Ordinary Examples of the Carmen Christi ("An Ode to Joy" A series on Philippians)

ORDINARY EXAMPLES OF THE CARMEN CHRISTI

 

We have had the veil pulled back on the life of Jesus so that we may observe this beautiful picture of Christ’s humility. According to the Carmen Christi (the song of Christ, 2:5-11), Jesus emptied himself of the glory of his nature and took on the form of humanity to be a servant and to die for us. 

            In view of this, we are to work out our salvation. In other words, we are to follow the example of Christ. But what an act to follow. The Church is supposed to follow this beautiful example of Jesus’ sacrifice – Is this what people see? Is the Church living out a humble, sacrificial expression of Jesus? Am I? And how can I hope to follow such an example? Is it possible for an ordinary person to imitate Jesus?

            Paul says “Yes!” Our lives are a witness to the fact that Jesus suffered and died. And by following his example of humility and sacrifice for each other, people will see the truth of a life changed by Jesus. Even if we fail at it, the gospel will still be seen in us. But when we sacrifice, serve, and care for one another, people will see Jesus even more clearly. It still seems impossible to imitate Jesus. How can ordinary people like us follow an extraordinary person like Jesus? Only with Jesus’ help… 

Paul, after showing us the extraordinary example of Christ, gives us two very ordinary examples of living the Christ-centered life. Timothy and Epaphroditus were down-to-earth men who allowed Jesus, by his Spirit, to empower them to live sacrificial lives. They are an encouragement to us that it is possible to be an ordinary example of the extraordinary Jesus.

Let’s look first at a thumbnail of Timothy…

 

1. Timothy: An Example of Unselfish Servanthood (2:19-24)

 

It may seem odd to insert in the middle of a letter, after something like the Carmen Christi, to talk about travel plans. Paul wants to send Timothy, an outsider to the Philippians, to the church at Philippi to see how things are going in the church and to report back to Paul. Very administrative stuff; not very theological. But then again, maybe there is a deeper, more spiritual motive.

            Paul writes, “For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all (who are “they”) seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ,” (20-21). There are clues in this passage that hint at Paul’s intentions for sending Timothy to the Philippians.

            First, Paul says, “I have no one like him.” Wouldn’t you want someone to say that about you? That’s high praise. Yet we know that Paul’s traveling buddy has his weaknesses. In his letters to Timothy, we get the sense that Paul chides him for being too timid (2 Tim. 1) and is sometimes physically hindered by ill health (1Tim 5:23). Timothy was not an athlete or an A-type personality who commands a room, but Paul commends him for his selfless care. As a constant companion of Paul’s, Timothy demonstrated a consistent caring heart. 

            Timothy had a pastoral heart. You don’t have to preach to have a pastoral heart. If you care about people and want to help them to find their way, you have a pastoral heart. “Pastor” comes from shepherding imagery, so feeding, leading, protecting, and healing are pastoral work. That is, perhaps, why it is actually incorrect to call me “pastor” since many of you are pastors as well. 

            Second, Paul has talked about those preachers who have tried to take his place while he was in prison (These preachers are the “they” in verse 21). He said, “Some…preach Christ from envy…out of selfish ambition…” (1:15, 17). Paul said “let them” as long as they preach Christ. But for those who want to follow the example of Christ, he said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility…” (2:3). Then he shows the Philippians, Jesus. And then he sends Timothy…

            So why does Paul send Timothy to Philippi? He sends an ordinary guy who loves the Lord Jesus to show them what it means to love one another. He is a living, breathing example of what the humility of Christ looks like in service and selflessness. 

            No, he’s not perfect; yes, he has flaws and weaknesses. But by the grace of Christ he is showing them Jesus.

 

2. Epaphroditus: An Example of Suffering Servanthood

 

Paul wants to send the Philippians another living, breathing example, but this guy is one of their own. Sometimes it is easy to admire the Christian from another church, or the preacher on TV. But one of your own? Someone you grew up with? You know his or her flaws too well. 

            Epaphroditus was one of their own; he was an insider. There is actually a great story behind this. When the Philippians heard that Paul was in prison, their hearts were moved to action. They sent him a gift of money, and they delivered it through Epaphroditus. They couldn’t all go and be with Paul, so they chose Epaphroditus to represent them and serve Paul physically to attend to his needs. This was a brave thing to do – be a personal attendant to a man facing a capital charge. What if they charged him with the same crime? What if he refused to call Caesar “lord”?

