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IN THE NAME OF GOD – CREATOR, PAINBEARER AND SPIRIT OF LIFE AND LOVE
2nd Sunday of Advent 2009
TEXT: Philippians 1: 1-11
This letter of Paul to the little group of radical Jews – read Christians – at Philippi is one of his later communications – possibly written from a prison dungeon in Rome. The Christian community in Philippi was the first one Paul established on European soil.
Philippi is a city in Macedonia and was the main stopover on the main roads between East and West in the Roman Empire.
Paul enjoyed a close and happy relationship with the Christians at Philippi. They had been generous in their monetary contributions towards the cause of the Jerusalem Christians and had been great staunch supporters of Paul and his friend and colleague, Timothy.
Although the Christians were still very much a part of the synagogue – the division was not to come for another twenty years – there was much opposition and antagonism towards the Christian community from within the more orthodox Jewish community.
So the main theme of this letter is persistence and actual joy in faith in the face of opposition.
It’s difficult to cope with opposition. Our ideas and concepts are always right – are they not?
It’s not me who’s got the wrong end of the stick – who is confused and out of step with mainstream thinking and even reality itself – it’s always you!
Of course you think in exactly the same way – It’s me who’s got it all wrong – It’s me who’s too young to know the realities of life – It’s me who fails to show respect for experience.
Does my concept of God vary with yours? Is my theology different from yours? Do you still cling to outdated and discredited ideas because they seem safe?
It’s the place where you feel secure – don’t ask the hard questions – be very wary of anything new – any new experience or way of thinking – be conservative – cling to that which you know and are familiar.
That’s what the Christians of ancient Philippi were up against.
The orthodox Jews felt threatened by these new fangled ideas from country Galilee that Paul and his mates had introduced: this healer and mystical teacher called Jesus of Nazareth who appeared to possess a great charisma and powers of healing and whose teachings were radical – who advocated the inclusion of people other than Jews into the synagogue – people who were neither circumcised nor followed the kosher food rules of the Torah.
How easy it is to transpose those scenes from the ancient world to Adelaide of the twenty first century- especially to the Anglican community of our time and place?
How tolerant are we of new scholarship – new revelations concerning the scriptures and our faith – new thinking which has surfaced in the light of scientific discovery – fresh glimmerings of understanding of the nature and being of that wonderful mystery we call God?
We need to be careful to keep an open mind – certainly to question and probe but to not reject out of hand ideas which seem to ‘rattle our cage’ or ‘shake our tree’ as the sayings go.
We could end up like the orthodox people of Philippi – be left clinging to a legalistic cultural system without love that Jesus changed – from legalism to love!
But we all face opposition of many other sorts today – not idealisms - not theological interpretations (few people would feel threatened by that today! – interested perhaps but not threatened) - Not necessarily even physical threats of violence - but we do all face the unwavering opposition of age and illness.
We all feel the aches and pains – we can’t do what we once did.
Perhaps that’s our challenge of today. How do we cope then? It’s all very well to diagnose the problem but how about some sort of answer?
Let’s go back to our text for today.
Paul speaks of Prayer – how comforting it is to know that others love us and pray for us – that’s real support and strength. That’s what is to be found ( or should be found) in a true Christian community.
He writes in verse 9, “This is my prayer that your love may overflow more and more….”
Love is where we find God – because God is revealed in the love that is shared amongst us through fellowship and prayer for each other.
What a wonderful mystery that is!!
That’s where we discover God according to Paul – “in the love that is shared amongst us”. And when we discover God that is within us we also discover the strength and joy that comes with love and through prayer – even in times of adversity!
Let’s look at verse 7 - “All of you share in God’s grace with me”… it is an interesting use of words in this expression of thanksgiving.
Koinōnia, is translated as "sharing" here.
Translated variously as "fellowship" or "partnership," koinōnia is a word that expresses the essence of Christianity. . It means something held in common, as opposed to something "private".
koinōnia refers to the community and its participants (e.g., the state or the commonwealth).
Greek philosophers used it and related words to refer to the social order. For example, Plato's ideal republic had communal, not private, property.
The book of Acts highlights a similar community ideal when it says the Jerusalem church held "all things in common" (Acts 2:44).
Here in Philippians, Paul's use of koinōnia seems similar to the Greek philosopher, Pythagorus’ idea that friends have all things in common. This is why scholars maintain that friendship is at the heart of this letter.
The church was a community of active participants – it still is, usually.
People come into a Christian community because they feel the need to be involved – to take part in varying ways in the worship of God and to participate in the joy which goes hand in hand with that.
As I said, friendship is at the heart of this letter. The love that is philia is what makes true community (koinōnia) possible. It involves activities that express commonality - thinking and sharing things in common. As described by Paul, friendship is a spiritual matter. I wonder if that is how we view our friendships – as a spiritual part of life.
I
t infers that we have a friendship which is genuine and not self-seeking – not a place where we can wield power and exert our authority over another – not a place for seeking self advantage.
True friendship can only be a by product of true love. There, as Paul says, lies the secret of true community. One cannot love alone (although some people make a good attempt!).
It is imperative that love is something that can only be shared between people as a couple – a group or as a community. It does not necessarily follow that all within these categories will share exactly the same ideas and concepts and even perhaps – values.
But it is in sharing in the love which brings tolerance that we build a stronger marriage – a stronger community – it is in sharing that we come to know and understand each other better and to know and understand each other is to open the opportunities for love to enter – hence a stronger and more effective and cohesive partnership, marriage or community.
Many scholars identify joy as the main theme of this letter. Joy, here as in all of Paul's writings, comes with the gospel (the ‘Good News” of Christ) through the Holy Spirit.
Real deep down Joy is the result of shared friendship in love – the love which is God in us.
The Lord be with you.
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