Healing the Breaches
Healing the Breaches – Philippians 3:17-4:1
Last week was the first Sunday in Lent and a traditional time to reflect on the personal and yet communal struggle of our Lord as he dealt with the temptations of life as a creation of God. Each of the temptations plumbed the depths of our most basic desires as humans and each temptation was answered with a strength of mind and spirit that exceeded anything we could even imagine. The purpose of such testing was to ensure that the frailty of our humanity could be saved by the divine heart and spirit of God as found in Jesus Christ. In such a perfect union of God and human creation, God could draw us into a relationship that would not only enable us to better handle the temptations of this world but enable us to know the love and support of God for our lives both now and into eternity.
As much as the plan of God was for us to share this world with him in perfect peace and harmony, his heart would not allow him to force us to accept that plan.
And so as we read through the history of the people of God, we discover over and over how God seeks to share his vision for life and how each successive generation responds. Our Old Testament reading today speaks of one of the responses that Abraham – then known as Abram – made. He knew that he was old and that his wife had had no luck with having a child. And yet when God told him that he would have a son of his own and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, it is recorded that he believed the word of God and that it was counted to him as righteousness. As hard as it was for him to accept, he made a choice to believe. Of course he still had his doubts and his struggles; and though other responses of Abraham were not so wise and he didn’t always act in the most righteous of ways, he never lost faith in the God who had called him to leave his birthplace.
The Apostle Paul was well aware of the doubts and struggles of those who had felt the call of God and had committed their lives to following the will and plan of God. He knew well enough how important it was for people to have not only a proper understanding of their relationship to God but also a proper attitude. He knew full well the challenges of living as a follower of Christ but he also knew full well the consequences of not living as a follower of Christ.
Paul’s invitation to the people to imitate him is significant for he was asking the people to not just do as he said; but to do as he did. It is so easy to speak words of encouragement and then not actively encourage; to speak words of comfort but not actively comfort; to speak words of peace but not bring peace.
The people needed to be reminded that they had come to faith in God through Jesus Christ not that they might build their kingdom but that they might build the kingdom of God; they were to remain keenly aware that they were to follow the path of God in Christ. And as a fellowship of believers each of them was to remember that the focus of their life was not their own glory or praise but the glory and praise of God.
Conflicts in the church are nothing new. Differences of opinion and thought have ever been a part of faith for it is foolishness to believe that we will all see everything with one heart and one mind. There is a great temptation for people to try and mould any community of faith into a reflection of their own desires and hopes and not that of God. William Barclay in his Daily Study Guide on this passage reminds us that “our only safety against temptation [be it of body, mind or spirit] is to be in the Lord, always to remember him, always to walk with him, always to feel his presence around us and about us…..The Church and the individual Christian can only stand fast when they stand in Christ”. (Commentary on Philippians, p. 88)
That wonderful catch phrase that gained such popularity WWJD – like any catch phrase – only holds ultimate and real meaning to those who not only ask the question but are prepared to hear and follow the answer. Certainly we are free to decide the path we desire to take through this life; we are free to love or to hate; we are free to be generous or selfish; we are free to enter into a relationship of mutual love and friendship with God and with each other or to see God as someone to call upon in time of need. But let us ever remember that to be called Christians will require of us not our own perfection but our desire to be led by the Spirit of the One who can ultimately bring us to perfection.
As we approach the table of the Lord, let us remember that we come to remember the sacrifice he made for us and because we seek to deepen our relationship with God in every way. And let us ever be willing to share with all who come to this place not only the blessings of this sacrament but the blessing of living as a community of God’s people gathered to share our joys and sorrows, our hopes and our disappointments in communion with one another as we journey in faith.