The Rev. Peter M. Carey
Sermon for 25 September 2011
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Greenwood, Virginia
Paul writes to the Christian Community at Phillipi and exhorts them to “let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” or alternatively translated, “let the same mind be in you that you have in Christ Jesus.”
Paul writes from prison and is in turmoil himself, and is hoping that through his words, the community at Philippi might find a way to allow Christ to enter into their minds, and their hearts to help them transform themselves, and also their church. Isn’t this also our prayer when we consider friends who are struggling, when we consider churches that are not thriving, when we think of communities in peril? Don’t we also pray that the spirit of God, the mind of Christ will be made known in the lives of those in need? And so, we may offer prayers, we may offer words, the dynamic, creative and restorative powers of God to enter into the lives of those in crisis.
Paul, also, prays and hopes, and also offers words to those Philippians. And what are the words that he chooses to write? Paul offers up a rich hymn which lays out the work of Christ. In order to allow the mind of Christ to enter into us, we also might need to model our lives on the life of Christ. Instead of a lecture, or a scolding, or a judgmental slap on the hand, here Paul offers up the deeply Christological hymn of emptying and filling.
The hymn is one, perhaps, that the Philippians already are familiar with, and likely it is a hymn that Paul did not create, but here, like any good letter leader, he finds the words which say what he wants to say.
It is a hymn of emptying of one’s self in order to be filled with God. It is a hymn of humbling one’s self so that God might exalt Christ, in the end. It is a hymn of descent – Christ deigns to descend into the lives of humans, to be one with us and then bears the pain and brokenness of the world and is then raised to exaltation. Through this exaltation, even the pain and brokenness is taken up into the very heart of God.
Paul exhorts his hearers to “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” or
“Let the same mind be in you that you have in Christ Jesus.” To do this, to let the mind of Christ Jesus to be in the likes of us, space must be cleared. We must be willing to sweep aside the stuff of our minds that clogs up our thinking, our praying, and our living.
What is it that we need to sweep aside?
Paul does not soften this message, and beneath the hymn of emptying and filling there is a real sense of loss, of work, of pain, and of radical change. Change will be needed in order to embrace the new.
Opening space means that some of what is cherished may need to be set aside, but isn’t this our spiritual journey, after all? Judith Viorst wrote of the “necessary losses” of life – and one does not need to live for very long before we begin to understand the ways that losses are a part of life.
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks
“He may be clearing you out for some new delight,” says the Turkish poet Rumi in the 13th century. Some new delight, some new thing may need space in which to live and breathe. Isn’t this also true of our lives? In order to allow something new and life-giving to enter in, we may need to allow the “guest” to enter in and clear us out.
In order to allow the mind of Christ to be in us, according to Paul, we need to follow the way of Christ, to find a way to journey through humility and the “necessary losses” of life so that we might also rejoice and be exalted with Christ. By no means is this easy, and it not not a mere mind-trip, it is not a mere intellectual exercise. As Rumi’s poem reminds us, the sweeping out of the guest house of our lives will involve change, and pain, and momentary stress – but also will make space for a new and deeper presence of God in our lives.
We come to church on Sunday, but I believe that we actually yearn for a deeper transformation? Don’t we actually yearn to feel God’s presence in our lives day to day, every day? As the Anglican priest and writer, George Herbert wrote, “Seven whole days, not one in seven, will I praise you.” Don’t we want to be one with God, to walk in the way of Christ, not merely as we enter this place, not merely as we come to the altar to participate in the communion? Don’t we want to be walking in the light of Christ, with the mind of Christ, in our daily work, in our daily family lives, in our daily interactions with friends and colleagues, don’t we actually yearn to help to transform a world in deep need of God’s love?
I would say that our yearning points us to God, our yearning for personal and corporate (community) connection points us to love of God and love of neighbor. I would say that our yearning points us to our fellow human beings. Our yearning points us to reach out to a world in need. Our yearning points us to work for justice and to seek and serve Christ in all persons. I would say that we actually yearn to “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” and “Let the same mind be in you that you have in Christ Jesus.”
If we were hooked up to a lie detector, I believe this is what we truly yearn to have in our lives. It is with great joy that walking in the way of Christ will allow us to be filled with God’s Spirit, taking on the cross of Christ will allow us to have the mind of Christ in our lives.
“May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. “ ~ Romans 15:16
Almighty and eternal Lord, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you, and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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