Eyes Wide Open

Today is the day of the service of worship which will mark my ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. The following is a brief response I offered to the pastor who will be preaching when asked why I selected Philippians 2:1-13 to be read upon this occasion:

Paul, in writing to the church at Philippi, spends a good amount of time encouraging a deep unity with and among the community of faith. But in order to do this, he indicates that you must order your life in such a way that will go against the grain, in such a way that your accomplishments simply may not find their way to the front page of the Star and Tribune.

This passage demonstrates how everything about following Jesus runs contrary to common sense. The way up is down. The way to be first, is to be last. The way to win, is to lose. The way to live, is to die. Jesus knew that to gain life He had to first lose His life. Thus, the all-powerful God emptied himself and became as a slave, the despised of all who were despised. He became last, and He lost. But in so doing, He actually won! Paul’s exhortation to the church then, and the church today, is to live out our lives as followers of Jesus in much the same way, with these paradoxes at the forefront guiding our world-view.

Anyone can make a mental assent and find merit in the factual evidence supporting the life and work of Christ. But the rubber meets the road, when, as a husband, as a father, as a co-worker, as a minister, I understand this passage to articulate how Christ calls you and I to order our lives; to be unselfish in all our dealings, to embrace radical humility so that the Kingdom of God may be furthered. These, to me, seem the more difficult marks of living as a disciple. Too many times our belief in Christ lasts only until something better comes along…at which time we find ourselves serving more “functional” saviors (greed, power, human approval, self-centeredness…all by way of addictions, corruption, unhealthy relationships, etc).

So this passage is not only remarkable in its depth of Christology, but reminds me to live my life, in every way, from a place of brokenness. If God would have called me instead to run the register at QT, I would still look to this passage to guide me in such a way that my life might further His Kingdom. But God called me to an even more daunting vocation: to serve and equip the body of Christ. This is why I look to these words to guide me, to challenge me, and to propel me, knowing all the while that it is indeed God who is at work within me, giving me the ability both to will and to work for his good pleasure.