Philippians 3: 4b-14 (NRSV)
4 If
anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 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; 6 as to zeal, a
persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 Yet
whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8
More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of
all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9
and be found in him, 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. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his
death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 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 his own. 13 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, 14 I
press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ
Jesus.
Year C
Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 13, 2016
Cross~Wind
Title: “All In” or
“Limping In”
Introduction
I do not think I have ever been in a real race. I like to run the
Indianapolis mini-marathon, of course, but I do not compete with anyone except
me. I would like to do better than I did the previous year. Some years, I just
want to complete it, and I always have. One year, it took me the longest time
to complete. I developed a cramp in my leg, but I kept going. When it came to
that last mile, I was determined to take it up a notch. It did not work. I
walked across the finish line. I am rather stubborn that way.
In February 2008, a rocket blast
struck Maj. Phil Packer while serving with the British Armed Forces in Basra,
Iraq. He suffered major heart and spinal injuries — enough that medics told the
now-paraplegic soldier that he would never walk again. They were wrong — wrong by
26.2 miles. He completed a London marathon on crutches. While starting the
marathon with the main race group, he finished it 13 days later. He covered
roughly two miles a day, and the whole journey took him 52,400 steps. When
doctors tell you that you will never walk again, every step is worth counting.
When each race day consists of 4,000 painful steps, you probably count each
limp and remember every one of them. He has not stopped inspiring people. Phil
set out on 14th September 2015 to complete a marathon distance through the City
of London in an incredible 14 hours.
For Packer, limping in was actually
all in.
On his web site[1], he identifies his mission
in life:
"To
deliver inspiration, create greater inclusion and to influence in the areas of
self-harm, depression and mental health at the highest level in order to
improve the vital support for young people experiencing trauma in their
lives."
By the way, have you
ever thought your mission in life?
His marathon was a fundraising
movement to donate more than £1million (about $1.5 million) to Help for Heroes
— a charity that rebuilds the torn-up lives of people injured in military
service. As Packer successfully limped toward his funding goal, scores of
tear-drenched supporters joined him each day along the road. Onlookers seemed
caught up in his transcendent journey.
He recognized the one-year
anniversary of his war injury by rowing across the English Channel.
We might learn a lesson here. He
refused to let his past dictate his present or future. Most of us understand
giving up in this situation. When he could have given up, he refused to do so.
Here is another lesson. He decided to live his life to its fullest.
Are we “all in” with God, or are we
going to “limp in”?
Application
A race begins and ends. In part,
that is why we train, give it our best, and hope to attain the goal. Our lives
begin and they end. Do we refuse to let the past dictate our future? Do we live
our lives to fullest? You have one life
to live. God wants you to give it your all, for in that giving, you will find
joy.
Based upon this passage, I have three things to share.
First, let us talk about letting
go of the past.
In the race, you are shedding what
you do not need in order to run more efficiently, you are pressing toward the goal;
you expect to achieve the prize. You shed the useless stuff so your running can
be light and without unnecessary impediments.
When Paul uses his accounting image, he argues that as followers of
Jesus we need to write off the past, even the good things (profits and assets) in
which we took much pride. Yes, he calls it rubbish.
You may have a spiritual past in
which you take some pride, whether it is church attendance, self-control,
discipline, theological knowledge, faithful giving, and so much more.
For others, the past is what makes
them feel unworthy of Christ. The failed relationship. The debt. The secret
habits. The abortion. They feel unlovely and unlovable.
A Peanuts cartoon has Lucy standing
in the outfield of Charlie Brown’s baseball diamond. As a fly ball sails toward
her, she remembers all the other times she has dropped the ball. You can guess
what happens next: She drops this one, too. Then Lucy calls out to Charlie
Brown, who is standing there on the pitcher’s mound: “I almost had it, but then
my past got in my eyes!”
Has the past ever gotten in your
eyes? Has it hindered you from accomplishing what God wants you to accomplish?
The checkered past and the sterling
past have the same thing in common for Paul — they are a pile of … rubbish.
