Speaker 1: Welcome to the CommonsCast. We're glad to have you here. We hope you find something meaningful in our teaching this week. Head to commons.church for more information. Well, welcome once again to church, and man, do we miss everyone.
However, it does appear that there is some good news on the horizon. Vaccines are rolling out and we're hopeful that we'll be back in the room together sometime soon. For those of you not in Calgary and anyone still unsure about how and when you might be willing to return even when do things do open, we also want you to know that the livestream is part of Commons from now on. We are continuing to make investments to improve the experience online, even as we do look at a potential return somewhere down the road. Now, that said, we're in a series on the book of Philippians right now.
It's called Everything is Awful, but it's really all about hope. So far in two weeks, we've only gotten eight verses into this letter. We're going to make a little more movement today. But so far we've looked at Paul's first visit to Philippi in Acts 16. We looked at the people he meets and the characters that form the foundation of this beloved community.
And then last week we looked at the introduction to the letter Paul writes to this community. From Paul and Timothy, servants of God to all of our friends in Philippi, grace and peace to you. Now, there's a lot in there already, especially considering that this is the same basic introduction Paul uses in a lot of his letters. But there are some things that make it special here in Philippi. First, we get a bit of a glimpse into Paul's theology of authority here.
Often when he's not familiar with a church or community, when he doesn't know them well, when he's meeting them for the first time through a letter and needing to introduce himself, he will drop some titles. Paul, an apostle of Christ, he will often say. Part of that is because Paul believed that meeting the risen Christ in spirit as he did is equal to having met the person Jesus who walked through ancient Palestine. That alone is well, it's pretty striking. Even by calling himself an apostle, Paul is actually saying that you don't get to just rely on your credentials or who you know.
Well, hung out with Jesus so you should listen to me. No. Christ is guiding me, leading me, teaching me to love right now. This is the only reason to ever take someone seriously as a spiritual leader. Because Paul thinks that his experience of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, your experience of Jesus today, my encounter with the Christ who guides me, all of these are just as powerful as what the apostles found covered in the dust of Jesus' feet.
That alone is it's pretty remarkable. But here in Philippi, he doesn't need to go there at all. In fact, here in Philippi there are no titles to set him apart from Timothy. There are no accolades to assert his authority over Philippi. And that's because he doesn't need it.
Titles are fine. They can even be helpful at times. But they will always take a backseat to genuine relationship. And Paul would trade all of it for the kind of influence earned through lasting relationships and shared experiences, everything that we call friendship. And personally, I think this is one of the keys to getting Paul as a human being.
He often gets this bad rap for being overbearing and loud and maybe even a little obnoxious. But honestly, the guy gets it. I think he really does. And as someone who can easily fall into all of those categories myself, his trajectory toward relationship and humility and friendship over titles and authority, this is one that I aspire to. Now the second thing we looked at last week was this greeting he uses, grace and peace.
And Paul uses this line a lot. It's a play on words. By the way, my son has just discovered puns. He is seven years old, so that 's fun because it's all we talk about these days. But grace is the word charis, which is very similar to the word karen, which is a standard greeting in Greek.
Then Paul pairs that with peace, and this is where it gets interesting. Because grace and peace sent a contradiction to the Gospel of Rome which is victorious pax or victory and peace. And that's how the Pax Romana unfolded across the empire. Military victory after bloody conquest. Augustus was savior of the world by conquering it.
And that stands in stark contrast with the Jesus who saves the world through sacrifice, through showing us what our violence really does to each other by opening eyes to the grace of God that comes to find us and gently brings us back home. Grace and peace, this is a way of saying that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar, that the Gospel is peace, not conquest. Paul uses that in a lot of his letters but given the history of Philippi that we recounted last week, all of it probably hit in a different way here. In fact, of it hits different knowing that Paul is in prison when he writes this. It's not just nice ideas.
This is a deeply held conviction about how the world works. And so this is where we start in Philippi, a church of misfits, a Paul who trades authority for friendship, a Gospel that exchanges victory for peace, and a community that dives into all of together. Today, however, we're going to talk about close talkers, being in Christ, mixed intentions, and bad grammar. Let's start with prayer. God of all grace and peace, who invites us to know you through your graciousness.
That you invite, you welcome, you embrace, you love, you do not conquer, you do not name yourself victorious after bloody wars. You are full of grace and invitation. And in that, as we come to you, as we take our seat at your table, we know you as you truly are. May that approach to life, may that approach to transformation become the approach that guides us through all of our steps this week. In those we encounter and love, in those we encounter and struggle to love.
