If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I
have more:
circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of
Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews;
as to the law, a Pharisee;
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church;
as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had,
these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
More than that, I regard everything as loss
because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord.
For The Lord’s sake
I have suffered the loss of all things,
and I regard them as rubbish,
in order that I may gain Christ
and be found in Christ,
not having a righteousness of my own
that comes from the law,
but one that comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God based on faith.
I want to know Christ and the power of Christ’s
resurrection
and the sharing of Christ sufferings
by becoming like Christ in Christ’s death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the
dead.
Not that I have already obtained this
or have already reached the goal;
but I press on to make it my own,
because Christ Jesus has made me Christ own.
Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own;
but this one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize
of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
***
At least a year ago, I swore off
reading, or watching, presidential campaign news. Like a bad video game,
campaign politics, at their least, seem a brain suck, and at their most, an
addiction. It's an unhealthy pathology which takes its viewers beyond the scope
of reality into a circus whose ring is filled with magicians of deception, all attempting
to tame and trick the lion of American culture. And we as a culture have made
this circus so grandiose that even a small town rural pastor can’t
ignore the insanity as performers are shot out of cannons for our seemingly
good pleasure.
Paul, in his letter to the
Philippians, is trying also to critique those gone astray following the
authority of untamed leaders. Paul is reminding the Philippians, to whose
authority they should subscribe. Likewise, in this sermon, I will attempt to do
the same. A caveat, you may hear your candidate’s name critiqued but I promise
those critiqued will be even handed. My attempt is not to put one person, or
party, above the next, but rather, to point out the pathology of the political
system against our pledge to Christ as our Lord and Savior.
In Paul’s context, many of the
Philippians are former Roman soldiers, whose values lie in power, in valor, in
strength, in self-ambition, and wealth. Paul writes,
“If anyone else
has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more:
circumcised on
the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel,
of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews;
as to the law,
a Pharisee;
as to zeal, a
persecutor of the church;
as to
righteousness under the law, blameless.”
Here Paul is reminding the
Philippians, he has played their game and won, that if they want to measure
success with the authority of this world, he has had it. Paul explains he is
from the right race - a Hebrew born of Hebrews, went to the right law school,
had the right job - a Pharisee, was well known - a persecutor of the church,
etc. Paul’s opening statement here reads much the same as the first words from
Donald Trump’s website,
“Donald J. Trump is the very
definition of the American success story, continually setting the standards of
excellence in business, real estate and entertainment. He is a graduate of the
Wharton School of Finance,” (https://www.donaldjtrump.com/about).
By the measurements of this
world, Trump seems to have achieved much, just as Paul did in his time. But for
Paul, as a Christian, the measures of this world no longer matter, Paul
writes,
“Yet whatever gains I had, these
I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.”
And I wonder what Trump’s gains
would become if we, as Christians, regarded them as loss? What might change if
we measured our political candidates against Christ? What if Trump gave
everything he inherited, and everything for which he had worked, and gave it to
the poor, would we still follow him? or would we crucify his generosity?
How are we as Americans, and moreover as Christians, fueling the circus of
greed by heralding wealth, power, and entertainment, as supreme? Are we are
paying for our tickets and watching the greatest show on earth, instead of
holding on to the promises of heaven?
Paul continues, “More than that,
I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord.” Here Paul is taking all that he achieved and learned from this
world and turning its on its head. He says that the knowledge of this world is
nothing compared to knowledge of Christ. And I wonder if our candidates would
have a platform on which to stand if they said all they knew was Christ?
Ted Cruz’s campaign slogan
states, "Reigniting the Promise of America,” and when I think of the
American Dream, it is easy to be swept away - in the founding of a place for
freedom of religion, in the mixing of cultures, and in the prosperity of people
like the Carnegie’s. But I wonder too about the ticks to the eye, that amidst a
place for freedom of religion also stemmed the Salem which trials, about a
place where cultures mixed also came rivalries between Irish and Italian
Immigrant gangs controlling law enforcement and business, much less slavery, a
place heralding Manifest Destiny while wiping out Native Americans. What does
it mean that in the end, Andrew Carnegie sought to give away his wealth because
he was afraid he would not get into heaven, because he saw the discrepancy between
his working poor and his rich, because he saw the discrepancy between his life
and Jesus’. Think of that next time you see a Carnegie Public Library, or Art
Center. At the end of his life Carnegie got it, and so did Paul, that the
promise of America is not always the promise of God.
