The Kingdom we have been planted in is not a scramble to the top, but a dive to the bottom, to serve, to receive, not to lord it over and acquire and do.
A month rarely goes by when I do not include the Christ hymn and its context from this pericope in my preaching, either in summary or in direct quotation. In it, Christ is clearly and directed presented as who He is in death and life, in suffering and in glory, in humanity and in divinity. But this week of a Philippians series is a rare opportunity to preach it as the appointed text, part of the Pentecost epistle series, with the emphasis on Philippians 2:1-4 and 14-18. It is an opportunity to talk humility.
What the text means is what the text meant. It is a tenet for teaching and a rule for reading as certain as the self-authentication of the scriptures, the assurance of scripture being its own interpreter, and any other corollary we can imagine, like unus sensus literalis est (there is only one literal interpretation). Start your sermon preparation as a reader of the scriptures, putting yourself in the shoes and the seat of the first century recipient of an epistle. See with their eyes, hear with their ears, and you are well on your way to a responsible read.
This is especially important when we are dealing with Philippians 2. Hear the startling and unsettling institutional virtue screaming out from the page, from its first verse to the close. It is about being low, getting close to the ground. It is about humility. Startling because in a list of virtues from philosophers, statesmen, and contemporary defenders of their own classical culture, you would never hear this sort of thing from a self-respecting Roman or subject of empire. What does it mean to be human, to be successful, to aim at honor in activity in thought, word, and deed? Justice and wisdom were discrete values held in esteem and would be included on the list. Dignity, fidelity, hard work and courtesy certainly, truthfulness and self-control, even thrift earned high marks by the moralists of the day. They are all virtues wrapped up in Rome and tied with the bow of pietas, loyalty to land, to family, to the gods. But humility? Oh, no, a bridge too far. And no surprise, since defeat is the opposite of success. Ignominy is the opposite of honor. Considering others better than yourself (Philippians 2:3) is the opposite of the attitude that would adorn a life to be praised and imitated. Honor in the first century empire is the quality of person and habit that invites praise and ensures others think well of you. This Philippians 2:3-4 ethic is roundly the opposite of that.
In other words, what Philippians 2 offers us is one quality which renders Christianity unique as an institution in its time and place, and the virtue is humility. This is pretty odd for a religion if you imagine how a new creed or cult on the block must compete with a market filled with other systems of moral thought and teaching, all of them evaluated by consumers on a sliding scale of significance. How will this help me get ahead? How will it fit me out with leadership advice? How will it help me win arguments? How will it comfort me in circumstances of distress, need, disease, old age, and mortality? Plenty of religions that pass for moral-teaching-think-tanks can win followers on these features. But Christianity refuses to be pigeonholed as just another vain philosophy of this age with its own set of principles that simply reheats advice manuals about getting ahead and acquiring honor for yourself (see 1 Corinthians 1:20, Colossians 2:8, and Ephesians 2:2). Christianity frontloads humility as a defining characteristic of its followers (Philippians 2:3-4). And it must do so because every disciple must look like their teacher (see also Luke 6:40, Matthew 10:25, and refer to Romans 8:29 and 1 Corinthians 11:1).
Christianity frontloads humility as a defining characteristic of its followers. And it must do so because every disciple must look like their teacher.
This is why Philippians 2 comes replete with the Christ hymn from 2:5-11, arguably the centerpiece of the whole shebang, out of which center everything else in the entire chapter radiates. When I teach the letter in an undergraduate survey, we map it from this centerpiece outward in all directions, not just chapter 2, but the entire letter hanging on the chewy nougat center that is the Christ hymn. Since the Christ hymn is the assigned epistle for the Sunday of the Passion (Palm Sunday) each year, we have that bit in parentheses this week. There is no reason not to preach it, though! But do notice that the humility context is being pointed out for special treatment. Let that nudge you and shape your delivery of this text.
