Goal: That the hearers would live lives of humility like Jesus Christ.
When I was a teen there was a phrase that that was popular. Some of you may remember
it, “I wanna be like Mike.” Now, for those of you under 30, you may not know who Mike is?
Anyone? Michael Jordan. I wanna jump like Mike. I wanna dunk like Mike. I wanna play like
Mike. Michael Jordan was someone many of us kids wanted to copy, from our basketball moves
to our tongues hanging out of our mouths. “I wanna be like Mike.” Maybe, Nike copied this
slogan from our text today, because the Apostle Paul is telling us to be just like Jesus.
Max Lucado, in his book, Just Like Jesus, makes this statement, “God loves you just the
way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.” That’s the
heart of the Gospel. “God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that
way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.” I fear that most people today will only hear the first
part of that statement: “God loves you just the way you are…” and they feel validated. We want
God to accept us just as we are, and then leave us alone, because it’s uncomfortable to change.
As long as God loves us just as we are, we’ve got it made. But the truth is God loves you, and
wants you to be just like Jesus.
That’s Paul’s message to the church at Philippi, as well to us today. “So if there is any
encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection
and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full
accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 2:1–5) Paul encourages us to live in love and humility following the example of
Christ. Be like Jesus. But to be like Jesus, we need to first be of one mind, so that we might have
the same love of Christ. Being of one mind means that we affirm and teach the same message,
and that’s what we call doctrine. Portals of Prayer this last week shared the message that doctrine
is life. Doctrine is the foundation of everything we believe and teach and, in turn, becomes the
basis of how we live. If our doctrine is unified, then our witness to the love of Christ is clear and
we’re empowered as Christ’s church to shine His light into the world.
So what is the doctrine that we are to be of one mind about? Paul describes it this way,
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the
form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human
form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every
name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
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(Philippians 2: 5 – 11)
Our doctrine affirms how God revealed His love in humility and sacrifice for us sinners.
God humbled Himself by becoming one of His own creatures, to live an obedient life and to give
His life as a sacrifice so that we sinners would be forgiven and exalted to the glory of God. You
see it is that doctrine that empowers us to live as Christians, following Jesus example by
humbling ourselves so that others would be exalted. Jesus said, “By this all people will know
that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13: 35) That’s what our church is
intended to be, extending the love of Jesus Christ to all.
Paul says we are to, “Have the same love…being in full accord and of one mind. Do
nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than
yourselves.” There’s was a popular phrase a few years back, “I’ll have your back.” If I were to
tell another person, especially someone in a difficult situation, “I’ll have your back,” it means,
“I’ll be there for you, look out for you, help you out if you’re in trouble, you can count on me.”
This is how God measures success of our Christian community. Our church may not be the
largest on island, we may not be the most prestigious school, we may never give an extraordinary
amount to the LWML or missionaries overseas compared to larger, more affluent churches, but
we can be an extraordinary church if we will be there for others, look out for others, help out
others when they are in trouble, and in humility seeing others as more significant than ourselves.
And it is here in the church, among our brothers and sisters in Christ that we practice the
love of God by living for each other. A good analogy is relating our church is a flock of geese
making their way across the sky. As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the birds
that follow. By flying in a V formation, the flock adds 71% extra flying range. In the same way
Christians who share the same doctrine and the same love for others, can help each other just as
geese do in their flight. When one goose tires and falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the
drag and resistance of flying alone and quickly moves back to position to take advantage of the
lifting power of the birds in front. This is how leadership of a church is intended to work, to lead
by example and to help support the rest of the flock. In addition, geese flying in formation honk
to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. This is how we encourage our leadership to
keep moving forward with the same mind. We need to keep honking, encouraging our leadership
so that they might help the rest of our flock soar with a unified purpose. Now, when a goose gets
sick, two geese drop out of formation and stay with it to help and protect it. They have this
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goose’s back. They stand by each other in difficult times. As a church ohana, we fly together in
the Lord’s mission as we live like Jesus and serve like Jesus.
“Have the same love…being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry
or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” This means that the
church ought to be willing to lay down its life in order to fulfill our mission. So many times we
get fixated on making sure church ministries survive in tenuous cultural and economic times. But
our task isn’t survival, it’s service. We’re not here to protect our buildings or grounds or
furnishings, but to serve the least and lowest in our community. For many of us a great place to
start is serving in our Food Bank on Saturday mornings or simply giving some of your time
befriending someone who is homeless or homebound or in the hospital, humbly serving those
who are in need. Because that is what Jesus did for you. To live like Jesus is to love and serve
one another and to lay down our life for the world for which Christ died.
And trust that God will enable you to do just that. (“Therefore, my beloved…work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to
work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be
blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted
generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.”
(Philippians 2: 12 – 16) A seminary favorite prof explained being like Christ as a process over
time, through the Holy Spirit’s work: “It works like this. Christ comes to us—in water poured
over us in the triune name; in a Word; in a Meal, in a hymn. Christ lived for us—perfectly,
flawlessly—a righteous life…He poured out his life for us, emptying himself. He died for us,
unselfishly, taking our punishment on himself. When we realize—suddenly or over many years—
how much Christ loves us, we also see how small our full self is compared to the vast expanse of
his love…The more Christ fills us through His Word and Sacrament, the less room there is for
our selfish selves, and the more his Spirit shapes the mind of Christ within us. We think more
highly of Christ than of ourselves; we think and speak more of his words and thoughts, and less
of our own. It doesn’t just happen. You can’t work your way into being Christ-like. It comes as
you spend time with him in the Word; pondering the significance of your Baptism; receiving him
in Communion. He speaks; you listen and respond. More and more, you lose your self and you
become more like him. Strangely, you begin see him everywhere rather than reflections of
yourself.”
That is Paul’s desire for the Christians in Philippi as well as the hope for us today in
Kaneohe. Our job, our mission, our mandate is to humbly love and serve others and be willing to
lay down our life for those who are outside our doors. Love for one another, love for the world
this is what it means to live like Jesus. Amen.
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