Read Philippians 2:1-11:
Philippians 2 is one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. It combines the logic from my mathematical background and the paradox of Jesus, the Son of God, taking on the form of humanity and limiting himself even to the point of death.
Paul starts Philippians 2 with an If/then statement. If/then statements made up most of one of my math classes in college. Paul lays out several conditional statements before getting to the implications of any of them. He’s trying to say it doesn’t take much in order to realize we need to line our lives up with Christ. In fact, if you have any encouragement from being with Christ, or any comfort from his love, or any sharing in the Spirit, or any compassion or tenderness, if you have any of these things, even just the smallest bit, then Paul wants you to model your life after Christ. If Christ has meant anything at all to you, he should mean everything to you, and you should model your life after Jesus’ humble service.
And this is where the paradox comes in: with Jesus being God, he could have done whatever he wanted, but instead he chose to enter into our world, and take on human flesh, and die a human death on the cross. His power was not something he exploited. Instead, he served.
How are you finding ways to serve God and serve others in this time of pandemic? Perhaps you’re called to serve in public as a nurse, doctor, EMT. Perhaps you’re called to serve your neighbor who isn’t able to step outside because of a pre-existing condition. Perhaps you’re called to serve your family who is seemingly with you 24/7 and you just a moment’s peace. Perhaps you’re serving in some other capacity.
No matter what, we are each called to serve. We are each called to have the same mind, the same love, and to do nothing out of selfish ambition, as we value others above ourselves. It’s what Jesus did for us when he came to earth to serve, and to ultimately pay the price for our sins so that we could be redeemed. If Christ has done that for us, then we can find small and big ways to serve those in our midst right now.
Hear these lyrics from Bless’d be the tie that binds as our closing prayer today:
Bless’d be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.
Before our Father’s throne
we pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.
We share each other’s woes,
each other’s burdens bear,
And often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear.
When we asunder part,
it gives us inward pain,
But we shall still be joined in heart,
and hope to meet again.
This glorious hope revives
our courage by the way,
While each in expectation lives
and longs to see the day.
From sorrow, toil, and pain,
and sin we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
through all eternity.
Grace and Peace, Amen.