Sermon 5th June 2016

From now until the Summer, adults will explore the new life that Jesus offers. 

The first sermon in this series is lead by our Vicar, Cameron Barker, and the reading is from 
Philippians 1: 1-11.

New heart

Well, here are some thoughts for you, at the start of this new series: ​if lawyers (lots of those around here!) are dis-barred; and clergy (rather less of them!) are de-frocked, doesn’t it follow that … electricians could be de-lighted; musicians de-noted; models de-posed; and dry cleaners de-pressed? Likewise, bed-makers might be de-bunked; bulldozer operators de-graded; organ donors de-livered; software engineers de-tested; and underwear manufacturers de-briefed. For sure all composers will one day de-compose. And, on a particularly topical note in view of 23^rd June, some may even hope that politicians will someday be de-voted!

Such a de-lightful word-play might well lead us to ask what Christians could be de-d; but my best effort didn’t yield any de-cent results. However it struck me that it would actually be very appropriate to take the final part of the word-play, and apply that in all seriousness. You see, Philippians is a devoted letter: written by a devoted man; to a devoted church; to which he was clearly devoted; as they were clearly devoted to him; urging them to remain devoted to God; who was devoted to them in his Son; and which is intended to draw the same, devoted, response from whoever reads it, in whatever age.

I will try very hard not to over-do the whole ‘de’-thing, or even the ‘devoted’ one; but if that is ‘all’ that you take from today, or about this letter then that will still be a Good Thing – as long as you respond in some way to the challenge of it. Paul wrote primarily as an encouragement; to a church that he very much liked and admired; who were putting faith into practise, in real and practical ways; but they still needed challenging about doing that more consistently, and in all circumstances; as we all do. So they, like us needed challenging not least by Paul’s own devoted example – which begins literally from the very first sentence of his letter!

In the letter-writing custom of his time, Paul stated at the start who it was from, and to; but in such a challenging way. We might expect him to put that it was from Saint Paul, to the church in Philippi. Instead, he calls himself a ‘slave’ of Christ Jesus. Neither GNB nor NIV translation go as far as Paul did in the original Greek – here and elsewhere – in self-identifying as belonging completely and utterly to Jesus. In the weeks to come we will be hearing more about that, and what it meant for Paul to be a slave of Jesus; but for now it’s straight on to the next challenge – as he describes his reader as the ‘saints’ (literally)! Even the longest-standing Christian here would probably hesitate to claim such a status; but that is who and what all are who believe in Jesus Christ, Paul says!

It’s who and what we are in Jesus, is what Paul actually says. This is a key phrase, not just in this letter but in Paul’s thinking and writing more generally. To be ‘in Jesus’ – i.e. to believe in him – is to be set apart for God: doing what he wants how he wants; or trying to, at least. That’s what it means to be holy; to be a saint; and the starting point for that is believing in Jesus. It is a process; and it’s meant to be one that continues daily, then; but it’s a process that’s far from dependent on us, fortunately. Verse 6 is the key one for this whole letter: “I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus”, Paul wrote – and whole-hearted believed.

As we often see in his letters, Paul’s unshakable confidence in God’s determination to finish what he starts takes him straight into prayer for his readers. And again it’s a regular feature that what Paul prays for sums up much of what’s about to follow. That’s certainly the case here in Philippians; so these first 11 verses are particularly theme- and tone- setting ones. And that notably applies when it comes to the tone of it – which you may have noticed is really very affectionate. It’s true to say that Paul doesn’t always come across as being entirely enthusiastic about all of his readers. Well, he did often have to write about difficult situations and to difficult people who were being difficult; but that wasn’t so here; rather this letter oozes with warmth.

It’s time for a bit of history, then – with apologies to those who know it already. Philippi was a very special place, and church, for Paul. It was the first one that he had ever set up in mainland Europe, after what had been a particularly unhappy time in ancient Asia. That whole story is told – in headline form – in Acts chapter 16 so do read that later. It’s especially note-worthy for the quite miraculous way in which God worked through Paul to have such a dramatic impact on this new continent. Philippi was a key place strategically, of course: a Roman colony – and that was important – on a 500-mile road along which trade – and news – travelled fast, both ways. So it’s not hard to imagine why people in that region soon wanted to hear more about this Jesus-stuff!

It had all started quietly enough in Philippi, with Paul meeting just a few women by the river; but all hell had broken loose – quite literally – when Paul had cast a demon out of a slave-girl. Her owners, angry at losing their income from her fortune-telling, got Paul and his companions beaten up, and thrown into prison. Some may recall that this was the time when an earthquake set them free as they sang hymns at midnight – but that they had chosen to stay in prison in order to convert their jailer! As I say, it was a dramatic series of events, from which many other churches were founded; along with this very strong bond with the people who’d been through all this together. Later in Acts we read how Paul visited this church several more times over the years, and how their affection was both mutual and enduring.

