First Presbyterian Church
Pastor Sam Pendergrast
October 12, 2008
Philippians 4:1-9
"The Power of What You Think"
What I just read to you is what Biblical scholars call the "closing exhortations" of Paul's letter. Another way to say that, using smaller words, is that this is the "so what" section of the letter. When Paul writes a letter he spends most of his ink on developing a theological foundation for these practical instructions he sums up with. It's an "if all that is true, then this is how you should live" kind of argument. As we read through Romans during the summer we saw him begin his "so what" section of that letter with these well-known words: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters... to present your bodies as a living sacrifice." His closing exhortations in that letter run nearly four chapters. In Philippians he does it in a mere nine verses.
What he does in this letter is to say that if it is true that Christ humbled himself and became a servant, if Jesus calls us to look not only to our own interests but to the interests of others, if we are to have the mind of Christ, if we are to do all things without grumbling and arguing, and if we are to press on toward the goal - then Euodia and Syntyche should stop fighting. Life is too short to focus on personal differences. Time is too precious to waste it letting negativity distract us by robbing us of our joy. The life God offers us as members of the Body of Christ is far richer than anything we can find simply on our own.
Euodia and Syntyche are two women who have been fellow workers with Paul. For reasons that Paul does not reveal, they are in conflict. But what church is there that Paul wrote a letter to that does not have some kind of conflict? What church is there today that does not have some kind of conflict? What human system, what community, what family, what two individuals exist that do not have conflicts? A simple definition of conflict is the existence of two ideas about the same thing. You see things differently than I do. What Paul wants the readers of this letter to understand is that if we have the mind of Christ we don't let conflict set us at odds with one another. We don't let conflict define who we are. We don't let conflict destroy the community that we are a part of. We use conflict as a source of creativity.
Paul describes the humility of Christ. If we put that humility into practice we rise above the things that divide us and focus on working for one another's interests. We focus on the common good. We choose not to nurse grudges or to remember slights we have suffered and we give ourselves sincerely to the good of the body of which we are a part.
We can always find something to worry about. You don't have to look far. The congregation is growing older. There are fewer children and young people that you would like. The worshiping congregation has shrunk. You want to find new ways to connect with the community and new ways to serve. Paul says, "Don't worry. Pray. The Lord is near."
There are at least three ways to say what that might mean: "The Lord is near." One is that God is always closer than a breath. If we but stop, look, listen, pray, pay attention, open ourselves to God's presence, the world is full of wonder. New possibilities fall out of the sky. Another is that the Lord is always near to those who call on him. God hears us and answers us when we pray. God provides the resources we need. God helps us to discover the gifts he has placed in us and surrounded us with in one another. The third way to hear that phrase is that the Lord will return soon. That's a promise that our hope is real. God will redeem the creation and make all things new. It does not free us of responsibility to keep on being good stewards and members of the community. But it does free us of anxiety and fear because we know that God is near.
Life is full of joy, claims Paul. So - rejoice! That rejoicing is made full when we are of the same mind and we leave behind the small things that divide us. It is through life in a forgiven community that we know joy. Individual experience can be joyful, but it is fleeting. The joy that is shared, especially the joy that comes from knowing oneself to be forgiven and accepted and loved, is life-giving and renewing. That kind of joy shapes the way you think about yourself and about others. If Euodia and Syntyche can rejoice together despite their differences, then the church can be a place where anyone is accepted. It can be a place where people are safe to take the risks we all need in order to grow.
Finally, as Paul says, why focus on the negative when there is so much good to think about? Why think about what you don't have, when you can fill your mind with what is good and true and life-giving? Businesses call that asset mapping. Build on what you do have rather than focus on what you don't have. A church can easily get trapped in the "we're not good enough" mind-set. You look down the road at a church that is filling its gym with teenagers. You become envious. You covet their youth program. And you completely sell yourself short and ignore your own gifts and assets. The model for every church is the Kingdom of Heaven. It's a way of living, not a business plan or a program. And the great thing about is that anyone can do it. Anyone can live it out, from a fellowship of a dozen to a mega-church.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a beacon of hope, an invitation to keep on moving and growing. It reminds you that God is bringing it about and that your job is to live in it. Your job is to cultivate the kinds of habits and behavior that prepares you to live in it. That's why Paul says to think about what is good and true and life-giving.
As I think back to last winter, I believe that my initial assessment of this church was fairly accurate. You are faithful in the care of your beautiful and historic building. Your diligence is apparent. You have a commitment to what is best in the tradition of Reformed worship. You show your love of music by housing the Downing Academy and providing space for community concerts. You enjoy one another as a congregation, yet you need to be reminded to pay attention to the building up of your common life. I believe God is calling you to find ways to strengthen the bonds of this community of faith. God is inviting you to grow in faith and to reach out in service to the community. You don't spend much time together as a congregation or in groups focused on service in the community. Your life as a church will be much richer as you attend to those parts of your common life. You will find much for which to rejoice. Spend time together in sharing, study and service and you will grow.
Paul's reminders to the church at Phillipi are reminders to us. If you focus on what is missing, what is negative, that is what you will see. If you believe you can't, you won't. If you believe you have to be a different kind of church in order to be successful, you'll miss out on what God is calling you to do with who you are right here and right now. You have the gifts you need, because God is good and has equipped you for your work.
There's really no right answer to what a church is supposed to do. Paul's invitation to think on what is good is echoed in these words from someone named Arundhati Roy.
The only dream worth having... is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead... To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or to complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.
If you can do that, you will bear witness to the Kingdom of Heaven. Even if you are in a place where the kingdom of heaven seems worlds away, keep it in your mind, keep it in your heart, let it be your vision.
In C. S. Lewis' book, The Silver Chair, Eustace and Jill from the human world had come to Narnia and were traveling with Puddleglum, who was a Marsh-wiggle. They were in Underland, the shadowy realm of the Green Lady, who had captured Prince Rilian, and were seeking to rescue the prince. After weeks underground, without sun, without sky or a fresh breeze, they were in the witch's palace and falling under her spell. She told them they had only imagined that there were things called sky and earth, and that Aslan was only a dream. She had nearly convinced them, when Puddleglum spoke up.
All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one thing more to be said. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."
Then he stamped on the fire where the witch was burning some kind of incense that had cast them under a spell, and the smell of burning Marsh-wiggle helped to bring Jill and Eustace and the prince back to their senses.
I hope you will do that. Not stamp on a fire and get burned. I hope you will keep the vision of the Kingdom of Heaven in your heart and in your mind. Let that vision guide you, even when things seem dark or life is against you. The way you think has power. Euodia and Syntyche will always be able to find reasons to quarrel. We will always be able to find reasons to give in to cynicism and negativity. The message of the Gospel calls us to remember the hope of a renewed creation and redeemed communities of people who will reflect the perfect will of their creator. There is a world that we are traveling toward. We can't always see it. But we can remember. We can think about what is good and lasting and true. What we think and what we choose to dwell on has power to shape our lives. Paul, like Moses before him, invites us to choose life and to be guided by God's Kingdom that is even now coming into being among us.