            While in Rome, Epaphroditus became quite ill, deathly ill. Paul felt it best to send him back home where some, no doubt, would probably feel like he had failed his mission. Someone may have said, “You were sent to care for Paul. And he had to care for you.”  But Paul wrote, “I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my need,” (25). If there was any doubt, Paul heaps up five descriptors of how valuable this man was to Paul. He calls him “brother,” a term of affection between those who belong to Christ; fellow worker – someone who shared in proclaiming Jesus; fellow soldier – one who obeys the commands of king Jesus; your messenger – the one you sent; and minister – a term that reveals how deeply Epaphroditus served Paul – even when it nearly cost him his life. 

            Epaphroditus’ friends and family in Philippi viewed him as an ordinary guy. We find it difficult to esteem those among us because when we weigh each other on the scales of life, the balances lean to the negative, the flaws, the weaknesses. But those who quietly serve Jesus, who host people in their homes, who pray in secret for the church, who talk to the fringe guy or girl standing alone – these are ordinary examples of the Carmen Christi – the example of Christ. 

            Brother Lawrence, a 17^th century French monk who worked in a monastery kitchen peeling potatoes, wrote, “That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.” 

 

Paul concludes his commendation of Timothy (the outsider) and Epaphroditus (the insider) saying, “So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men…” (29).

            Honor such people as these in our midst.

            Who are our examples in this church today of ordinary faithfulness? Who would you nominate as an example of Christlike servanthood? 

            Perhaps to name these people publicly would embarrass them. And there would be hurt feelings among those who are not identified and yet have given so much to serve. But maybe I could challenge you to approach them privately, out of earshot, by text or by email, to tell them, “I nominate you.” And then tell them, “Here’s why…you are an example to me of ______________” 

            There have been many examples in my life of people who exemplify Jesus. Many of them are here today. But I will name one who is not: Ed Neufeld, my seminary professor, pastoral colleague, and friend. When he prayed, he talked to Jesus so simply and yet with such intimacy – I really believed we were talking to Jesus, you know? And whenever we talked casually, we talked of Jesus and the Word – it was so natural and so encouraging. His kindness and compassion for my challenges and troubles were Christlike. Ed was my Timothy in so many ways. 

            Who is your ordinary example of Jesus? Let them know how Christ has touched you through them.         

            Look for Jesus in each other. He’s revealing himself in our midst in the people we know.

 

AMEN

 

Responding to the Carmen Christi ("An Ode to Joy" A series on Philippians)

RESPONDING TO THE CARMEN CHRISTI

 

I must confess that preaching on the Carmen Christi (The Song of Christ – Philippians 2:5-11) was a high point, a mountain-top experience. The confession aspect is that it is difficult to follow that up with “another sermon.” When you reach a high, everything else seems downhill from there. 

            What’s next? What follows an amazing spiritual experience in your life? This is the problem with revivals – when a people become so filled with the Spirit and the wonders of God, what do you do with it? Do you go back to your normal work-a-day lives? Or do you sell everything and give to the poor? Does God want you to become a missionary or move to the inner city? What happens next? 

            I learned a new word this week – athleisure. It refers to clothing intended for the purpose of working out. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, a woman who likes to buy athletic apparel enjoys wearing yoga pants around town but seldom has time to actually work out. She said, “When you put on your workout apparel, you think, ‘Huh, maybe I should think about working out today.’” Athleisure means wearing clothes designed for workouts for other purposes that don’t involve working out. 

            You have been clothed with a garment of salvation, the demonstration of God’s love on the cross of Christ. What’s next? You work it out! 

            Following the Carmen Christi there is a “therefore” alert. Paul doesn’t end with the exaltation of Christ – he has a “therefore” for us. Paul tells us what’s next.

 

1. A Response That Requires Action (2:12-13)

 

You are familiar with oxymorons. An oxymoron is a figure of speech, usually one or two words, which seem contradictory. Some examples: jumbo shrimp, paper towel, deafening silence, exact estimate, found missing. 

            Paul has given us a sentence that fits the contradictory nature of an oxymoron. He says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure,”(12-13).