You see, the scandal of grace is
that we are without merit. We cannot bring anything good enough to get God to
love us. Nor can we do anything vile enough to sever the love God has for us. God
loves us because of who God is, not because of who we are.
Richard Rohr put it this way:
“God does not love us because we are good. He loves us because God is
good. Why can we not surrender to that? Because it initially feels like a loss
of power and importance!”
Whether we are good
or not good enough does not matter. Our past is behind us.
Second, let us consider living
into the future.
Having shed unnecessary baggage,
Paul, the runner, now says that we press and strain forward with our eyes on
the prize. We are now free to embrace the future God has for us. As Paul puts
it, he wants to strain forward to what lies ahead and press on toward the goal
(v. 13, 14).
When Christ is everything to us, the
future is big. It is risky. It is creative. It is fulfilling.
Many of us are afraid to stretch
toward our best. We are content with just getting by in life, and maybe even in
our discipleship. Paul will have none of that. Paul has a goal that involves
continual maturing of his discipleship. Some of you might remember a doxology
in Ephesians 3.
Now to him who by the power
at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask
or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all
generations, for ever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3: 20-21)
So as followers of Christ, let us
develop a little holy imagination. Let us ask God what the future could look
like and then ditch our fears that hold us back from it.
Third, let us consider whether we
are all in or limping in?
These terms are from poker. Now, do
not make assumptions about either my past or present. How bad is this, coming
to church and learning some poker lingo. In any case, Texas hold'em is quite
popular on both Internet and television. When you limp in, you wager the
minimum amount to stay in the hand. It is a conservative play. You are
interested enough to bet the minimum and see what cards might turn up, but you
are not totally committed to the hand. The opposite poker play is a term more
of us may be familiar with: “ALL IN!” That is the bravado cry of players
pushing every chip they have into the pot. They hope they have what it takes to
go for it all.
To return to Maj. Packer, he had two
ways he could have approached life. The first was to collect a disability check
and a whole lot of sympathy because of his past. Any of us might have taken this
approach in his situation. We would understand that approach. It would be a
matter of approaching the end of your life as “limping in.” Here is the
conservative play. You are interested enough to keep living.
The other was to call the past irrelevant
regarding the future and take the risk of stretching toward the best life God
has for you. That is all in.
Paul is in prison. He could have
limped in. Any of us might have reason to consider the conservative play in our
lives and limp in.
Conclusion
Sadly, many churches have people who
are limping in. They have checked the “I'm saved” box. They do not realize that
God values their lives and this time. Let me ask you something. You have only
one life to live. Are you truly living before you die? God has so much more to
offer you. Refuse to let your past become your prison and dream of what God
wants you to do next.
Going deeper
[Philippians 3:1b-4:3 consist of warnings against errors. If one accepts
the idea of multiple letters combined into one as the canonical text, this is
letter C.]
[Paul begins by saying that to
write the same things to them is not troublesome to him. It safeguards them. He
wants them to beware of dogs, evil workers, and those who mutilate the flesh. The most common identification of these
"dogs" by scholars is the "Judaizers" -- those who taught
that both adherence to the Law of Moses and a confession of Christ as Lord were
necessary for complete entrance into Christian fellowship. The term
suggests Gentiles who have adopted the rite of circumcision, possibly as a semi
magical initiation ritual. Paul , of
course, had no doubts about whether following Jewish law was still a
prerequisite for joining the church. It was not. According to Martin ,
Paul 's Judaizing opponents believed
his teachings needed to be supplemented by Jewish ceremonies, such as
circumcision. The use of
"dogs" they understand neither Jewish nor Christian faiths. Noting the special zeal that issues from
new converts, as well as the emphasis placed on circumcision by those Paul is
opposing, many scholars argue that they were likely Gentile-Jewish-Christians.
