Imitating Christ

Philippians 2:1-11

The passage set before us today is central to the Christian message.

Paul, the prisoner is desperate that those who are free remain so. He spent the first half of his life relying on himself, his intellect, his skills, his achievements. And he found it all just led to a dead end. To know Christ and to be in Christ, is the main thing. Everything else takes its proper place after that. Paul accepted that freedom comes through death and on the other side life is amazing. It’s no wonder he urges the church to stay the course. Walk in freedom; preserve the unity that only exists in Christ.

The passage set before us is about living, dying and living again. It’s about a moment of surrender. The mystery of Jesus’ mission to make his people one in him.

Words of course also come up wanting. How can we explain the truth that although Jesus was human and divine at the same time – fully human and fully Divine; he chose to set aside the privileges of both to do what only he could do.  As rightful King of Israel he refused the throne. He refused power, wealth and position as a way to solve the great injustices of the world. And that makes little sense. As the wisest, most compassionate man ever, he could have ruled Israel with justice upholding and teaching the virtues of loving neighbour and caring for the widow, orphan and outsider. Just as God had always wanted.

And, as rightful King of the Universe, Jesus could have initiated the eternal kingdom banishing forever evil and injustice in every form. Man’s inhumanity to man is the cause of most of our suffering after all. 37 murders in Edmonton so far this year; each and every one caused by human brokenness, darkness and sin. Imagine the peace on earth we would enjoy if the sin problem had been removed completely from everyone back then. And he could do it too. All we’d have to worry about today would be natural disasters; and truthfully there aren’t that many of them. Even the hurricane in Japan wouldn’t have harmed anyone because construction and prevention methods would have been people centered, not profit centered. But Jesus refused to give us that kind of life, robbing every one of maturity that comes with taking responsibility.

The rightful king chose a different course. Paul says he emptied himself. Christ Jesus laid aside the privileges of his humanity and divinity in order to accomplish our salvation through the most unlikely means possible. It was the only way after all and as Paul also says, it appears as foolishness to all except to those who believe.

And in such absurdity lay the truth. The God we know as revealed in Jesus is unique. That’s why in our relativistic age where every road, some say, leads to the same fulfillment or God, the message of Jesus is critical and also proven. Every other spiritual path does have helpful teaching. After all anything that is true such as helping the poor, working for freedom and healing and the end to oppression are all of God and many do these things.

The difference is in the motive and goal. In those religious systems self-denial and doing good things don’t save. Instead they lead to self-fulfillment and the end of personal identity. And in that sense Richard Dawkins is right. Without Christ ultimately there is only annihilation and a great nothingness after death. The path of Christ is the way of life, death and new life; it is the only path that works.

It seems every great story has that theme. The hero sets out on a quest only to discover that in order to succeed he or she comes to realize that it’s too big for them to accomplish alone.

Think Frodo in Lord of the Rings; Think Harry Potter or King Arthur. In each, their abilities and strengths just aren’t enough because self-reliance is a trap leading to death. And in every case they die to self and renewed into life they succeed. Watch the Incredibles, there is a scene near the end where Mr. Incredible goes through just such a journey. He’s been self-reliant and discovers his strength just isn’t enough and in that moment he’s struck by terror. Humbled, he reaches out.

U2 sings about a man trapped by drugs and this of course is just a variation on a theme.

I've been in every black hole
At the altar of the dark star
My body's now a begging bowl
That's begging to get back, begging to get back
To my heart
To the rhythm of my soul
To the rhythm of my unconsciousness
To the rhythm that yearns
To be released from control

I was punching in the numbers at the ATM machine
I could see in the reflection
A face staring back at me
At the moment of surrender
Of vision over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

No Line On The Horizon: Moment Of Surrender

The song is called moment of surrender. Have you been to that place yet? Faced dependencies that have control over life? Some say everyone is an addict. Some are addicted to gathering wealth; for some it’s the thrill of sport either watched or participated in; for some it’s gardening or shopping; for some it’s owning more. An addiction is a dependency that shapes life around the dependency. It’s where the energy, time and passions go. Christ came to break dependencies and grant new life, a new vision.

Have you seen the vision – the truth of Christ – alive in a world visibly bound by alienation and pain?

This is the vision, path, the story, the truth that Jesus walked. With one significant difference. Jesus came knowing all of this ahead of time. He refused to be controlled and he refused to be self-reliant right from the beginning.. John 5.19 “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

And it is because of this that the path Jesus walked is the true path. The gods of this world always demand more. More blood, more money, more power. Why else are there debt problems in our world today? Why else does war never end? Why else are billions spent each year on elections?

The God who has been revealed in Jesus does not demand more and does not repay good behaviour with crumbs from His table. The God revealed is the One True God because long before we knew him he loved us, humbled himself, gave himself for us, and has Blessed us with every Spiritual blessing in Christ. Is it any wonder then that Paul can say of all his achievements, status and abilities, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him”

People, Jesus walked the path to show us the way. Birth, death and new life; a life shaped around love. For God, for others and for self. New life shaped by grateful, humble obedience to the one who sets people free, who is the Reigning Lord of Heaven and Earth. To whom every knee will bow. Yours, mine, the Dali Lama’s and the Pope’s, every religious leader, every political leader, everyone who has ever lived.

And so one thing remains. Will kneeling be an act of devotion or admission? Will kneeling bring tears of joy or shame? For those who are in Jesus the tears will be joy alone. In Christ there is no more shame and that is what we have this life for to discover.

So as we move to the Table, I ask again have you encountered Christ in your own personal moment of surrender?

Is become more like Christ, a woman or man ever more free of self-reliance and ever more liberated from the controlling lure of wealth, power and status the kind of person you truly desire to be?

Are you willing to ask the Father to set you free and accept what comes in this glorious place called new life?