Posts
On
Having the Mind of Christ
Based
on Philippians 2:5-11
Palm
Sunday 2018
Rev.
Dr. Kevin Orr
Ticker tape parades are not your
garden variety parade. Do you know what I mean? There’s always a parade for
Independence Day. A lot of cities will have a parade on St. Patrick’s Day.
Columbus has one of the largest Pride Day parades in the country. You can count
on those parades year after year.
But a ticker tape parade is
different. Those only happen after special events, usually sports victories.
Philadelphia had a big ticker tape parade when the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
And one of these days, when the beloved Cleveland Browns get their Super Bowl
victory, it will be the ticker tape parade to beat all ticker tape parades.
These parades are all about celebrating the accomplishment of our fellow
citizens. Whether it be a football team, the first astronauts to land on the
moon, or some other great accomplishment, part of celebrating the achievement
is to throw a parade.
And so it was, on the Sabbath leading
up to Passover that one year, that Jesus got his ticker tape parade. News about
his amazing achievements had spread across the land. He taught with authority.
He healed people of blindness. He cast out demons. He changed water into wine.
He even brought people back to life with a simple word of command. No one could
do what Jesus did. He was a VIP but also a man of the people. The religious
authorities were suspicious of him. And Jesus was quick to call them out on
their hypocrisy. Jesus represented the average person. He wasn’t one of the
elite. He was one of us. And what power he wielded. Many thought me might even
be the messiah. And so here he was, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, while
people along the parade route lay cloaks down on the ground for Jesus to walk
on so that dust wouldn’t be kicked up to soil his clothes. And people waved
their palm branches with shouts of victory, crying out, “Blessed is the one who
comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” It was quite a scene,
this first century ticker tape parade that Jesus received in his honor.
How quickly things changed. In a
matter of days Jesus was betrayed by Judas and abandoned by his disciples. The
crowd turned on him in blinding speed. He faced his accusers, was slapped and spit
on, mocked, flogged, nailed onto a cross and displayed for everyone to see, a
public execution of the most cruel form. A lynching would have been more
humane. In just a matter of days, the great hero, the hope of the people, died,
not as a common criminal, but as an enemy of the state, the worst of the worst.
It is difficult if not impossible to wrap our heads around how fast Jesus fell
from grace.
But, after all, this is what Jesus
had come to do. He knew his purpose. He knew how he would have to go about
destroying the power of sin and death in order to save the world and initiate
new creation. His crucifixion was all part of the plan.
And this is part of what makes Jesus
so amazing. He did not save the world like a super hero. He didn’t take out the
bad guys with his physical strength, his super powers, or anything like that.
He didn’t call up a special team like the Avengers or the Justice League to
save humanity from eternal destruction. It wasn’t like any super hero story
that had ever been told before or, to my knowledge, has ever been told since.
No, Jesus saved the world in the
most unexpected and upside down of ways, a way that no one would have ever
expected. Jesus defeated the powers of sin and death by letting those powers
win. He surrendered to the powers that be. He did not resist being accused,
beaten and crucified despite the fact that he was an innocent man. Jesus won by
first losing. And he did this all along knowing that he was setting up a trap
that would destroy forever the power of sin and death, a victory that we will
celebrate with abandon next Sunday. It was a stealth operation that took
everyone by surprise. The savior conquered by freely laying aside his status,
his privilege and prerogative as the son of God, and embraced the role of a
disempowered nobody of a slave. Rather than calling on a legion of angels to
come down and deliver him or take out the powers that be, Jesus allowed himself
to be led like an innocent lamb to the slaughter. No one divests themselves of
their status like Jesus did. No one who had such power and glory freely and
willingly set that aside to be treated so disgracefully like Jesus was, without
saying a mumbling word.
Paul captures this upside down way
of Jesus’ saving work by quoting this contemporary hymn of his day which
captured the scandalous trickery of Jesus. He who was in the form of God did
not regard his equality with God as something to be exploited. He wasn’t going
to use the “son of God” card to get out of having to serve others. No, Jesus emptied
himself of all that status, of all that privilege and prerogative, taking the
form of a slave. How scandalous. Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to
the point of death, and not just any death. The son of God, equal in power and
glory to God, was killed on a cross, a method reserved for the worst of
criminals. It is incomprehensible that a person who possessed such status and
glory would stoop to such degradation. But what did God do? God highly exalted
him and gave him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend, even Caesar, and that every tongue should confess, even
Caesar, that Jesus Christ is Lord, not Caesar. Friends, that old Christian hymn
is fighting words. That hymn is a barely veiled subversive attack on the powers
that be. I am not being hyperbolic when I tell you that if people in those days
were caught singing that song in public, they could have been charged with
sedition and potentially could have found themselves nailed to a cross as well.
We do not fully appreciate how politically charged the Christian movement was
in those days. Let’s not forget that while Paul was writing this letter to the
Philippian church, quoting this hymn, he was sitting in a prison cell chained
to the floor. They all knew how what Jesus had done had completely subverted
the order of the world, giving the lie to the powers that be, that the powers
of sin and death that the powers of this world yield has been broken by Jesus,
who never stopped being equal with God even as he willingly emptied himself of
all that status and allowed himself to be disposed of as an enemy of the state.
