For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well - since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
(Philippians 1:21-30)
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One of my favourite movies is "What About Bob?" It's a comedy - and in my opinion at least, one of the funniest movies ever made. Richard Dreyfuss played Dr. Leo Marvin. Leo is a famous psychologist who's just published a book about a new therapy he's developed. Bill Murray played Bob Wylie (the title character) - a troubled neurotic who's afraid of pretty much everything and who comes to Leo for help. Bob becomes uncomfortably attached to Leo, and begins essentially stalking him - even travelling to be near him when Leo takes his family on vacation. Leo can't escape from him. Bob manages to ingratiate himself with Leo's family. They like Bob, and can't understand why Leo is trying to get rid of him. Every time Leo comes up with a plan for them to escape, his wife or children cry out "What about Bob?" One of the things that I loved about the movie is the great twist that comes at the end (so don't listen if you want to find the movie and you don't want a spoiler.) Afte Leo spends the entire movie trying desperately to shake Bob off (to the point at which he tried to blow him up with a bomb) in the last scene we discover that their roles have been completely reversed. Inspired by Leo, Bob has recovered from his neuroses and gone on to become a famous psychologist himself and published a best selling book of his own - and getting married to Leo's sister added insult to injury! Meanwhile, tormented by Bob, Leo has been reduced to an incoherent and quivering mass of jelly totally unable to function. It's a gradual and brilliant evolution of the two characters that plays out throughout the movie, and it's not at all what you would have expected from either character when the movie opened.
In a way, that's what life is like, isn't it. The unexpected keeps happening. things don't always make sense. We can't always predict what's going to happen. The person with the most votes doesn't always win the election. (Just ask Hillary Clinton about that one!) The smartest person doesn't always get the best grades. Although it's a myth that Albert Einstein failed mathematics, it's true that he dropped out of high school, and only later gained a degree in physics after struggling to find a university that would accept him because of his lack of a high school diploma. And the best team doesn't always win the championship. In 1938 the Chicago Black Hawks had won only 14 of the 48 games they played that season, but they went on to beat Montreal, New York and Toronto in the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup. And, as we all know, sometimes bad things happen to good people - even to those we think of as the best people. Life doesn't always work out the way we expect it will or the way we think it should. There was even someone who once said "the last shall be first." Go figure that one out! I think Paul had such things on his mind as he penned these verses in the letter he wrote to the church of Philippi.
"For [God] has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well - since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have." These words of Paul cut against the grain. Many people have a mindset that says that faith is some sort of magic elixir that's supposed to make things all better. I think that's especially the case among people who are new to the faith, because many people come to faith because of some sort of trial or challenge in their life, and they believe that faith - at least to an extent - is the answer. And, obviously, there's great comfort to be found in faith. I've felt it at various times over the years when I've faced some hardship, and I hope all of you have felt it as well. But at times we still fall into the trap of looking at faith from a simple reward-punishment perspective. As long as things are good (or at least getting better) then faith works; otherwise, something's wrong, and maybe we should just give up on faith because if things aren't all better then faith isn't of much value. But Paul wasn't under that illusion. We aren't only to believe in Christ, he says, we are to suffer for him - and both are gifts from God. That's quite a gift. As I said, it cuts against the grain. It doesn't make sense. Suffering is not what we expect for people of faith. 21st century culture goes to great lengths to avoid suffering. We strive to make life more fun and fulfilling. Even worship has to be entertaining, because we may live for Christ and we might even be willing to die for Christ but we sure don't want to be bored for Christ, even if it's just for an hour. And our society admires people who succeed in life and fulfill their dreams and amass their wealth. And faith should help us do that. Right? I understand why people would think in these ways. After all, there really aren't very many role models for the idea that "dying is gain," as Paul wrote at the beginning of today's passage. And let's face it - a lot of the best known Christians in the world today who come to represent what Christianity is about for a lot of people aren't suffering very much. They have private jets and big mansions and fancy cars and lot of other perks. I myself drive a 2015 Honda Civic that already has about 85000 kilometres on it - and, let me tell you, it doesn't get any better than that! And some people think that Christian faith should promise wealth and riches and success and health and prosperity of every kind. But that's a very secular way of looking at faith that buys into the idea that it's all about getting more and doing well and living the high and easy life with all the toys that accompany such a life. But - I wonder - where did Jesus ever say that? Where did Paul ever say that?