Having moved through progressive stages to reach their current place in the
Christian fold, these converts insisted that all others must traverse the same
spiritual trail they had trod. For a Gentile to move directly to a confession
of Christ was deemed "skipping a step." Paul continues by
stressing that “we” are the circumcision, meaning that “we” worship in the
Spirit of God and boast in Christ, and have no confidence in the flesh. Yet, he
stresses that he has reason to have confidence in the flesh.]
[Paul is
clearly defending himself against some sort of opponents who had infiltrated
the Philippian community. Who were these opponents, and why was Paul disturbed by them? Many answers have been
offered to these questions, and none are without their shortcomings. From the
context of Philippians, we can conclude that the opponents were proclaiming a
message contrary to Paul’s; further, we can tentatively suggest that they were preaching a pattern of Jewish
customs which they thought were authentic, as opposed to Paul’s newfangled
customs derived from his belief in the messianic age. Were these opponents an
observant group of Jews already living in Philippi? Alternatively, were they a
group of “Judaizing” Christians that followed Paul from his missionary base at
the synagogue of Antioch? We may never know, and in truth, the distinction
between a “Jew” and a “Judaizing Christian” would be very difficult to make at
such an early stage of Paul’s missionary activity. The very ideas and
practices that would come to distinguish between Jews and Christians were
precisely what Paul debated and delineated in conversation with Peter and the
other ancient Jews who believed in Jesus the Messiah.]
Philippians 3: 4b-14 (NRSV)
4
If anyone else has reason to be
confident in the flesh, I have more: [He may have been
responding to some arguments or rumors that impugned his background. Paul makes
it clear that far from having a past he might want to hide, his personal
history was one that would ordinarily lead to boasting. He had lived the life
of an observant, obedient Jew. The four clauses describe the privileges
inherited by the apostle apart from his own act or will, are arranged in
ascending scale.]
5 circumcised on the eighth day [therefore
not as an adult], a member of the people
of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin [which produced a king, Saul, who may
have given the Hebrew name of Paul], a
Hebrew born of Hebrews [meaning
he kept the language and customs of the Jewish people]; as to the law, a Pharisee; [Not
only had Paul inherited special privilege and place, but also when grown to
adulthood, he chose to strengthen his position in the law even more by becoming
a Pharisee - the most literally observant sect in first-century Judaism. The
contrast would have been a Hellenist. Regarding the Torah, he was a Pharisee.] 6 as
to zeal, a persecutor of the church; [In I Corinthians 15:9 he admits he is not fit to
receive the calling of an apostle, since he persecuted the church of God. In
Galatians 1:13 he notes that he followed Judaism carefully and persecuted the
church. In addition, I Timothy 1:13 has an interesting way of phrasing this,
saying he cursed Christ, persecuted Christ, and acted arrogantly toward
Christ.] as to righteousness under the
law, blameless. [Note
that he was without fault in scrupulous obedience to the Torah, but not
“without sin.” Jesus granted that the Pharisees were exact in their obedience
to the quantitative elements in the law.
[In
verses 7-14, Paul reassesses his past in
light of his new life in Christ.] 7
Yet whatever gains I had, these I
have come to regard as loss because of Christ. [He
now uses the metaphor of gain and loss to illuminate the transition he made
from Pharisee to Christian. He seems to draw the image from the language of
commerce. The
Philippians were clearly Paul ’s
wealthiest community, or at least, the
community that provided the most financial support to his ministry. In
Philippians 4:10-20, Paul acknowledges
his debt to the Philippians, assuring them that in his ministry he seeks “the
profit that accumulates” to their “account” (4:17 ). Paul
knew that he already had some sort of commercial relationship with the Philippians,
an account of credits and debits. In financial matters, the community at
Philippi had become a sort of lord or master (kurioV) to Paul. Paul stresses that
whatever gains he had as an observant Jew, he has come to regard (count, as in
rebalancing the books) them as loss because of Christ. The verb for “count” is
in the perfect tense, which means he has a specific moment in his past, his
conversion, that dramatically changed his thinking. The experience of Christ does not just tip the scales. It throws them away all together. After
his conversion, Paul completely
altered his whole perception of gains and losses. However, we should not
interpret any of this as repudiation of Jewish life and faith. In fact, much of
his argument in his letters contains traces of his Jewish background. The point
is that in comparison, what he thought was gain became loss, so that he could
know Christ. Thus, more than that, he regards everything loss. What was gain is
now loss. What were advantages are nothing in comparison to what he has now.] 8 More
than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. [He wants them to
understand without doubt that the spiritual value of knowing Jesus Christ as
his kurioV
far surpasses any earthly gains he has made through the transactions of Jewish
law or his financial transactions in the ministry. Paul sold his old
possessions to work for a new master. He
now has the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus “my Lord.” He has given up
himself to God, which has become the greatest possible gain.] For his sake I have suffered [better,
treated] the loss of all things [not
just his Jewish heritage. The
fact that Paul is now in prison makes such a statement even weightier. He has
even given up his liberty.]