May your grace and peace pervade every moment of our lives, and in that, may we participate in the transformation of your world. In the strong name of the Risen Christ, we pray. Amen. Okay. One of the things I think about post COVID is how awkward it's going to be to be near people again.
I find myself watching TV shows and thinking people are getting too close. I walk my dog down the street and see people cross the road when we're a block away. All of this is going to take some time to unlearn. But at the same time, I have never been a fan of getting too close. I am a big fan of personal space.
I'm not much of a hugger. I prefer to speak with a comfortable couple feet between us. My partner Rachel will always ask why I talk so loud and now I'm realizing it's because I was preparing for this moment to talk between this chasm of space between us all. You know those people who like to get a little too close? I I feel for them during this time.
I really do. But even pre COVID, that always threw me off. Are you getting this close so you can attack? I I feel a bit of a flight or flight response coming on now. Are you coming in for a kiss?
Is that better? Is that worse? I don't really know. Here's to a future where six feet goes away, but maybe we hang on to one or two of them just to be safe. However, there is, of course, also our personal emotional space.
We talked about this about a year ago in our Big Loud Mouth series, this tendency that we have at times to overshare. And oversharing is not actually a sign of being too open and honest. It's often a sign of pent up emotional angst that needs release. In other words, if you notice yourself oversharing, it might be because you're in the habit of undersharing. And instead of opening up awkwardly to the stranger on the bus, perhaps what you need is to reinvest yourself in some safe, healthy relationships where you can open up more regularly.
Well, here in Philippians, one of the awkward realities is that we are reading someone else's mail, Someone who, as we've seen, is quite emotionally open to the intended recipients and we're gonna see a little bit more of that today as we step into a little bit of Paul's personal space. So let's read a little bit here and then we'll stop and talk about a few things as we work our way toward Paul's vulnerable moment near the end of chapter one. But this is chapter one starting in verse Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
A couple notes here. He uses this interesting phrase. In the NIV which I'm reading from, he says, It has become clear to everyone that I am in chains for Christ. And that is exactly what he means. He is in prison because of the Gospel, because he believes that Jesus is Lord and not Caesar.
And by the way, you you didn't get thrown into jail in Rome for your religious beliefs. You got thrown into jail because of your political beliefs. I mean, Rome doesn't care if you think Jesus is divine. Rome cares if you think that Jesus has the right to advocate for a different politic than Caesar. And so when Paul says, it has become clear that I am in chains for Christ, he's talking about that commitment.
But what he actually says here is something more like, I am in chains in Christ. So not because of Christ or for Christ, but in Christ. And this is well, this is a big deal for Paul because what Paul almost never talks about Christ being in you or in your heart, he does talk all the time about you being in Christ. And what seems like is happening here is that Paul has these two ideas in mind. First is that obvious statement that Paul is in prison because of his commitment to Christ.
But the second one is the really interesting one because Paul also seems to be saying that in suffering Paul is in Christ because Paul now experiences something like what Jesus did. Don't don't get me wrong. Paul is not a masochist. Paul is not looking to suffer. It's more like what we talked about last week.
This Philippian community was partnering with Paul, sharing with Paul, in it with Paul because they didn't abandon Paul. And now Paul says that in this he also shares something in Christ. Here's what I think is important for us here. For Paul, Jesus is not a get out of jail free car literally, obviously. Understand, all of us, Jesus won't make your life easier.
Jesus won't make your relationships take less work. Jesus won't make your vote simple. Jesus will not make you wealthy. Jesus certainly won't provide a short cut to make you a mature human who knows what you need and how to ask for it, when to set boundaries, and what to do when confronted with change. Because all of that takes time.
It takes learning, it takes mistakes and consequence, sometimes it takes the removal of privilege and the experience of suffering, but it absolutely takes the Jesus who journeys with us through life, all of life with us. And so in everything new that Paul encounters, even when everything is awful, he knows he isn't alone because he is in Christ. And for me, it's that little shift in language from thinking that I carry Christ around with me in my heart to knowing that I am in Christ, held in his arms, embraced by his love, carried by his spirit no matter where I go. This is well, it's huge. Because Jesus is not my sidekick.
It is the divine that carries me everywhere through my life and that's a big difference. Now, second, there's this question about the palace. Paul says that Christ has become clear throughout the whole palace guard. And last week we talked about Paul probably being under some kind of house arrest while awaiting trial, but now he's in the palace? That would be cool, but no.