That mutual affection was made very concrete when Paul found himself in prison: yet again! The scholars aren’t sure which time, or place, this imprisonment was; but the fact is that the Philippians sent Paul a gift. One of their members took it to him in person – the only way to do it then – which involved a long and dangerous journey to wherever Paul was; and then stayed on to help him. Paul needed that, because when Romans imprisoned people they had to provide everything for themselves: somehow or other. This letter was not least to thank the Philippians for what they had done for him – and no wonder then that it’s as full of thanks, to them and God, and praise as we’ve just heard: their partnership in God’s work had literally saved Paul’s life!

There are 2 more points by way of general introduction to this letter before we focus on Paul’s prayer to end. The first is to pick out the word that appears for the first time in verse 4: “Every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy”, Paul wrote. This letter is only 4 chapters long; but ‘joy’, or ‘rejoice’ occurs no less than 16 times in its 104 verses! It’s often known as Paul’s ‘joy letter’ for this reason – even though it was written from prison; to a church that was facing serious issues both internally and externally. To Paul, as we’ll hear, none of that mattered, in the great scheme of things: he, and they, were in Christ (that phrase: again!) He had utter confidence that the God who had begun this great work in him, and them, could, and would complete it in Christ.

Those facts filled Paul with joy; no matter what circumstances he, or they, faced. This Christ in whom they were was Lord of all circumstances. Nothing was beyond him; he held it, and them all, in his hands. Their calling – Paul’s, and those to whom he wrote, then and now – was and is to be ready for that Day of Christ. There’s yet another key thread of Paul’s thinking that runs through this letter. Christian must always be working toward, getting ready for, that Day when God will bring all things to completion in and through Christ. And that’s why Paul went on to pray for these much-loved fellow-believers as he did: so that they would continue to be working towards that Day; and ever more ready for its arrival.

As I say, this prayer sums up so much of what Paul went on to write to them about in the rest of his letter. As ever, this is the practical nub of what it means to be a saint; to be in Christ; set apart for God. It’s a prayer with 3 closely-related elements: starting with love. Given what Paul has already written about his own great, in-Christ, love for the Philippian believers, we might have expected something different. But for Paul head and heart were inextricably linked: so love needs expressing in wisdom and knowledge far more than in emotion or affection. By its nature Christian love is worked out both in what we know, and also in what we do – towards God, and other people alike. It’s real; it’s practical; it’s honest; and it definitely needs plenty of God’s help!

A key part of that working out is in terms of moral choices – as Paul continued to pray for them in verse 10. The Philippians – like us – lived in an age where moral boundaries were blurred. It was, and is, hard to tell instantly what the right Godly thing to do is. So Paul prays that they, and we, will grow in learning to distinguish where and how some of the greys are actually choices between right and wrong. And the urgent context in which Paul wants us to learn how to do that is this coming Day of Christ; for which Christians must always be preparing. So Paul concludes with a prayer that they, and we, will be filled – to overflowing! – with the fruit of right living: which is all to be to God’s praise and glory rather than our own, of course.

Even in this whistle-stop whizz-through it’s quite a prayer; so it will be extra-worth looking out for how Paul sees it being worked out and applied through the rest of this letter. It will, of course, be very practically done; in very concrete – and challenging – circumstances that the Philippians were all too well aware of. They were just as keenly aware of the circumstances in which Paul himself was as he prayed this for them. His devotion – to God and to them – challenged them, just as it must surely challenge us today too; as also must Paul’s joy and thanksgiving; and his unswerving confidence in this Christ Jesus to whom he had devoted his whole life as his slave.

That’s the challenge which lies before us at the start of this series, then. So how might we take that up? Some might find it helpful to do so in the shape of this prayer. I’m certainly going to end by praying it for this church for which I have great affection; as indeed I have been praying it all of this week. So dare you pray it for yourself throughout this series; asking God for this kind of growing love that expresses itself in knowledge and judgment; so that you will be able to choose what’s best? Will you ask for God’s help to focus on the coming Day of Christ, to make that the context in which you live your entire life? Will you pray for his help to do that in ways that fill your life with truly good qualities; to the praise and glory of the God who has begun this good work in you; and can complete it? It’s certainly big, and bold; and there is no doubt that God can do it all: if we will but ask, and then work with him week by week as we learn from this amazing letter. So let’s dare to pray, then …