and I regard them as rubbish, in
order that I may gain Christ [He
can treat his past as loss because in
Christ he has gained so much. He regards them as rubbish for the sake of
his new master.] 9 and be found in him, 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. [What we find next is the Pauline
teaching in miniature. He will mention favorite theological topics. Paul
elaborates upon this theme in II Corinthians 2-7. Pannenberg
stresses that an exchange of places
between the innocent Jesus, who was executed as a sinner, and the manifestation
of the righteousness of God in those whom Christ represents before Christ. Yet,
Paul stresses that this exchange of places takes place only if the sinners for
whom Jesus died let their lives, which
have fallen victim to death, be linked to the death of Jesus.[2] In Romans 6:3ff, Paul will also describe
the result of baptism as union with Christ in his suffering, death, and
resurrection. One way to think of this is that faith and baptism belong
together.[3] The Philippians here catch a
glimpse of what Paul expounded more fully to the Galatians and the Romans. “In Christ," means as a part or member
of Christ. Only by becoming a part of
Christ can Christ's righteousness become our own. Note that faith is the means of justification,
not the source. This contains Paul's
doctrine of Justification by faith, Christ being worth more than anything else
in existence. Paul's denial of all
previous "profits" so that he may claim and "gain" Christ,
or even "belong to Christ," leads him to contrast law-based righteousness
with grace-based righteousness - righteousness that comes from God
"through faith in Christ" alone. Paul 's
declaration that he has no righteousness for himself based on the law is a
remarkably radical statement for this Pharisee to make. According to Pharisaic interpretations, carrying out every jot and
tittle of the law attained righteousness. People nurtured their communion with
God through a scrupulous adherence to legal duties. Now as a Christian, faith
alone ensures Paul of his right relationship with God. Being open and present
in God's present grace is, to Paul, proper righteousness. There is no law, no liturgy, no precedence
for the power that is offered to the one who has faith. It is only faith that
gives the future meaning. All Paul 's
previous energies are now a "loss" because his newfound faith in Christ revealed to him that righteousness is a relational
existence, not an ethical standard.] 10 I want to know [aorist
tense suggesting a definitive act, a knowledge that is far from simply intellectual,
but transforming] Christ and the power of
his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his
death,[Paul forcefully states his
radical theology of the cross, the life of discipleship entailing fellowship in
the sufferings of Christ. The disciple must become conformed or formed with (summorfizw) the death of Christ. Clearly, Paul is
not referring to the unjust death of the cross that Christ experienced. Rather,
the disciple is to conform to the humble act of self-emptying he described in
2:5-11.
However, Paul has also uniquely applied the cross to his apostolic ministry as
well. Participation in Christ's
sufferings is the practical result in life.
It implies not only persecution, but also includes struggles against sin,
Gethsemane and Calvary. This is another way of expressing the faith/union
relation between Christ and believer.