            The problem we see in this statement has to do with our understanding of salvation. It is a free gift from God no one can earn. Now Paul says to work out “your own salvation.” That’s contradictory in itself. Add to that the next thought that as you work it out, God works in you. Why do I have to do anything if God does all the work? Paul’s oxymoron sounds like this: work out your salvation while God works in you. Let’s look at this closer…

            We are to “work out our own salvation.” Each of us needs to wrestle with it on our own to a degree. “Work out” doesn’t mean “earn” or “achieve,” however, it means “do.” Salvation is a gift earned solely by Jesus Christ for us. But there are implications with this gift. If you are in hospital and unable to get out of bed and a brilliant doctor finds the cause and helps to heal you, what do you do? Stay in bed? You get up and walk. If someone gives you a 2026 Corvette, do you keep it in the garage and just revel in possessing a fancy car? No, you drive it. 

            Jesus has saved you. He has saved you from your sins but also saved you to live a new life. The privilege of salvation is to be enjoyed. Walk the new path; don’t just study the map.

            Perhaps that’s why Paul adds “with fear and trembling.” Not that we should live in fear of punishment for walking the new walk incorrectly. No, it means living in the realization that God has given us an unfathomable gift. In the OT when God appeared to people in all his glory, they were filled with “fear and trembling.” It was a natural reaction to encountering the Almighty. 

            And isn’t it encouraging that as we work out our salvation, God is working too? The very desire we have to work out our salvation comes from God – he does that in us. Paul shared this same thought with the Ephesians, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” (2:10). 

            So, the Carmen Christi, the gift of God in Christ, requires action. But what action do we take?

 

2. A Response of Gratitude (2:14-16)

 

The first practical thing Paul says is a little odd: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing…” He doesn’t ask for some grand gesture; in fact, it seems rather mundane. Why would Paul not press for a more extravagant response?

            The key is in the words he uses grumbling, blameless, children of God without blemish, crooked and twisted generation. Paul is building his argument using terms that should make us think of the children of Israel in their wilderness experience. But how does that help? 

            Think of the exodus from Egypt. The children of Israel were witnesses to the most amazing miracle of salvation ever seen up until that time: the crossing of the Red Sea. Their backs were up against the proverbial hard place. Egyptian soldiers were bearing down on them, and they had nowhere to go. Then God opens up the Sea for them to walk through.

            Three days later, the children of Israel started grumbling (Ex. 15:22-24) because there was no water to drink. God tells Moses to strike a rock and they get water. Next, they grumble because they are hungry and want to go back to Egypt where they had food (Ex. 16:2). Then God gives them manna and quail. Then they’re thirsty again (Ex. 17:3). 

            The God who opened the Sea for them and saved them surely would provide for them. Right? But no, following a great salvation, the human tendency is to grumble. Moses wrote of them saying, “They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation,” (Deut. 32:5).

            You see what Paul is saying in this “mundane” challenge? Don’t take salvation for granted. Live it out in faith and obedience. This chapter in Philippians began with a call to think of others as better than ourselves, then gives us Christ who emptied himself for others. Then reminds us of the ingratitude of Israel and how it affected the community.

            Grumbling is a secret displeasure in the heart, and a sullen discontent that leads to criticism. CS Lewis said, “Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others…but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine,” (Mere Christianity). The opposite of grumbling is gratitude…

            Last week I told you about my parking lot issue. My spot had been given away, and I decided to submit. I parked this Monday in a spot further away from the college. But I was unsettled because I may have taken someone else’s spot. I checked my email and wondered where S211 was. So, I asked someone in the office. She didn’t know exactly. Okay, I thought. But then she said there was a general parking area in such and such a zone open to everyone. Why didn’t I park there, she said. I went out and moved my truck to that spot. I am now closer to the college than ever before. I feel blessed. 

            When we shine as lights in a dark world and hold fast to the word of life (working it out; living it), God blesses us in ways we cannot imagine.

 

3. A Response of Joy (2:17-18)

 

It may sound in these next verses that Paul is expecting to be executed. I don’t think that’s what he has in mind when he says he is going to be “poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith.” 

            Paul is talking about giving his all for Jesus by pouring himself into the Philippian believers. A “drink offering” in the OT was something done by a priest; he would pour out a pitcher of wine on the ground or pour it over a meat offering. Paul compares his life to such a sacrifice – he is glad, it brings him joy, to empty his life for the sake of their faith. That word “empty” is nothing less than what Jesus did for us when he left his “glory” and took on being a man. In essence, “I’ll do whatever it takes to help your faith.” He is happy to do this.

