Come to the Table: A Beautiful Mind
Philippians 2:1-13
October 1, 2023
Emmanuel Baptist Church; Rev. Kathy Donley
Note: A recording of the worship service in which this sermon was preached may be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MaJK4wLnrs
According to one historian, Roman society in the first century had become the “most status-symbol-conscious culture of the ancient world” and Philippi was the quintessential Roman colony. Named for Phillip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, it was a retirement community for veterans of the Roman army and a city saturated in social hierarchies. People displayed their status by what they wore, where they were seated, the offices they held, the property they acquired and whether their family names were chiseled on buildings. [1]
Humility was never considered a virtue in ancient Rome. If we are going to understand this part of Paul’s letter, we have to remember that. The church in Philippi is experiencing conflict. Paul appeals to them to be united in Christ. He knows that to give in to another person, to back down from an argument, to let another person’s needs or concerns prevail over your own – that is highly counter-cultural and therefore will not happen without intentional effort.
So he reminds them our example is not found among society’s elite, but in Christ. He borrows the language of a first-century hymn and appeals to them to have the mind of Jesus who did grasp his divine status, did not hold on to his power as God, but let it go for the love of the world. Paul begs them “Have that same mindset. Adopt the beautiful mind of Christ.”
Some years ago the movie A Beautiful Mind told the story of a Nobel Prize winner who struggled with schizophrenia. His breakdown left him unable to distinguish between what was real and what was not real. This is the struggle faced by the church at Philippi and often by many of us – we cannot distinguish between what real power is and what it is not. People often think that real power can be leveraged or earned or purchased or won, but exactly the opposite is the case. Jesus reveals the true power which is also the essence of God. He sets aside competition. He does not act for personal gain or status.
Because we misunderstand power so thoroughly, we often think that Jesus gives up power, but only temporarily. We think that God continues to hold all the power. What is much harder for us to conceive is that Jesus is in the form of God and does not grasp after equality with God, because that is not in God’s nature. God is love. God created a world that was very good out of love. Just like Jesus, God self-emptied in order to make room for a creation to function separately, to allow freedom. This is the nature of the Triune God, to bow in relationship to each other. This is the nature of the power at the center of the universe.
We have to understand this letter carefully because our context is different from Phillipi. On the one hand, our culture is also status-conscious. We may enjoy a sense of worthiness by the kind of transportation we use or where we live or what we wear or the titles or degrees that come after our names. Or for the number of followers we have on social media or how many Likes we can get. We can easily be self-absorbed and self-important.
But on the other hand, humility is now considered a virtue in many circles, especially among Christians who have taken Paul’s words to heart. And so we may try to out-do each other being humble. It’s like what happened in the ancient church during Lent. The priest 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 priest, "Look who thinks he's nothing."
“Many Greek texts include a crucial word in verse 4 that does not appear in some English translations. This word can be translated as “also.” With also included, the verse reads something like this: “Each of you not considering your own interests but also the interests of each of the others.” We live in a world where some of us have been socialized to look out too much for our own interests at others’ expense. Conversely, others of us have been trained to look out only for the interests of others at our own expense. But a truly harmonious community—a community of comfort, encouragement, consolation, and strength—calls for balance: each one looking to others’ needs while also not ignoring their own.”[2]
The Rev. Liz Cooledge Jenkins writes, “Maybe this is what self-emptying looks like—not that we make ourselves nothing, as some English versions translate verse 7, but that we empty ourselves both of arrogance and of self-belittlement. That those of us tempted toward narcissism are met with loving accountability from our communities. And those of us tempted to think our own needs aren’t important find joy and true fellowship with those who consider our concerns essential.”[3]
Writing from prison, Paul says “Make my joy complete. Adopt the beautiful mind of Christ.”
