This week our teaching was from Philippians 3. Since it was Communion, I wanted to take a more “pastoral” theme and felt led to “All I want is to know Christ ……..” However, when I looked up the context, there was our old theme again – the conflict with the received religious system. (Oh well, maybe God’s trying to say something!)
Paul starts the chapter with an exclamation of praise. “Rejoice in the Lord!” We noted that he says this in several of his letters, and asked how joyful we really are as Christians and in our worship? (Someone commented that “deep (but unexpressed) joy” is not really convincing!). I suggested that fear is often the opposite of joy. Fears about exposure, ridicule, circumstances, health and so on, can combine to oppress us. Paul says – always rejoice – always!
Paul says he wants to focus on knowing “Christ” (an interesting term which is about God’s desire to bless and affirm). He wants to work in resurrection power – but resurrection implies death (and suffering). Can we skip that bit, someone asked??? Somehow working in “the kingdom which is not about words but about power” involves making the revelation of God through me the most important thing in my life – so it’s about “dying” to my own agendas and to what people think of me. Jesus got crucified for being a healer and an inspired teacher! So why was that? Yes… here it comes…
Jesus, like Paul, proved a threat to the oppressive religious system of his day. In our Philippians 3 passage Paul shows how deeply this conflict affected him. Having grown up as a true-blue Pharisee with the best credentials available, he now counts that approach to God as “utter shite” (Gk “skubula” – yes he meant o be very rude and offensive). In fact he seems to imply in v8 that he has to see it like that “in order to” know Christ. You can’t have it both ways, he’s saying (I think!)
He goes on to talk about pressing on like an athlete in a race – but again his emphasis is “the one thing I do is to leave the past behind…..” and press on.
When you’ve been brought up on religion it has a lasting hold over you. How can you break it? Maybe only by what he says – lots of rejoicing in the Lord, and a real – almost obsessive – search after his resurrection power in your life. But the race goes on and we must face forwards not backwards.
Hi,
This was a very engaing sermon. I was glad to ask questions, and it gave me a lot to think about.
It had not struck me before how it must have been a real struggle for Paul to wrench away from the orthodoxy of his original Jewish views, and to live out a completely fresh revelation.
It left me to thinking about how he must have evaluated the rituals he was used too. I’m sure this was difficult. Maybe he found the communion something to ponder over.
It’s amazing how even today how rites and practices are ‘taken for granted’ in Church life, and how they might take the place of ‘seeking to only know Christ’.
Some are hard to drop too because they give a sort of structure which may have been helpful once, but have been grown out of now we are ‘older’.
PJ