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If then, there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy... Why haven’t we completed our tasks to bear the fruit of joy, yet alone be anywhere near unified in thought, Word and deed? Is it because what we’ve done and left undone that has only looked to our interests first over and above others?
St.
Paul’s hopeful voice pleads to a hopefully unified soul: “5Let
the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus...” Instead we overlooked His fully Divine and
fully human nature and exploited God for what He could do to further our causes
and purely be a giver with no accountability and no gracious response to share
in return...
Christ emptied or in the actual
Greek, made “void” His earthly existence as an obedient act to the law of
Love. Through this act, He would become
our font of endless GRACE through a cross we have yet to understand and bear as
His disciples! God lifted Him up higher, than we could ever fathom... where His
name shapes all below—bending, turning every heart where every knee is compelled
to bend in all dimensions of time and space in worship, praise and commitment.
Soon we can do no other but confess
with our lips: Glory BE to God—Jesus Christ is LORD! A creedal song sung deeply in the catacombs
of a heart, a life’s time journey from completely turning and fully living into
the Lifestyle of Grace—The Kingdom of God.
Therefore if then, there is any
encouragement in Christ—we love the Lord and Love our neighbor truly,
truthfully: We must be and become accountable
through our humble role in the priesthood of all believers to work out our
salvation, reconciliation with the Lord...
We must realize how truly God is at work within us, enabling us to will
and to work for His Goodness, His delight.
We must break away from our
struggling... to truly and truthfully live into being, becoming the children of
Grace—salt and light for the rest of the world to see. All of this will be seen in how we are led
and fed by the Living Word; where nothing we do, say, be, become are ever in
vain when they are done for the Lord.
Even if our lives become sacrificial as a loving and gracious response
to a loving and gracious God; let us rejoice and love one another as our
Heavenly Father loves us indeed.
I can’t translate, re-translate,
read and re-read St. Paul’s beautiful letter to the Philippians enough; for
there are just too many things it brings to the heart of the hearer, time and
time again! Much like the Beatitudes, it
is St. Paul’s beautiful Words for us to hear timelessly what Christ gave to us
and who we were, and who we are to be and become as children of Grace.
You can nearly hear the Psalmist
mirror the heart’s voice in response: “4Make me to know your ways, O
Lord; teach me your paths. 5Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for
you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 9He
leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10All
the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep
his covenant and his decrees.”
These Words are centuries old from a
people and a culture that grew out of suffering, acceptance and renewal to
become a unified identity soulfully in sync with God—living faithfully into
Grace. Their bright light and salt for
the world has been shining for well over 2,000 years. Though, what is time in regards to God’s
time?
I had a very disturbing dream the
other night created most likely out of the careful snippets the media here
would only allow you to hear or see... I
had a dream that I saw the ISIS movement as a large, encompassing black cloud
of death. It was moving across the
landscape destroying everything in its path.
It couldn’t be heard, yet alone seen as it was a black hole of sorts
where everything any source of light could not escape it.
There was only one other time in
history we could say shares this image and that would be the Holocaust. American eyes were sheltered safely for some
two years of so to the horrors of death, the Nazi regime would impart upon the
world. Was it out of indifference or
protection? That’s not where this sermon
will go... where it will go however is in wondering... when we become a heartless culture to turn
away from both God and neighbor; we can only aid building the foundation of a
graceless wilderness. The black death of
ISIS is being fueled by our avoidance of the struggle...
This is not to add or imply
Augustine’s just war theory, is the only way to circumvent evil... But did we ever go to the root of how this
all began? Convert or Die is no way to be obedient to God’s will... It is an
earthly manifestation of power and conquest at the expense and demise of
neighbor. A young college student shared
with me that her teacher pulled her out of class to chide her for daring to
speak of acceptance over tolerance... We
only teach tolerance here, said her instructor.
If this is so, how could we even remotely find any encouragement in
Christ yet alone His Gospel of Grace?!
Being “civil” is the new politically
correct ideology for circumventing responsibility, for avoiding harboring a
healthy humility towards God and fellow man.
The day-in-the-life of Riley needs to find a true path home. It’s like treating a cancer with a
transactional balm; there is little healing it brings to the surface. The heart
is left damaged and isolated from God.
Acceptance as implied by Paul’s
perspective in his beautiful conversation to the Philippians here is all about
whose we are and living into, embracing our role as God’s salt and light in the
world—children of Grace. In accepting our role spiritually and in gracious
response to a loving and gracious God, we could defeat the black cloud of death
that Satan has brought to fruition currently with ISIS.
Like the dust storms in the west, if
we merely allow them to brush things away—we are just being civil and tolerant
to the scourge of evil ISIS has become in the world. If then, there is any encouragement in
Christ; we need to NOT be of the world but be and become Christ’s ambassadors
in this world to restore light and purpose to our days and our ways—in, with,
and through Christ Jesus for Love.
St. Paul’s voice freely built by and
for Grace brought down those prison walls he was in to inspire, empower,
encourage and enlighten a burgeoning community of believers. It could just be
simply seen as he was the first pastor beautifully using his pastoral gifts to
think, care and BE for the Philippians so that they may carry on for Christ’s
sake and neighbor.
Why just Paul I ask for us
today? Yes, this is an ancient text, a
moment in the history of the Christian faith... but where we are in the here
and now of things; why can’t we turn, then and live? Turn from just being civil, tolerant,
delegating, judging, transactional and self-concerned to a faith-filled
realization of GRACE alive in our hearts to LIVE for God and Neighbor? If then there is any encouragement in Christ;
the power of GRACE fueling our faith-filled hearts would indeed conquer evil in
many forms and ways more powerfully than we could ever imagine!
This is about a whole 'nother war my
friends... one not played with buttons and consoles but with Grace in
action! Haven’t we learned anything from
the horrors of evil in the past? Could
it have all been because of our judgmentalism and indifference that aided to
murder thousands upon thousands within the Holocaust evil reign? Compassion has hands and feet but they must
be realized solely through our faith.
Christ never died in vain for us
sinners for we can aspire to be and become saints through a heart dedicated for
God. We can will and to work together
for the Lord’s goodness, righteousness and delight. Joy, peace, love, kindness, mercy and more
are there within us to tap into, they are the beautiful attitudes of
Grace. If then, there is any encouragement
in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion
and sympathy, turn, then and live for the Lord!
AMEN
September 28th, 2014,
16th Sunday After Pentecost; Year A; SOLA Lectionary Nicole Collins
Psalm 25:1-10; Ezekiel 18:1-4,
25-32; Philippians 2:1-18 & Matthew 18:15-20
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