            When we think of salvation – forgiveness of sins, the new life, the gift of the Holy Spirit – are we zeroed in on this new direction? Don’t we have a better idea of what life is for? That it’s not about money or pleasure or comfort or entertainment? We are invited to enjoy the gift. As Marc Sims said, “You can use a violin as a tennis racket or to paddle a canoe, but you will never experience the highest joy of a violin until you sit down and play it, until you use it the way it was designed.” 

            Our lives are made for God. Only by walking in the steps of Jesus do we begin to understand what life is for. Your life is not meant to be hoarded but poured out for others. Parents, do you pour out your lives for your children? Husbands and wives, is it your aim to serve each other in your marriages so that your partner experiences the full joy of life in Christ? Young adults, are you living to fulfill a career goal or someone else’s hopes for your life? 

            Our lives are made for God and when we find our joy in him, we find the greater satisfaction.

 

What is our response to the Carmen Christi? 

            Work out your salvation!

            Lehman Strauss says, “God has assumed the responsibility for the inworking, we are responsible for the outworking.” There is no oxymoron in this. This is participation (koinonia) in the life of Christ being lived out in you.

            Work out your salvation with fear and trembling!

            John Ortberg compares it to crossing the ocean. If we set out in a rowboat by ourselves, we’ll never cross that ocean. We don’t have what it takes. But if we just drift, expecting God to blow us across the ocean, that won’t work either.

Neither trying nor drifting are effective in bringing about spiritual transformation. A better image is the sailboat, which if it moves at all, it’s a gift of the wind. We can’t control the wind, but a good sailor discerns where the wind is blowing and adjusts the sails accordingly.

God works, and then we work out what God is working in us.

Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus! Work out your saved life in Jesus!

 

                        AMEN

Have this Mind ("An Ode to Joy" series on Philippians)

HAVE THIS MIND

 

Last week Monday, I went to the college to teach my course as per usual. I spent the morning talking about Jesus and the Holy Spirit with my students and the nature of Scripture. It was a typical Monday morning for me. 

            When my last student left, I walked out to my truck, put my stuff away and got ready to head for lunch. Just as I was about to put the truck in reverse and leave, I noticed a sticky note under my wiper. I got out and discovered a note that read, “Good morning, I think we may have been assigned the same staff parking spot (S217). If so, please let me know and I’ll get it changed. Thanks! Kim Eichorst.” 

            My first reaction: I laughed. When I arrived that morning, there were five empty spots to my left and five empty spots to my right. But my spot was the coveted spot. Now there was a car to my left. I thought, what’s the big deal? 

            The situation started to gnaw at me. I emailed the secretary and explained the humorous predicament and said that I had been parking in that spot for 8 years and never had a problem. Now this. The secretary promptly replied apologizing (but not) and wrote that the SCS has been hiring more teachers, and they needed more parking spots. Period. Then my pride was hurt. I’m just an adjunct professor. I’m a college professor with no pull at my school. I’m not important. I’ve put in my time and have my degrees, but I’m nothing. Cast aside. What would you think? Would you fight for your privileges? Would you press your case?

            I immediately thought of the passage that I was about to preach to you today and thought “Have this mind.” Ugh! Jesus! I was stricken by the words, “who though he was in the form of God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped…” I preach about following Jesus, was I prepared to be like him in this situation? 

            If I claim to have my attitude in life shaped by Jesus, this text (2:5-11) illustrates what that looks like.

The Bridge (2:5)

 

Michael unpacked Paul’s challenge to the Philippian believers to live in unity. The appeal of 2:1-4 was to put aside selfish ambition and conceit and to consider others as more important than ourselves. We are to embrace self-sacrificial humility for the sake of the unity of the church. 

            Verse 5 is a bridge or transition between that thought and the example of Christ in the Carmen Christi. When we look at different translations, we see that they interpret the text rather than give it to us directly (see trans.). We are going to go with the ESV that says, “Have this mind…” Think like Jesus, not just in your relationships, but in all situations. 