Hear the warning in what I said above about vain philosophies. Avoid the temptation to turn your pulpit into leadership advice time. Some imagine preaching is solely for inspiration and motivation. Recall what it is primarily for and craft gifts to deliver, the gifts God would give through words spoken and heard. Furthermore, too many Christians unthinkingly accept that “leadership,” a virtue of our own contemporary society in the worlds of business, industry, education and policy, must, out of necessity, align with the virtues of Christianity. In the face of Jesus’ preaching on the Kingdom and this Pauline pericope, this could not be further from the truth. Some organizations attempt to shoehorn a kind of Christian ethos into their fetish for “leadership,” turning Christian service into the franken-virtue of “servant-leadership,” as if semantics alone can mask the acquisitive yen for power and influence.
Our Lord’s words are relevant still today: The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors (Luke 22:25). Not so with you, says Jesus. The greatest must be a slave, the first must be last, and, as here in Philippians 2, each of you must look after the interest of others and consider others better than yourselves. Patronizing and patronage just will not do. Actually going low, humbling yourself, that is what is necessary. There is no substitute for it. It is what identifies the Christ, and that is the mind you have (Philippians 2:5), so be like your teacher.
Have this mind in you which is yours in Christ (Philippians 2:5) is a great entree into the Christ hymn, of course, but pause on it for this week’s sermon and retrace your steps back to Philippians 2:1-4 instead. You have the mind of Christ, says Paul (Philippians 2:5). That is description. And he does prescription here too: Be likeminded with one another (Philippians 2:2)! Paul does this aplenty in his letters, this description/prescription dialectic. Consider the reconciliation talk at 2 Corinthians 5.16-21: You are reconciled, now be reconciled! It is similar here at Philippians 2: You have the mind of Christ, now have the mind of Christ (and have it together, with one another, and with me!). In essence, it is the Apostle Paul delivering the goods by saying, be who you are, and you are who you are IN CHRIST.
It is no good to have selfish ambition if your home is the Body of Christ. This is the word eritheia in Greek, which shows up in a sin catalogue here and there (see James 3 and Galatians 5). It is also in the chapter before this one, when Paul was talking about those who preach Christ out of selfish ambition (Philippians 1:17). If Christ gets proclaimed, no problem, it does not worry him at all! But he is referring to folks who are obviously adversarial to Paul, and there is no room for adversarial relationship when you are in Christ. The word eritheia also denotes canvassing, the sort of glad-handing, hypocritical campaigning one would expect in a political race (the English word race really nails the competition valance of the word). There is no room for that kind of rivalry in the Body of Christ. The Kingdom we have been planted in is not a scramble to the top, but a dive to the bottom, to serve, to receive, not to lord it over and acquire and do.
The Kingdom we have been planted in is not a scramble to the top, but a dive to the bottom, to serve, to receive, not to lord it over and acquire and do.
It is no good either to have conceit (English Standard Version), empty conceit (New American Standard Bible), vain conceit (New International Version), vainglory (King James Version); the empty piece of that word in the “keno” of kenodoxia. Empty is the opposite of filled, and that is the context in which the word shows up earlier in Paul’s writings, at Galatians 5:26, where conceit and envy are diametrically opposed to walking with and by the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit.
What are we to habituate to instead? What mind should we have in the Body of Christ? Tapeinophrosynē (there is a mouthful), which is simply “lowliness of mind,” the humility and modesty that go along with the gentle heart and compassion in Ephesians 4:2, Colossians 3:12, and 1 Peter 5:5. A broken and contrite heart the Lord our God will not despise. He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. He is a unique kind of God, that one.
He is unique in Christ, for certain. The centerpiece of any sermon describing and prescribing humility in mind, thought, word, and deed must be the humble Christ, who lowered Himself, humbled Himself, even to death, the death of a cross (Philippians 2:8). The sermon to preach on humility turns from Christ’s humility as the unique Christian virtue, to Christ’s humility as the gift that creates and sustains His body. You do not climb toward Christ by humility. You have been united to the humiliated-and-exalted Christ, and, therefore, His mind becomes your mind toward one another.
Deliver that Christ in words and deliver that Christ to your receivers in the Word in all its forms. He deems it fitting to have it delivered so. Thanks be to God, He came to seek and serve and save, and He does so for you and your hearer.
God bless you in your preaching this week!
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Philippians 2:1-4 (5-13) 14-18.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching Philippians 2:1-4 (5-13) 14-18.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