The word is Praetorium, which technically would be the governor's quarters, but in this case refers to the Praetorian Guard. And this is probably a little bit of hyperbolic exaggeration on Paul's part here because what he's saying is that basically whenever a guard checks in on him, he tells them about Jesus and at least from Paul's perspective that seems like everything is going well. So naturally, assumes that all of those guards have told all of their colleagues and by now everyone in the praetorium, some 9,000 soldiers must have heard the gospel about Jesus. Now who am I to quibble with Paul? But that may be a little optimistic.
That said, I I do think this exactly is how the Jesus story flows best. It's not from the person with the microphone out from the stage. It is from person to person in conversation and story and chance encounter. This is actually how spirit moves best. And so maybe Paul is on to something here even if he is a little bullish.
And that's interesting because next Paul says, It is true that some preach out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached and because of this, I rejoice.
And this is just a really interesting follow-up to his statements about preaching in chains. Paul thinks good things can come from his imprisonment. Paul thinks that good things can come through less than pure motives. There's this sort of consistent ethic that underpins Paul's writings here and I think this goes a lot deeper than just look on the bright side. I think it's it's Paul's conviction we saw last week that God is at work healing the world and that eventually, inevitably love wins.
Caesar is not Lord. Peace does not come through war. The kingdom cannot be stopped and therefore I will search out the good and center myself on the beautiful. I will align myself with the pure so that I can contribute to everything that I know is springing up all around me all the time. Look, Paul is not naive about this.
We're going to see that in a second here. But I do think Paul is committed to searching out the presence of God's goodness, particularly in the moments where the Divine is harder for him to spot. Let's remember, our last series was about the book of Esther, a book where God isn't even mentioned and yet this book finds its way into Scripture. And so to see Paul now straining to find God in even the most difficult moments, perhaps this is a holy counterpart. That even when we don't see God, this too is where faith can blossom.
Now, want to get I want to get to the heart of Paul's struggle here. But first, who are these people who preach Jesus out of envy and rivalry, out of selfless ambition hoping they can stir up trouble for Paul? I mean, is that really a thing? Well, in the specifics of Paul's situation, there are those that assigned this reference to competing groups in the early years of the Church story, specifically either the Judaizers that wanted Christians to maintain Jewish purity laws, Or possibly the Gnostics who are kind of a tricky group to nail down but basically had a more Hellenized Greek influenced concept of Christ as a spiritual reality but localized in particulars of a Jesus who walked and taught and moved through the ancient world. And it could be that Paul has these groups in mind, trusting that regardless of the specifics of their theology, as people encounter the Jesus story, the Christ is present to them, guiding them forward into love.
There's something very kind and very generous in that. It's something I endorse. I mean, I know I've got some bad theology somewhere. Unfortunately, I just don't know what parts those are. And so I trust instead that as I follow Jesus, as I invite others to encounter Jesus, Jesus is present to all of us teaching us together what it means to love.
As I I said on Twitter a couple weeks ago, I don't do theology because because I'm trying to convince God to save me. I do theology because I want to learn to understand the fact that God is already saving me. And yet, most scholars think that this is not actually about other groups of Christians but instead likely referring to other evangelists who were in Rome at the time. And they saw Paul's imprisonment as a chance to build their platform. There's a lot of publicity to be had in jumping on the bandwagon once someone else is in the news.
And this phrase selfish ambition is actually the word here. The word at one point simply meant working for pay but slowly it began to take on more negative connotations. And by the time of the New Testament, it was actually primarily used for politicians who canvassed for office. In other words, Paul likens preaching at its worst to politicking. And that's a good check for those of us who like to be liked.
But that said, I've been in this job for a long time now. And I've seen a lot of people deeply impacted, even in positive ways, by pastors who had a lot of envy and rivalry and selfish ambition driving them. Truth is I know I have been motivated by some of those things at some point in my life and so I get what Paul is saying here and yet we also need to say clearly and definitively that just because someone hides behind the Gospel and preaches Jesus that does not mean that they are off limits from criticism. Because even if there's good happening, toxic behavior behind the scenes, the longer that is allowed to continue, often in the name of protecting Jesus' reputation, the more damage will be done eventually to Jesus' beloved children. Pastors that are selfish, pastors that are domineering, pastors that are envious, pastors that demand respect and command fear, they all need to find new jobs regardless of how well it is anyone thinks they preach.
Can good grow out of toxic soil? Of course it can. That's Paul's point, that the grace of God in our lives is present healing us, repairing us even when everything is awful. And if you have ever found yourself in that kind of situation, it's okay to be grateful for the ways that God was present to you there. But should we ever be silent about it when we see it, never.