Likewise, Marco Rubio is calling
for, "A New American Century,” and I wonder if this is what we want,
another American Century? looking back to one with WWII and the Great
Depression, Jim Crow Segregation and Japanese interment camps, the Vietnam War
and September 11th. What if instead of a new American
Century we asked for a century where God’s presence could be seen a new, a
Divine Century. I think about the Biblical call for the year of Jubilee. That
every seven years the land must lie fallow, that debts are canceled and
inheritance dispersed among everyone. That disagreements are put aside and the
slate is wiped clean. What if this, like in Biblical times, was how God was
asking us to be renewed?
Paul writes,
For The Lord’s sake I have
suffered the loss of all things,
and I regard them as rubbish, in
order that I may gain Christ
and be found in Christ,
not having a righteousness of my
own that comes from the law,
but one that comes through faith
in Christ,
the righteousness from God based
on faith.
In this Lenten time we are asked
to give up that which we hold close. We are asked to let go of the pull of this
world, and enter into a deeper faith. What if this was the new century to come?
What would we have to give up?
Bernie Sanders tells us, "A
political revolution is coming,” but maybe that isn't the type of revolution we
need. What if revolution looks more like humbling walking with a cross on your
back, instead of fighting the powers of this world. Paul writes, “I want to
know Christ and the power of Christ’s resurrection and the sharing of Christ
sufferings by becoming like Christ in Christ’s death, if somehow I may attain
the resurrection from the dead.” Paul writes this letter and this line from
prison, he has spoken out and here he is sharing in Christ’s suffering. Paul
will be killed for speaking out, and it makes sense to me that here in these
last days Paul is focusing on what is truly important, the resurrection we have
been given through Christ. I wonder, if we ourselves were on our death bed,
would we be watching news and casting our ballot or reading our Bible and
praying our prayers? And if one is greater than the other, which I believe it
is, why do we not have the same focus today? How many minutes, or hours do we
spend with the paper, the TV and the internet, instead of the Bible, a Bible
Study, a prayer and worship on Sunday mornings? Which
revolution do we want to take over our lives, a political one, or a Christlike
one?
Hillary Clinton’s slogan writes,
"Everyday Americans need a champion. I want to be that champion.” and this
is my biggest problem with every one the candidates. I know it is simply the
rhetoric, but I don't want politics to be our champion. As Christians, I want
Christ to be our champion. Paul writes, “Not that I have already obtained this
or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because
Christ Jesus has made me Christ own.” What if politics wasn’t about who is
better than whom, that it was about God being supreme? What if it wasn’t about
whose party we fall into, but that God has already claimed us as God’s
own.
How do we live, knowing that
before this hoopla, God created the earth, God created each one of us. How do we
engage in that kind of campaign? I wonder how much energy do we put on each
time. I know that as Americans voting is important, politics and being informed
are important. We are Presbyterians, education, even education of the political
spectrum is heralded, but I also want us to remember it is a balance and we
need to ask what are we putting first?
I called my parents the other
day, and for much of the time my parents shared their worry about the future of
our country because of the politics of today, and I thought, here we are, on
the phone as family, and we are talking politics, there are greater things to
talk about. Where had they seen God in their lives recently? How was Christ’s
revolution alive in their community? Had they witnessed the work of the Spirit
in their midst? And I wonder what likewise, is talked about around our kitchen
tables, what likewise consumes our prayers, what likewise consumes our worries
when something different could inform our hopes. Paul ends by saying,
Beloved, I do not consider that I
have made it my own;
but this one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind and
straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for
the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
May we all, this Lenten Season,
this campaign season, follow Christ’s heavenly call, as God’s own.
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