A Better Way
The Rev. Dr. John Judson
October 9, 2011
Philippians 4:1-9
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
So whose side are you on? It was a question that rippled through the First Presbyterian Church of Houston in the late 1980’s. Whose side are you on? The issue which was dividing the church was that the window in which they could leave the denomination with their church property was closing. Let me explain. Right after the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 the Presbyterian Church split between north and south. More than 100 years later in 1983 the churches were voting to reunite…yes I know we Presbyterians never do anything quickly. The major sticking point was property. In the southern church the church owned the property. In the north, property is held in trust for the denomination. As a compromise the southern churches had an eight year window in which they could leave the new denomination and take their property with them. So in the late 80s, as the window was closing, First Presbyterian Church of Houston, a very conservative church, was split over whether or not to leave. The debate became so onerous that people began wearing buttons saying “Yes” or “No” depending on their position on the vote. The debate became so personal that life-long friendships were severed. There was no neutral ground. One had to choose a side.
That would appear to be the position in which Paul found himself as he was writing to the church in Philippi. He was going to have to choose between Euodia and Syntyche. While we don’t know much about these women what we do know is important. First they were leaders in the church. That’s right the early church had women leaders. Second we know that they had worked side by side with Paul and Clement in founding the church which meant that they had worked side by side with each other as well. Finally we know that they were at odds with each other and their disagreement was dividing the church. We can see this division hinted at throughout the letter as Paul was regularly urging the believers to “be of one mind”, “work side by side” and the like. So the question for Paul was, which side was he going to choose? Who was right? Which button was he going to wear?
What is fascinating about this situation is how Paul goes about handling it. On the one hand he could have gone all God of the Old Testament on them, reigning fire from heaven. Or he could have simply ignored it and pretended it wasn’t happening. But instead while acknowledging the issue and asking for the church’s help in solving it, he refused to be drawn into the issues. Instead he focuses on what matters the most. He reminds them of how they can become the people that God wants them to be. For Paul that was the bottom line for any and every group of believers; how they could move through the trials and tribulations of everyday life as a community and still end up looking like the Kingdom of God to the world. And so as he closes his letter he offers them a simple, three step prescription for being a healthy Christ centered community.
Step one is to rejoice and pray. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice…Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known to God.” Paul begins by reminding the Philippians that they have something worth being joyous about; they have received the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ. This reminds them that they have been changed and made knew in this Jesus. This reminds them that they have the opportunity to enter into an intimate relationship with the living God. Paul seemed to understand that human beings can get caught up in the minutia of life and fail to see the larger picture of what God has accomplished. In a sense he is telling them and us, that what binds us together, the gifts we have received from God, are far more important than cause of any disagreements we might have. Rejoicing puts everything in perspective; in the perspective of God’s amazing grace.
Step two is that we are to find the good in the world and allow it to inform our lives together. “Finally beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” This is one of the most remarkable passages in all of the scriptures. It is remarkable because Paul is telling us that out there, out in the world are true, honorable and excellent virtues that we ought to adopt. In other words He reminds us that God is at work in people other than Christians and that they have discovered what is excellent in God’s creation and that we ought to be willing to consider how we use their discoveries to improve our life together. What is also accomplishes is to redirect the church away from the dispute and toward the virtues which will enhance the mission and ministry of the community.
Step three is to remember what we have learned and then do it. This is more than simply living into the bumper sticker which said, Look Busy Jesus is Coming. This is intended to remind us that when Christians work together our focus becomes on loving others rather than fighting among ourselves. One of the greatest examples of that for me was on a Habitat for Humanity build in San Antonio. In San Antonio Habitat builds entire neighborhoods at the same time. On one of those builds I noticed a sign in front of a home stating that the two churches which were cooperating on the house were a Roman Catholic Church and a Church of Christ. That is remarkable considering Church of Christ tradition is such that they consider themselves to be the only true church. What those churches were doing was living out Paul’s prescription to work together. They showed that where Christians who disagree are willing to remember and practice working together it will change the way in which we deal with one another.
Now some of you may be wondering about this sermon. You may be wondering why I am talking about conflict. Some of you may even be wondering if there is some secret conflict in our church. The answer is that there is not. While there have been issues in the past that have caused great pain in this congregation we are, at this moment, in a very good place. Though we do not all hold the exact same views on every issue, I believe we have a love and respect for one another that binds us together in Christ. We are, if you will, all on the same side. So why this sermon? I offer this to you today because Paul’s words are a powerful reminder of what makes and keeps us healthy. In a sense the way I hope we can understand the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is the same way we understand our physicians trying to get us to maintain a healthy life-style. This is Paul’s wellness program. Just as if we follow our doctor’s advice we will continue to improve our health and well-being, if we follow Paul’s advice we will continue to be a healthy church community. We will be able to face the challenges and change that come upon us as a church body in way that is God honoring as opposed to ways which can bring harm to God’s people.
So what happened at First Presbyterian Church? The end result was that about a third of the members left and formed a new church in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Ultimately both churches regained their health but it was a difficult time. But here at First of Birmingham we are a healthy community; a place from which we can continue to work at being a Christ centered community where all people are welcomed, God is glorified and we work to change the world.
The challenge that I want to offer you then is this, to ask ourselves, how am I helping this church to follow Paul’s prescription for healthy living that we might look more and more like the Kingdom of God?
