1st Sunday after Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord
Boone UMC; January 12, 2014
First in series on Philippians, recommitment to baptismal vows
Arriving
This is the first in a series of sermons on Philippians. I want you to channel your inner
Baptist (this will be easier for some of you than others). Bring your bibles to church. Read along as I
read, look at verses as I refer to them. Read the scriptures in advance of the sermon—the rest of
Philippians 1 for next week. Let’s all get literally on the same page.
Vern in Crossroads will be preaching the same texts. We’ll formulate study questions for our
community groups to discuss based on the sermons. The goal isn’t uniformity of thought, far from it,
with the minds in this room we could spend forever disagreeing about the riches of these four tiny
chapters. The goal is to sit at the same table, and dine, on the same meal and argue happily together.
The heart of this series is this motto: “Arriving.” Philippians is written to a mature and
generous and thriving church. The Philippians are Paul’s friends, he admires them, he wants them
to grow deeper in Christ. Like us. We all want to grow deeper in Christ—why else are we here?
Philippians is a way to start out 2014 doing that. Arriving. Not that we have arrived. Not that we
haven’t gotten anywhere at all. We’re still arriving. And always will be.
This reading from the book of Acts describes the birth of the church in Philippi. Look how
diverse that church is. You have a dealer in purple cloth. Lydia, a merchant, a business owner.1
Think Meryl Streep from The Devil Wears Prada. And you have a slave girl. She has an evil spirit.
Paul casts out the spirit.2 Think here of churches outside the wealthy west where they worship for
3-4 hours and no one asks “do you believe in demons?” because they all do (alcoholics and drug and
porn addicts also believe in demons).3 And the jailer in Philippi. He tortures for a living. And when
his prison is destroyed by the Holy Spirit, he is ready to destroy himself. Three people who couldn’t
be more unlike one another—4Meryl Streep, a Haitian street child, and a dungeon thumbreaker.
There’s your church Philippians.i
And you think we have diversity? Sometimes I do wonder what holds us together. There is
only one answer. It’s the answer to every children’s sermon ever: say it with me, Jesus. Now, this
story provides the question. Hear this word about the birth of the first church to which Paul later
wrote Philippians. This story is the first time the gospel was ever preached on the continent of
Europe.
Acts 16:6-34
http://www.thewrap.com/sites/default/files/pradainside.jpg
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site92/2007/0815/20070815_051856_Haiti2web_300.jpg
3 http://www.andremasters.co.uk/USERIMAGES/15_jailer_web.jpg
4 Run back through the previous three pictures as I reiterate em here, Meryl first, then the Haitian kids, then
the thumbreaker.
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11 We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to
Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a
Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the
gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the
women who had gathered there. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening
to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to
listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15 When she and her husband were baptized, she urged us,
saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed
upon us.
16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of
divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17 While she followed
Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way
of salvation.” 18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to
the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas
and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20 When they had brought them before
the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21 and are advocating
customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking
them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with
rods. 23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the
jailer to keep them securely. 24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and
fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners
were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the
prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were
unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and
was about to kill himself, since he supposed the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted in a loud
voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell
down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside, and said, “Sirs, what must I
do to be saved?” 31 They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household.” 32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 At that
same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were
baptized without delay. 34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and
his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
This is the word of God, it belongs to you, the people of God, thanks be to God.
I’ve gotten to have some remarkable conversations with some of you lately. You have asked
questions like these: How can we say the New Testament fulfills the Old. Isn’t that just misreading
it? Why should we trust the bible at all? Aren’t there problems in there? Why should I believe
anything at all? I’m doing just fine on my own. I think we’re going to stay home Sundays, it’s our
only day off from work, and we love it with our kids. Where is God when someone I love has mental
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illness and never gets better?5 Our value is “Ask hard questions,” and wow, are you ever valuing it.
You can only ask questions like these in a community of trust. We call it “church.” Hear what Paul
says to a church he trusts.
Philippians 1:1-11
Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers
for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of
this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus
Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all
of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of
the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 And
this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to
help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11
having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise
of God.
This is the word of God, it belongs to you, the people of God, thanks be to God.
Philippians is about arriving. Continuing to grow. Many versions of the Christian faith say
you have to do one thing one time. Be baptized. Accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior. Be a
church member. No. Being a Christian is about growing unendingly in Christ together.
I have a first cousin who developed normally until he was four years old. Then he regressed,
lost the ability to speak and walk, and today is fully-dependent on others. The tragedy for my aunt
and uncle was to watch their child grow backwards.
How much more in our faith? What a tragedy to begin to mature and then shrivel back up.6
Our value here is to “live to make a difference.” What we mean by that is that we keep on growing.
