others who cannot do it themselves and loving our enemies. Not only is Paul calling us to put others before ourselves, he is calling us to do it joyfully.

It does not take much thought to realize that if everyone lived this way the world would certainly be a different place and the task of answering God’s call to love others as God loves us would come naturally. Unfortunately, the world is not like that and our task looks to be impossible. By ourselves it is, but we do not do it alone. We do it together as the body of Christ. In fact, that is the only way that we can do this. We confessed that as we began this morning; we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. It is only with the help of Jesus that we can humble ourselves before others.

This does not mean that we have to give up using our intelligence and do whatever someone else wants. It means the opposite. We need to carefully consider the situation and make decisions. Remember Jesus told the disciples to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves, when he sent them out (Matt. 10:16). That is why Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Here he is not telling us that what we decide to do will determine if we are saved. He is telling us that since we are saved we need to live our lives to show the world Jesus’ saving act. For this task we need to be prepared. We do that by gathering here, confessing our sin, and receiving the life-giving gift of Jesus’ body and blood. We continue this task at home by reading scripture and prayer. By seeing how God’s people responded to their situations and how they struggled to answer God’s call and even seeing their failure we are able to hear God’s call to us and, hopefully, make the correct decision. We can do so confidently because we know we are loved by Jesus who humbled himself for us so that, even when we choose the wrong path, we are forgiven. Go into the world then, with fear and trembling, so that by your work others may see Jesus and know God’s love. And, little by little, with the Holy Spirit as a guide we work to change the world into what God desires it to be.