Philippians 3:4b-14
So how is
your resume? That’s right, your
resume. If you had to find a job
tomorrow how would you do? What would your resume say about you? What information about your life would you
highlight? What stuff of your life would
you omit?
So, here we
go…
I just
happen to have brought with me today, some tips on how to build your resume.
How to:
And on and
on and on…
Now don’t
get me wrong. Resumes have their
place. And when push comes to shove,
they may in fact even be necessary. Except when it comes to the church.
“If anyone else has reason to be
confident in the flesh, I have more” says Paul:
“Circumcised on the eighth day…
A
member of the tribe of Benjamin…
A
Hebrew born of Hebrews…
As
to the Law – A Pharisee
As
to zeal – a persecutor of the church;
As
to righteousness under the law – blameless”
There you
have it!
If that’s
not a church resume for success, I don’t know what is.
A member of the tribe of Benjamin?
I mean if you’re going to be a member of any of the 12 tribes of Israel,
that’s a prime one.
Even the name “Benjamin” in Hebrew means “son of the right
hand”. (which, by the way, is the seat of
honor that 2 of Jesus’ success-addicted followers, James and John, tried to
climb and claw their way too).
Israel’s very first king came from the Tribe of
Benjamin. I mean can you imagine the
bragging rights if you could say that George Washington was part of your family
tree?
A Hebrew born of Hebrews?
Talk about pure ethnic stock.
There’s nobody more Hebrew than Paul.
This guy’s got the brand name that’s
going to sell tickets.
He is definitely Rock
Star material in his church.
He’s like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Billy Graham all
rolled into one.
A zealous and righteous Pharisee? You want that guy who’s going to work 18 to 20 hours a day to
make your bottom-line skyrocket? Paul is
your guy.
Your profits will be off the charts…
Oh yeah and sales?
This guy is so righteous he makes “Honest Abe” look like a pathological
liar.
He doesn’t just sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. Paul wrote the sales manual on it.
Second only
to Jesus, Paul is the guy that every call committee from every church known to
humanity is looking for. You want growth? You want success? Paul is your guy!
“Yet whatever gains I had, these I
have come to regard as loss because of Christ.”
Wait a
minute Paul…. What do you mean “gains”
have become “loss”?
In the world
of spread sheets, gains are good things.
Loss is not.
Your decimal point must be in the wrong place.
You’re talking “fuzzy math”.
That can’t be right Paul.
Come on, Paul, get your head in the
real world.
Success and
accomplishments are what we strive for…
But here’s
the problem: Despite his resume of
success,
Paul himself does not buy into any of
this.
Writing to
proud Roman citizens who
control the city of Philippi
Its
economy…
Its entire competitive system for status and social
honor…
And its robust imperial cult, which regularly celebrates the
Lordship of Caesar, Paul offers a
Reckless and even scandalous
alternative.
“Yet whatever gains I had (and you know he had a lot of them)
These
I have come to regard as loss because of Christ”
“For his sake I have suffered the
loss of all things
And
I regard them as …. (wait for it…) [rubbish]
Ok, I spent
thousands of dollars on a seminary education to get this next piece of
information, and today you’re getting it for free.
That word
“rubbish”? In the Greek, it’s not
rubbish. We’ve tamed it way down. The Greek word here is “Skubula” – literally
translated – and I’m going to try and say this politely… excrement. Hey, don’t stone me, I’m just the
messenger.
I don’t believe
for a moment that Paul uses this harsh word lightly, or as a joke, or because
he wants to be a foul-languaged “shock jock”.
I think for
Paul, the gospel is serious business…
So serious he will use whatever
language he needs, to get the point across!
I think for Paul, the Christ who poured himself out on a
Cross, like he told us last week in Chapter 2 of Philippians, is the one who
has “set the bar” for his followers.
If Christ, who is equal to God, (by the way that’s a great
resume strongpoint) can be completely poured out in love for the world, how can
those who would claim to be his followers do any less?
If Christ can be poured out in love for the world, how can
we, who would claim to follow Christ, do any less?
Oh and by
the way, in case we think that we can somehow pull ourselves up by our own
faith bootstraps to make this all happen, Paul’s use of the Greek language
tells us differently.
In verse 9
Paul talks of having a righteousness that comes through faith in Christ. Sounds like first I have to accept Jesus as
my personal Lord and Savior. Nope! That’s
not what the Greek says. The likely
translation of verse 9 doesn’t mention “faith in Christ”, but rather “faith of
Christ”.
In other
words, it is Christ’s faithfulness that makes any of this even possible.
The church
stands at a critical crossroads in its life
We have some tough choices to make.
I’m not talking about what hymns we like and don’t like…
or what kind of a sign board to put
out in front of the building..
or if our worship preference is traditional or rock band with
projector screens.
Those are NOT issues.
They are DISTRACTIONS.
For they have
the potential to distract us from seeing what’s really happening around us.
416 shelter
beds in the city of Rochester and on any given night there are between 500 and
600 souls seeking a warm place to lay their heads at the end of the day…
What do followers of the one poured
out in love have to say about that?
55% of the
city’s children living in poverty
And unlike other places around the country where that rate
has gone down, that rate has gone up 6% here in Rochester since the year 2000…
What do followers of the one poured
out in love have to say about that?
Growing
numbers of people turned off and disaffected by church because all they hear
from the church is talk of survival
or even worse, moralisms seeking to judge whose “in” and
whose “out” of God’s Kingdom.
All they
hear from the church is talk about “creeds”
And
not so much about “deeds”
Put another way,
The only question people hear the church asking is “how do we
attract people?”
Not
“how do we go out and feed them?”
What do followers of the one poured
out in love have to say about that?
Hey look, I
get it.
The church is not just another Social Service Agency, nor
should it be one.
But
neither can it be a museum of past accomplishments
No where in
any of the gospel accounts does Jesus ever invite his followers to sit back on
their laurels, puffing up their golden calf resumes, while lamenting days gone
by…
Instead he sends them out as
laborers in a vineyard, feeding God’s sheep.
I’ve begun
going out with a group of folks who, every month, seek to provide those living
on the streets with blankets, coats, food, medical kits, and yes even vouchers
for shelters and hotel rooms.
In the past
8 months, this mixed group of social workers, medical students, and church folk
have found stable housing for 40 people.
Does that end the cycle of poverty
in Rochester? Of course not.
But is it work
of the Kingdom?
Does it affirm that our city of Rochester is a beloved
vineyard of our God where no one should go hungry and no one should be living
on a dangerous embankment out in the open overlooking the 490?
Folks, if
Paul tells us nothing else, he tells us that life in the Kingdom is a matter of
choosing a focus:
We can
strive to be the biggest and the best…
With the glitziest and most polished
marketing campaigns…
We can strive to get our name up in lights with big programs
and fancy feasts…
We can pound loudly on the doors of every television and
radio station in Rochester pleading for them to promote our ecclesiastical
resume…
Or we can focus upon a Cross where God himself experienced
shame and humiliation…
that Love may abound…
That
Love may win the day…
“Yet whatever gains I
had,
These I have come to regard as loss because of Christ”
You know, Christ…
The One,
poured out in love…
The One, who joins us
in the vineyard with these simple yet timeless words, “Feed my sheep”.