What does this look like in every-day life? Theologian William Placher uses an illustration from the world of basketball. In basketball, the players who are always asking ‘How am I doing? Am I getting my share of shots at the basket?’ they are the ones who never reach their potential. The best players are the ones who lose themselves in an effort to be a part of the group. They get caught up in the game and forget about themselves. And isn’t that the case with all of us in whatever we do? An artist becomes lost in the work; lovers become lost in their beloved; workers are excited about a common enterprise. You toss aside that part of yourself that is always watching how you are doing. And in that self-forgetfulness, you become most fully yourself.[4]
That is where the joy comes in -- when you get caught up in doing what you are doing for its own sake, not because it makes you look good to others or adds something to your resume. We find joy when we are being the people God created us to be. Joy breaks out as we are freed to be our most authentic selves. And as we allow others that same freedom.
The first time I saw a whale, years ago, I had no idea what I was in for. We got on the whale watch boat because it sounded like a good adventure with our kids. After we had braved the wind and the waves for about an hour, the ship slowed down and then . . . a humpback whale launched itself into the air. And I was simply awestruck. My heart sped up and much to my surprise, tears were streaming down my face. The name for that was joy. Pure joy at witnessing a creature doing what it was created to do. It jumped out of the water and turned around in the air and splashed down. Then it did it again. And one more time. Then it slapped the water with its tail and went on its way. Being itself was enough.
Some of us need to empty ourselves of arrogance and be the wonderful, ordinary humans that God created us to be. But some of us also need to empty ourselves of self-belittlement. We need to know the joy of authenticity, to delight in being ourselves and allowing others that same joy.
Cole Arthur Riley is a Black Christian in her 30’s. I find her writing to be full of wisdom and healing. She grew up in a home full of noise and laughter, but she didn’t feel it. Later she would be diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Everyone else would be dancing in the kitchen while she hung out in the bathroom. She says that it took a long time for her to realize that it was not that her family wanted her happy; it was that they wanted her close. They didn’t want for her the kind of sadness that would alienate her.
She mentions Marie Kondo who said to pick up a possession and if it sparks joy, to keep it, but if not, to let it go. In her book This Here Flesh, she writes “I wonder if we were to lift our own selves up, how many of us would end up throwing ourselves out along with the bread ties and the jeans that don’t fit? ”[5]
Writing to the Philippians, Paul was urging them to be who they already were in Christ Jesus, the people of worth who God created them to be, not the people who needed to track their status to prove it. I hear echoes of Paul in the words of Cole Arthur Riley as she writes within our culture. She says “Joy, which once felt [frivolous to me] has become a central virtue in my spirituality. I am convinced that if we are to survive the wait of justice and liberation, we must become people capable of delight. And people who have been delighted in.”
“Some of us go our whole lives without ever being – or rather, knowing that we are – truly enjoyed by a person.
We can become cynical about communal affirmation, hoping that our affirmation of self will suffice. We try to meet our self-hatred with the sound of our own voice, because this, for whatever reason, is seen as a superior strength. But I think we were made to be delighted in. And I think it takes just as much strength to believe someone’s joy about you as it does to muster it all on your own. We shouldn’t need to choose self-affirmation at the expense of the affirmation of another. I think we were meant for both.”[6]
Beloved ones, God is at work within us and delights in us. May we know this. May we revel in the freedom and joy of it. May we delight in others as God delights in them. Thanks be to God.
[1] Cynthia A. Jarvis in Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship, Year C, Volume 3 Joel Green, Thomas Long, Luke Powery, Cynthia Rigby, Editors, (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2019), p. 343
[2] https://www.christiancentury.org/article/lectionary/october-1-ordinary-26a-philippians-2-1-13
[3] https://www.christiancentury.org/article/lectionary/october-1-ordinary-26a-philippians-2-1-13
[4] William Placher, Narratives of a Vulnerable God (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994)
[5] Cole Arthur Riley, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us (New York, Convergent Books, 2022), p. 167
[6] Cole Arthur Riley, p 159-160