            To “have this mind” is then underlined heavily in the Carmen Christi – that’s a fancy name for 2:6-11 meaning, “Song of Christ” or “hymn of Christ.” It is probably the most beautiful song/poem ever written about who Christ is and what he did for us. I invite you to worship Jesus as we study this song.

 

1. The Humiliation of Christ (2:6-8)

 

Though he was God – Verse 6 begins a descent, a downward movement that should shock you. “…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped…” (6). Jesus was in the “form of God.” What does that mean? It could mean that he was exactly God. He was the divine essence, in very nature God himself. He was surrounded by glory; his very appearance was of visible splendor. We are not at this point talking about his inner character or attributes, but about the unapproachable brilliance of his being as God. In the OT, people could not see God directly, but they could see representations of his glory. 

            Now it says that Jesus did not consider this “equality” with God something to be grasped. That is, to be taken advantage of – Jesus did not consider holding onto this position that he already possessed. He was willing to let it go and rather set it aside. You could say, Jesus did not regard equality with God to be an excuse to keep him from saving humankind through suffering. 

He became a servant – The astonishing word Paul uses next is “emptied.” “…but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…” (7). I like how Marc Sims puts it: Does this mean that when Jesus became a man, He un-God-ed himself? When Jesus became a man, did he cease to be God? No, of course not. It seems that Jesus took off the “form” of God to take on the “form” of man; he emptied himself of the Shekinah glory of God (like a robe) and put on the clothing of a man. Even though Jesus was God, he did not take advantage of being God, we might say. Or, rather than say, “though he was in the form of God,” we should say, “because he was in the form of God.” Christ did not cease to be in the form of God when he emptied himself and took the form of a servant (slave); it was in fact because he was in the form of God that impelled him to take on the form of a slave. Why? Because it is the very essence of God’s character to give himself away. Christ emptying himself is exactly who God is – giving himself away is his true self. 

            So, Jesus becomes a servant, a slave actually. Philippians would know how degrading being a slave would be; how powerless, how taken advantage of. Jesus went from a position of total power, to utter powerlessness; from glory to shame; from the rights of being God, to having no rights at all. Paul is not making this up; Jesus taught this to his disciples (Mark 10:43-45) and demonstrated it (John 13). 

John 13

The Footwashing

 

·      Knowing he had come from God, Jesus rises from the table and lays aside his outer garment.

·      Jesus clothes himself with a towel

·      Jesus performs a menial task reserved for slaves – washing feet

·      When finished, Jesus again takes his outer garments and puts them on

 

·      Jesus resumes his place at the table

 

·      Jesus says, “you call me teacher and Lord and you are right, for so I am.

 

Philippians 2:6-11

Carmen Christi

 

·      From his position of eternal, pre-existent equality with God, Jesus…lays aside the garment of his visible glory 

·      Clothes himself with human nature

·      Jesus takes the form of a slave and serves others

·      After his work on earth is finished, Jesus returns to the visible glory he shared with the Father before time

·      Jesus is exalted by the Father and sits down on his heavenly throne

·      Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (credit: Sam Storms)

He became a man – Jesus didn’t just look like a man; he was a man. “…being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form…” In the OT, the debate is whether the angel of the LORD or the fourth man in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, was the pre-existent Jesus. If it was, those were occasions where Jesus just showed up. When Jesus broke into history in “human form,” he fully and entirely took on human nature to the degree that he was born! Jesus became an infant going through the microscopic stages of being a zygote in his mother’s womb till he was born in the typical contractions and pain of any birth. He was born into poverty and servitude – at the whim of his “betters.” 

He humbled himself to death – Please note this carefully: Jesus humbled himself. No one humbled him; he did it. You and I are often humbled by others when we are cut down to size. Jesus did this himself: “…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…” (8). 

            To speak of crucifixion is to speak of a slave’s death. He didn’t just die, Jesus died a horrible, torturous death. Crucifixion was designed to be the ultimate insult to injury – the removal of all dignity. It was humiliating and demoralizing. Degradation was the point. A victim was executed publicly at a major crossroads (like Portage and Main), stripped of all clothing, left to be eaten by birds and rats, ridiculed by passersby. Why would Jesus humble himself to be treated so grossly? 

            Remember, Jesus was in the form of God. Being God, he did not take advantage of it. BECAUSE he was God! Jesus did not renounce his being God, he EXPRESSED supremely who God is, ON THE CROSS! 