Reference to Christ's death one best understands as death to sin. Some
have suggested that we should understand Paul's words here as referring to an
inward transformation. In such a reading, the old self unites with Christ in
such a way that it puts to death its previously sinful nature. However, Paul's
words would seem to indicate a more tangible relationship with Christ's
sufferings. Paul not only understands
the ends of Christian faith to be superior to all else (sharing in the power of
the Resurrection) but that the means of Christ's life also offer a superior
model to those who proclaim their faith. We may also translate "Sharing of
his sufferings" as "the fellowship of his sufferings."
"Fellowship" in Christ's sufferings is a communal, not simply a
personal, event. Even as Paul emphasized the individual gift of rebirth hoped
for by all who share faith in Christ, he could emphasize the spirit of a koinonia community that would and
could suffer together for Christ's sake and in Christ's name. For Paul, all our
suffering is Christ's, and Christ is present with us in our sufferings. God
unites the body and all its members in suffering, death and resurrection. Paul
connects participation in all suffering to the ultimate gift of resurrection
with Christ.] 11 if
somehow [an expression of humility,
expectation, and hope] I may attain
the resurrection from the dead. [We
can see here that Schleiermacher is right in basing the Christian hope of life beyond death on the fellowship of believers
with Jesus sets it on the right basis, even if he did not go far enough in
providing a rational justification for it. For Paul, the resurrection of Jesus means participation already in the salvation
of eternal life.[4] Paul
admits that he has not already obtained this resurrection. Obviously, "the
power of his resurrection" refers to the power manifested by the
resurrected Christ. It is a power that
works in the lives of all believers, replacing the death-grip of sin with the
lifeline of Christ. This is the miraculous "gain" that Paul now
realizes and to which all other "gains" pale in comparison.
12 Not that I have already obtained this
or have already reached the goal; but I press [strains (present tense,
suggesting repeated action and constant challenge)] on
to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 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, 14 I
press on [present
tense as well]
toward the goal for the prize [Christ?] of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. [Paul
now shifts the metaphor to that of athletic competition. The metaphor does lots
of rhetorical work for Paul: It reminds the reader that the Christian life is
goal-oriented, as is an athletic contest, and future-directed, as is any
successful competitor. He is still a work in progress. He is not content with
his present condition. Paul
thus retains the athletic metaphor throughout the verse: Just as the winner of
a contest is called “up” to a pedestal to receive a crown or a prize, so will
the saints be called up to receive their prize of eternal life. Perhaps most
importantly, the athletic metaphor implicitly reminds Paul’s readers of the
finitude of their sufferings for the sake of Christ. Just as no contest is
infinite in duration, neither is human life infinite. In Paul’s eschatological
outlook, indeed we are already around the final turn and into the homestretch.
He may refer to the foot race, as he did in 2:16 in order to describe the
spiritual quest he finds himself embodying. The ideal is to reach the finish
line. While Paul's personal and theological focus has changed from
Torah-centered to Christ-centered, his passion for righteousness has not
changed. The same zeal he brought to his former faith he brings to his present
commitments. He denies any inference that he has reached his new goal of being
fully in Christ. We can see here a tension between his present attainment and
his future aspiration. He views
perfection as what will be his at the resurrection. There is no fullness of perfection here and
now. Barth says that God never ceases to make continual new beginnings with
people. God is continuously effectual in the divine work. He thinks this is
what it means to be before God and to know God.[5] He also wants to bring verses
12-13 together with I Corinthians 9:24-25, variations of the image of the
athlete in the arena. Together, they bring out the fact that the Christian situation is so obviously a provisional one. In the
Christian situation, the necessity is present to run to the very utmost of our
resources. The Holy Spirit is the one who sets us on the march. A real seeker
is one whose hands are empty. One is not an indecisive and planless seeker. One
knows what one is seeking. A real seeker is one whose hands are empty, who has
not yet apprehended, but wants to apprehend because one is already apprehended.
One is not an occasional or distracted seeker who divides powers between
running and resting, between seeking and possessing. As those in fellowship
with Jesus Christ, it is their portion to seek, to set their affection, to go
to run, to press on and to sacrifice.[6]
For verses 12-14, Barth refers to the youthful objectivity of the passage,
regardless of the age of the author.[7]
