My theology professor often started class by having us sing a hymn together.  It was her contention that most of us know more theology from hymns than from Scripture.  Of course, the hymns she chose were ones that reflected the theology she wanted us to learn. 

 

Paul seems to be doing something similar with the Philippians.  Verses 6-11 of this text are commonly referred to as “The Christ Hymn.”  Scholars spend a lot of time and ink discussing whether Paul or someone else wrote the hymn and how to divide the lines into stanzas, but there is almost universal agreement that this is an example of a very early hymn of the church. 

 

Christ Jesus, who was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited.

 

Remember Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve?  They ate of the forbidden fruit because they believed that it would make them like God.  Jesus already was divine, but did not believe that sort of grasping/snatching/exploitative behavior was worthy of God, and so emptied himself.

 

Perhaps you saw the movie The King’s Speech.  It was based on the events that occurred because King Edward VIII gave up his throne.  Edward was deeply in love with a woman who was divorced.  It was simply unacceptable for a king to marry a divorcee.  Edward loved this woman and because of that love, he voluntarily set aside his right to be king, and all the glory and power and splendor that came with it.  That is not a perfect metaphor, but perhaps with a little imagination, we can see Jesus voluntarily giving up all the glory and power and splendor that naturally goes with being God, for the love of the world. “Instead of imagining that equality with God meant getting, Jesus, on the contrary, gave until he was empty.”[1]

 

. . . 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, he humbled himself and become obedient to the point of death

 

Humility was not considered a virtue in ancient Rome.  Many veterans of the Roman army retired in Philippi.  Issues of authority and respect and social rank were very important in that city.   

 

 . . . he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.

 

Only the lowest members of society and the worst criminals died on a cross.  The Philippians would not thank Paul for that line of the hymn.  But Paul wants the Philippians to remember the reality of what Jesus did. 

 

The Philippians probably did not want to hear that.  They did not use the symbol of the cross as a symbol of their faith.   In fact, the cross rarely appeared as a symbol of Christianity until the fourth century.  Until then Jesus was usually represented as the Good Shepherd.[2]   The cross is a symbol not of power, but of vulnerability, not of war or hatred, but of love.  One might argue that the cross, even more than the empty tomb, is the symbol of the absolute goodness of God.  And Paul says, Remember the cross, remember the Christ who went to the cross and have the same mind as he did, have the same love, the same humility, the same willingness to suffer.

 

. . . Therefore God also highly exalted him

 

This is a stunning reversal of everything Roman culture knew and taught about its gods.  The gods exalt the champions, not the losers.  God exalts Jesus in the resurrection, vindicating him and restoring him to the place he had willingly given up.

 

. . . 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 should confess  that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

 

The name that is above every name does not refer to the name Jesus, but to the title LORD.  LORD in the Bible is the stand-in for the name of God which was never to be spoken out loud.  It was also a title normally reserved for earthly rulers, like Caesar, so to claim Jesus is Lord is to make quite a revolutionary political statement. 

 

The hymn says that Christ was in the form of God.  So his actions do not reveal only his own character, but also what God is like.  God is the one who chooses to humble himself, to put himself in bondage to the cosmic powers, to take on the role of a servant, to give himself over to death, even a violent, humiliating, brutal death on a cross.  Jesus is Lord, because what has done represents the divine way of being. 

 

It is a hymn with beautiful poetry and significant theology contained in a few lines.  It’s easy to imagine that this would be one of the golden-oldies, requested at every church hymn-sing.  And so, Paul quotes it, to help the Philippians quickly understand where he’s going.  It’s as if he says, “Hum a few bars and remember.  Remember who you follow.  Remember Jesus, your model for daily living.” 