            These first three stanzas do not lift our eyes up to heaven to see the wonders of creation; they do not even lift up our hearts by showing us wonderful miracles; no, they take us down, down, down, to the deepest, darkest hell-hole in human history to see the horrific torture and unspeakable abuse, and bloody execution of a slave on a cross (Hansen, PNTC). 

 

2. The Exaltation of Christ (2:9-11)

 

“Therefore…” – What is the “therefore” there for? It connects what we just read to what happens next. We read that Christ humbled himself with the causal result that the Father responds by exalting Jesus, his Son. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.” And Jesus said, “If you want to be first, you must be last and the servant of all,” (Mk 9:35). 

            The preacher at my friend’s funeral said something profound: when Dennis entered into the presence of Jesus, Jesus gave him a crown. And Dennis took that crown and threw it down at Jesus’ feet. If we pursue honor before humility we get nothing; if we pursue humility like Jesus, we find more than we expected. Much more.

He is given the “Name” – The giving of a name in the Bible marks a new stage in that person’s life. Abram became Abraham when he received the promise of God (Gen 17). Jacob became Israel when God began a new relationship with him (Gen 32). We get a new name when we overcome the world through Jesus (Rev. 2:17). What is Christ’s new name?

            LORD! Jesus came to be known in the early church as Lord. It was revolutionary, even treasonous. Only Roman emperors were called “lord”, and the Philippians knew how dangerous it was to give this honor to anyone else. It was blasphemous to the Jews to call Jesus “Lord” because to them it was the most holy name, a name they dared not utter. But in this song, Jesus is called LORD – Yahweh! 

Every knee will bow – At this name Jesus has been given, “…every knee should bow, 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.” It is a remarkable thing that this song reflects exactly Isaiah’s prophecy where the God of Israel is alone worthy of the title Lord (Isaiah 45:22-23). 

“Assemble yourselves and come;
    draw near together,
    you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
    who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
    that cannot save.
21 Declare and present your case;
    let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is none besides me.

22 “Turn to me and be saved,
    all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ (Isaiah 45:20-23)

Do you see what Paul is saying? How is Jesus worthy of this honor and this glory?

            The startling reality is that this Jesus, our Jesus, humbled himself and was crucified, and God raised him up and gave him this highest of names – a name like no other. He is seated at the right hand of the Father in glory because he said, “Hey, that’s my parking spot!” He reached the highest heavens because he stepped on others and climbed his way to the top! He discovered his purpose in life and said, “Me first. I have to take care of myself before I take care of others.” No – he is exalted to the highest place because he chose to lose everything, to die, to go to the lowest place a human being could go. 

            This goes against everything our world tells you. The way to win is to gather the most, to get on top, look out for number one, love yourself first, and “unfriend” those who hurt you or don’t affirm you. But Jesus shows us a different way – a path of lowliness and service. A path that goes against the flow and honestly seems illogical. In God’s book of life, that’s the path to the highest place. 

 

Have this mind…

            My son thinks that I’m weird because I hold the door open for others, or when I let others go first. He thinks I’m too nice to strangers at times. I’m not bragging to you; I’m trying to show him and others that I am working at having this mind – the mind of Christ. 

            “Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus…” Carmen Christi is a restatement of 2:1-4. It is the basis and reason for Paul saying, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” 

            Having this mind, this mind of Christ, gives us peace when we are last, when we are brought low in the esteem of others, when we are forced to be servants – or choose to be – because we know that we are living the V-shaped life. Like Jesus, we can draw the downward stroke of the V and trust God to draw the up stroke. We need to learn to trust God that when we choose the lowest place and serve others, that he will affirm us and lift us up. 

            Have this mind…

            I have to say again, Jesus did not stop being God when he became a human being and took on the lowly servant role. No, in fact he showed us exactly what God is like by bending down and loving us right to the cross.

            If you know Jesus, this all makes sense. We can have this mind because it is already ours in Christ Jesus. He calls us to participate in this downward life for the sake of others. 

            If this Jesus is foreign to you, then I invite you to get to know him. Pray over this Carmen Christi and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the path he walked in the Gospel narratives. He was not a doormat. He was not kicked to the corner. Jesus chose to be a servant and God exalted him.

            Choose to be a servant and trust God to lift you up.

            Have this mind…

 

                                                AMEN