It's important to understand Paul's context. Most people believe that Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison in Rome, knowing that his imprisonment might lead to his execution. So he had a unique perspective on this subject. He had given up everything to follow Jesus, and what was his reward? A prison cell and perhaps execution. The church at Philippi was a special community to Paul. He had a close relationship with them. They had probably heard of his plight. Perhaps they had begun to question the value of faith. Perhaps they were asking, "If this could happen to Paul - then what's the point?" So Paul wants to encourage them. It's as if he's saying, "Don't be surprised. This is what you should expect if you really belong to Christ." But why? It's not what the Philippians expected. To add to their confusion, the Philippians themselves may have been starting to experience the first pangs of persecution, as the Roman Empire saw this movement beginning to grow and challenge the status quo.
Now - there's the rub. They challenged the status quo. Jesus, Paul, the Philippians - all these nuisance Christians were challenging the status quo. And the people who benefit from the status quo (the people who gain power from it) don't like the status quo being challenged. And even those who don't benefit from it often prefer the familiar to something new. Karen's children's story was based on a story from the Book of Exodus where the people of God lamented that they were no longer slaves in Egypt - because at least in Egypt and in slavery they had homes and onions. And if it comes to a choice between the familiar and comfortable and the unfamiliar and uncomfortable - well, we'll often take the familiar and comfortable, even if that means leaving God behind and giving up our freedom. But what the Hebrews had to learn through the formational stories of the Bible, and what Christians are still learning, is that faith and following God isn't always going to be a walk in the park. You can't say to society that "the last shall be first" without expecting some pushback from the ones who are already "first!" And if there isn't any pushback - if Christianity has become that which is comfortable and unchallenging to those who are already "first" - then we need to ask what's wrong, because it really shouldn't be that way.
There is a danger to this way of thinking. If we personalize what Paul says too much we can too easily fall into the trap of suggesting that people should just put up with suffering or abuse as if it's some sort of badge of honour. That's not what Paul was taling about. He's not talking about passively accepting the abuse of others; he's talking about our willingness to suffer for Christ because of the revolutionary message our faith proclaims. Listen to these words: "the last shall be first;" the weak shall be strong;" "the meek shall inherit the earth;" "there is neither slave nor free." In Luke 1, in Mary's Song - which we often hear before Christmas - Mary said of God that "he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty." These are all radical and even revolutionary words. All the distinctions that our society makes to differentiate between those on the top and those on the bottom are to be done away with - and that invites trouble if we really live it. It's no wonder that Christianity has always appealed most to the poor and the outcast - and still does. If we truly live by the teachings of Jesus then who else would stand by the poor and the outcast and the marginalized and the powerless and the despised more than Christians? And who else would expect to face more opposition than Christians?
I'm not saying that we should invite suffering or persecution into our lives. But I am saying that we should be prepared as a community to take the risk of challenging the way things are, of holding up a vision where all people are treated as God's children, where all that divides us is set aside, where we don't measure a person's worth by the size of their bank account or by the label on their clothes or by the model of car they drive. Our goal should be to be a truly prophetic voice holding up a vision of a society in which all people are valued and respected and treated with dignity simply because they are loved by God. Tht's going to rub a few people the wrong way. It might even cause us a bit of trouble. And that may not be what the world has conditioned us to expect from faith - because the world tries to tame faith; to make it docile and comfortable and weak and inoffensive to anyone - because if we're all those things then we're no threat to anyone and no threat to change anything. But Jesus was not docile and comfortable and weak and inoffensive. Jesus challenged the society he lived in, and - yes - Jesus paid a price. But he made a difference in the lives of those he encountered, and he made a difference in the world. As his followers, shouldn't we be as willing as he was to upset the apple cart and even to turn things upside down?
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