 

He introduces the hymn in verse 5, which says in the NRSV “Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” 

The word which gets translated mind actually signifies a combination of intellectual and emotional activity which touches both head and heart and leads to a positive course of action. I don’t think we have such a word in English.   One scholar suggests that Paul is not so much urging the Philippians to imitate Christ, as to be who and what they already are in Christ.  She suggests a translation like “show among yourselves the attitude that arrives from the fact that you are “in Christ.”[3] 

 

And part of that attitude is humility.  Humility has become a bad word in many church circles because it has been equated with humiliation.  Or because marginalized people have been forced to accept their “humbler” station in life.  It’s also tricky because, like so many other things, when you are humble, you can become proud of that fact which pretty much defeats the purpose.

 

It’s like what happened in the village synagogue, during the high holy days.  The rabbi prostrated himself on the floor, saying, "God, before You I am nothing." Immediately the richest man in town prostrated himself on the floor, saying, "God, before You I am nothing." Right after that the town beggar prostrated himself on the floor, saying, "God, before You I am nothing." And then the rich man whispered to the rabbi, "Look who thinks he's nothing."

 

Paul is not asking the Philippians to think of themselves as nothing, but he does ask them to look to the interests of others.   

 

On the tenth anniversary of September 11, I heard some stories I hadn’t heard before.  One was about two women, Phyllis Rodriguez and Aicha el-Wafi.  Phyllis’ son, Greg, died in the attack on the World Trade Center.  Aicha’s son, Zacarias, was charged with 6 counts of conspiracy to commit terrorism.  About a year after the attacks, these two women were brought together because Aicha requested a meeting with some of the victim’s families.  Several people were there and they were all nervous, each wondering what the others wanted from each other.  Aicha started by saying, “I don’t know if my son is guilty or innocent, but but I want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened to your families. I know what it is to suffer, and I feel that, if there is a crime, a person should be tried fairly and punished."  That opening statement broke the ice and allowed others to share freely.  On that day Phyllis and Aicha began to be friends.

 

In 2005, Aicha came to America for her son’s trial.  Phyllis wanted to give her as much support as possible.  She didn’t speak a word of Aicha’s native French, but she placed an international call,  and somehow they managed.  Phyllis said that when Greg was killed she thought, “I will never forgive the people who murdered my son.”  But four years later, she said, “When I watched Zacarias at the trial, my heart was broken because I could not look at him as a stranger.  I saw him as the son of my friend Aicha.”[4] 

 

Phyllis could easily have claimed her right to grieve, her right to be angry, focused on her own interests as a victim, but instead she managed to shift her focus away from her own legitimate needs and even to privilege the needs of someone else instead. 

 

Paul says, “make my joy complete.  Be of the same mind, the same love.  Show among yourselves the attitude that comes from the fact that you are in Christ.” 

 

This isn’t easy.  We get caught up in our own interests, our own hurts, our own ideas about how things should be done.  Unfortunately, this can happen as easily within the church as outside.  It sometimes gives outsiders an excuse to remain on the outside and insiders a reason to rethink church. 

 

A couple of weeks ago, an online group of pastors were discussing the question of why the church matters and whether it will survive.  The Rev. Anne Le Bas from Great Britain said, “. . . I think it matters that the church survives simply because it is so easy to love other people when you don't actually have to see them. I often say to people that Christian faith is all about learning to love and forgive those who have hurt us or who we don't get along with, and fortunately being part of a church gives us ample practice in both! It is one of the only places where people will be together with others across barriers of income, culture, race, political outlook, personal opinion, educational ability etc. In our village I think it is the only situation in which people who live in the huge, expensive houses at the top of the village might find themselves sitting next to and working with people from the social housing at the other end. Otherwise they inhabit two separate worlds, sending their children to different schools, shopping in different shops, socializing in different circles. Of course it is sometimes hard to get along, but it is the very determination to try which is so central to Christian faith.”[5]

 

It can be hard to get along. It can be hard to love, to forgive.    It was for the Philippians.  It is for us.  But when it’s hard to get along, Paul says, “sing.”  When you’re in conflict with your brother or sister, Paul says, “Hum a few bars. Let the hymn remind you that you are in Christ.  Be willing to humble yourself, to privilege the needs and interests of others.  And above all, remember that Jesus is Lord.”  Amen.