OK, let me stop for a minute. Maybe
some of you are wondering, “Pastor Kevin, what’s with the ear beating about
status, sedition, Caesar bending the knee, enemy of the state talk? That’s
sounding pretty political there.” Let me say this. The suffering, death, and
resurrection of Jesus has many meanings and a multiplicity of implications. The
political impact of what Jesus did can’t be overlooked. Let’s not forget that
Jesus was crucified because the case was made that Jesus was seeking to lead a
rebellion that sought to overthrow the power of Rome. But, of course, what
Jesus did is about much more than politics. What Jesus was up to was making
possible everlasting life.
That said, Paul had a reason for
quoting this hymn about Jesus. He states the point he is making a few verses
earlier, where he writes, “Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in
full accord…Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard
others as better than yourselves.” Paul was likely having to make this point
because he had heard that the believers in Philippi were getting into some
status seeking and protecting. He doesn’t give any examples. But what might
have been going on? I wonder if there were some people in the church who had
ambitions of being in positions of authority where they could call the shots.
Maybe there were some believers who were attempting to undermine others so that
they could then move in and take control. Maybe there were some who were team
players in public but in private were plotting ways to undermine the leadership
and then take over. Or worse, plotting to start their own group. Maybe there
were some believers who felt like they were being overlooked or not given
proper respect. They were being asked to clean toilets when they thought they
should be running meetings and telling others what to do. Or maybe there were
some leaders who thought certain work was beneath them. Maybe there was a whiff
of arrogance drifting into the house of believers there in Philippi.
Paul writes in verse 4, “Let each of
you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” He is
saying to them, “Hey, this isn’t about what you want, your preferences, your
comforts, what works out for you. The kind of Christian community we need is
one where everyone is looking out for everyone else, sacrificing your own
comforts and preferences and instead tending to the needs of others.” In this
way, Paul writes, they will have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. I mean
if there is anyone who could sit in the leader’s chair and tell everyone else
what to do, it’s Jesus. But that’s not what he did.
Just think about it. Here is Jesus,
the very son of God, equal to God in status. He didn’t need to prove himself to
anyone. He had more status than Caesar himself. He knew who really had all the
power. Jesus knew who he was even as he humbly took on the role of a servant
and was obedient even to the point of death on the cross. Not once did he think
he was a worthless slave. Not once did he think somehow he deserved to be
treated like he was. If everyone wanted to throw a parade for him, fine. If the
crowd wants to scream out “Crucify him,” fine. He didn’t change what he thought
about himself, his value, his status. It didn’t matter how anyone treated him.
He wasn’t there to impress anyone with his skills and talents. He was there to
proclaim the good news, heal the sick, cast out demons, teach how to love God
and love neighbor, be killed, and then rise from the dead and ascend back into
the heavens. He knew what he was about and what his task was. He was not here
to make a name for himself.
So this is the thing. What Jesus
did, taking on the form of a slave, being obedient even to the point of death
on the cross, didn’t take anything away from who he is, the son of God and
equal to God in status and power. He was still that even as he lived his life
of sacrificial service to others. Nothing was beneath him. He freely chose to
do whatever was needed for the well-being of others. He knew the power and
authority he had and he chose to use that power and authority for the
well-being of others and not for his own hunger for power and status.
The same can be true for us. We
don’t have to be chasing after status, scheming to be the one in charge or
making a name for ourselves. Why? Because we know who we are. Who are we? We
are beloved children of God, every one of us. Of course we aren’t like Jesus.
But we are sons and daughters of God. We are, every one of us, extremely
precious to God. We are not nobodies, no matter what anyone tells you or how
the social pecking order places you or me. Where we fit as far as worldly
status takes nothing away from who we
are…sons and daughters of God. Our identity as children of God cannot be taken
from us no matter what anyone says about us, how we are treated or mistreated,
or where we fit in systems of power. Who we are does not depend on where we fit
in this world. And you know what? To the extent that we can claim our identity
regardless of life circumstances we tap in to a power that is stronger than any
other power in this world. The power of claiming your identity as a beloved
child of God is no trifling power.
So what would it look like if we had
the same mind as that of Christ Jesus? Maybe a way to get at that answer is to
consider what motivated Jesus to do what he did, to take the form of a slave
and to do whatever was necessary for the well-being of others. What do you
think Jesus was motivated by? Surely, Jesus was motivated by love. When you
love someone, you are willing to sacrifice your own interests if need be to
care for the interests of the one you love. Parents who love their kids
sacrifice their own needs for their kids. Kids who love their parents sacrifice
their own needs to care for their parents. That’s just one example. People who
love their country sacrifice their own needs to serve the needs of their
country. We know that love is what motivates us to put the needs of the beloved
above our own. We are motivated in many different ways. We are motivated to
make money. We are motivated to feed our need to be needed. We are motivated to
be in control. But Paul would urge us to be motivated by love just like Jesus
was. Imagine what our family, our church, our community, our nation, our world,
would be like if we all claimed our true identity and were motivated by love to
put other’s needs above our own? It would turn this world upside down. In fact,
the world would be completely new. For once, God’s will would be done on earth
as it is in heaven. What a vision to live in to.
As we begin the journey through Holy
Week, and we hear again the story of Christ’s passion, my prayer, for myself
and for all of you, is that we will probe deeper into the mind of Christ, be
moved deeply by the actions Jesus allowed to happen to himself so that the
power of sin and death could be broken for all of us. May we be inspired and
challenged to have the same mind as Christ Jesus and live a life of sacrificial
love as sons and daughters of God.