Jesus does not need to be protected. Victims do. And so again, when pastors are full of envy or rivalry or selfish ambition, they need to find new careers. So Paul is in prison but he sees this as an opportunity to tell people about Jesus. Preachers are jumping on his coattails causing more problems for him but he trusts that God is present in the midst of it all.
And honestly all of that has a bit of an air of bravado to it, a brave face in a difficult time. But here's where it feels to me like Paul starts to get a little bit quiet. And to pull in a little bit close, to press up against our personal emotional space a little bit. He says in verse 19, For I know that through your prayers and God's provision what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but I will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body whether by my life or by my death.
There's a couple of interesting things here. First, I know I will be delivered. The word there is soteria which literally means salvation. And I know in our minds we kind of immediately want to go to salvation and heaven and afterlife and all of that. But the word actually means well-being and health and wholeness.
So it's hard to imagine Paul means this in any other way than that he will be saved from a Roman execution. Except then he immediately goes on to talk about Christ being exalted whether by his life or by his death. It's a little strange. The next he writes, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean a fruitful labor for me.
Yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. But it is more necessary for you that I remain convinced of this.
I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you. Your boasting in Christ will abound because of me. He writes, I know I will be saved. Although, then again, I might actually die. But then again, maybe dying isn't so bad.
But no. No. It can't be that. I've got to live. I know I've still got things to do.
And if all of this feels a little scattered to you, you're not alone because actually it's Paul's grammar itself that begins to fall apart in this section. Paul is probably the best Greek writer that we have in the New Testament. He is educated and thoughtful but also has a firm command of the Greek language and grammar. But despite the fact that he is a proper Roman citizen, Greek is likely his second or maybe even third language. As Jesus, Aramaic and Hebrew would have come before in his family as he grew up.
And what's really interesting here is that if you translate this more literally, end up with this long run on sentence. And I shall not be put to shame in anything and with all boldness Christ will even in this be exalted whether by my life or death. And to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. And if I am to live on in this, it will surely mean fruitful labor. And I do not know which to choose.
And I am hard pressed from both directions and having the desire to depart and be with Christ because that is much better after all, and also knowing that to remain is more necessary for your sake. And so I am convinced of this, and knowing that I shall remain and continue with all of you. That format with all of those ends, all of that long run sentence in Hebrew, these would be the start of new sentences in Paul's mother tongue. And is used very differently in Hebrew. It's almost like punctuation.
And I love that because I love stringing together sentences as well. But what's actually happening here is that Paul's well thought out, grammatically correct Greek argument is devolving into emotion. And in that, Paul is slipping back into his Hebrew memories and familiar patterns. He's speaking in the tongue that comes most deeply embedded in his soul. As one scholar Peter O'Brien says, this point Paul's language becomes obscured and the grammar of the passage begins to reflect the conflicted feelings in his mind.
The rather disjointed sentence expresses his hesitations. Another Ralph Martin notes that the agitation of Paul's minds is clearly evident in the broken syntax of his writing here. And I I mean, I love it. Because you and I, if we're paying attention, if we read between the lines, what we get to hear is Paul saying, I trust God completely, but guys, I'm scared. That right there might be worth more than everything he says out loud in the letter.
To know that you can trust God and still be afraid. To know that you can believe in God and still be full of doubt. To know that you can follow the way of peace and still be afraid of violence. That you can be convinced that God has saved the world but still find yourself gripped in moments of despair. To know that you can say these things out loud or in the subtext of your tone and tenor and be heard and understood and loved completely in community.
All of this might be worth more for some of us than everything Paul actually puts on the page in Philippians. Because here's the thing, I may not like close talkers, but I know I need the emotional space between you and I to collapse at times. And sometimes, more than what we learn from the words that are exchanged, what we learn is from the ways that we are vulnerable with each other. The space between us where we are hopeful and vulnerable and present to each other just in the way that we need each other to be. This is what we get to see here in Philippians.
Paul lay it all on the table for his friends. And as his grammar falls apart, it is those friends who give him strength to carry on. Let's pray. God, these moments where we get to see through the words between the lines into the heart of Paul, as he is a real human being, a man laid bare by all the things, all the weight on top him, now pouring himself out to his friends. As arguments fail him and emotion fills the gap, may we recognize that this too is sacred.
And in those spaces where we are able to open up to each other, to lay our vulnerabilities bare, to have words fail us and know that we are loved despite all of it, This is where we find ourselves held together by community. If Paul needed this, if the Philippians could do this for him even as he was the one writing the letter, may we take up that task for each other. To bind each other, to hold each other, to provide encouragement and strength for each other when we need it. In the strong name of the risen Christ we pray. Amen.