Forever. There is always more of Jesus to adore. One example—our Christian Adventure Sunday
School class laid itself to rest last week. These folks started meeting together when their kids were
little, in the 1950s and 1960s. Now class members are in their 90s, and they say they’re ready for
new adventures as they join other classes. They have lived to make a difference, going through
births and deaths and glory and sorrow, bless them. How about the rest of us?
I have a few things to say about this text and I’m nearly out of time today. I’ll sum them up
this way. Convicts, thanks, slaves, citizens, and the day of the Lord. 5 points if you like.7 First,
convicts. You’ll remember from the Acts reading when ancient Christians get thrown in jail they
think, ah, perfect, what a place to have church. Prison in the ancient world was far worse than ours.
Prisoners were chained in uncomfortable positions. No food or water was brought to them unless
Ask Hard Questions!
Live to Make a Difference!
7 I. Convicts
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they had friends willing to risk passing it through the bars. To be in prison was a disgrace, it was
degrading, and to associate with a prisoner was the same. Why’s Paul in there?8 Probably the
charge was “reducing the majesty of the emperor.” For suggesting there’s a new emperor, Jesus,
whom all should obey.
Henry David Thoreau spent a night in prison once. His friend Ralph Waldo Emerson visited
and asked, “Henry, what are you doing in there?” Thoreau responded, “Ralph, what are you doing
out there?” There are odd times when it’s better to be in jail. Thoreau opposed paying taxes to
support the Mexican War in 1840. And if announcing a new king is an offense, Paul says to join him
in jail. It’s been said that you can’t understand the New Testament unless you’ve spent time in jail.
Because that’s where it was written. I wonder how we can proclaim the gospel in a way that gets us
locked up more often, how we can sing hymns that folks can hear all the way outside the dungeon?
9You
may have followed the cultural explosion of Duck Dynasty the last month or two. Funny
show, until one of its stars made anti-gay remarks and he was suspended from it. This just in: the
family that makes fun of its own backwoods conservativism is, wait for it, conservative. Shocking.
Then after he was suspended the other side of our political aisle in America lost its mind. We’re
being persecuted, disrespected, outrage! Because a character on a cable show was suspended?
Because millionaires in camo will have to choose between the competing cable networks that will
bid millions more for their ratings? Notice this—both sides get in the news with outrage. How dare
you! No how dare you! Our public discourse happens at the level of 4 year olds.
Now look at Paul.10 He’s in prison. And all he does is praise God. No outrage. Just gratitude.
I’ve said this to you before—the two worst sicknesses in our day, and in my heart, are entitlement
and resentment.11 The antidote, the cure for both, is gratitude. We should be people whom the
world notices for our gratefulness, we will not stop giving thanks, no matter what. What kind of
light would shine in our culture’s darkness if the church were known for gratitude?
12Second,
slaves. One of the most common charges against Christianity is that it failed to
oppose slavery. It’s an odd claim to make, when the whole bible is built on the foundation of the
Exodus, a God who sets people free. Paul insists in Philemon that slave owner and slave are one in
Christ. No wonder it was Christians who ended slavery, not just who perpetuated it.13 Paul
introduces himself as a “slave” of Christ. The girl in Philippi is a slave girl. This is different than our
slavery in the US. Ours was chattel slavery based on race. In Rome you could become a slave by
being captured in battle or falling into debt. Here’s what you ask a slave. Who is your master? Who
do you take your orders from? To say we’re slaves to Jesus sounds odd or offensive in our ears. But
that’s what it means. He is who we belong to. The church is all those who belong to Jesus together.
And he calls us not slaves, but friends, sisters, brothers.
“Charge against Paul: Reducing the majesty of the emperor”
http://www.parade.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/duck-dynasty-merchandise-ftr.jpg
10 http://www.credomag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Paul-in-prison.jpg
11 II. Gratitude
12 III. Slaves
13 On screen: “Php 1:1: Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus”
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14If
that doesn’t work, try this: the baptized are citizens of heaven. We’re like those changing
our citizenship from one country to another. Here’s why Paul talks this way.15 Philippi is a Roman
colony. The Romans were too smart to let retired soldiers hang around Rome. They would say ‘We
have a fabulous villa for you here in Greece.’ That way the bored retirees with weapons couldn’t
revolt. Colonies were infusions of Roman culture. That’s what the church is. A colony of heaven. An
infusion of God’s culture in the middle of the world. No wonder Rome doesn’t like us. We’re a
competitor. I delight in our church folks from different cultures—Anja Davidson and Gudrun Ohlen
are both Germans who married Americans and live here, the Justice family are missionaries in
Germany—a splash of German culture right here in Boone. That’s what the whole church is, a splash
of Jesus’ culture here in the world.
Another way to put it is that the church is a contrast society. Everybody else does one thing.
We do another. Think of cyclists around here. The guy who fixed my car recently, I could tell was
part of the contrast society of cyclists. He had the shaved arms and legs. The emaciated look of
someone who can pound out 100 miles on a whim. He was eating kale and fava beans, a dead
giveaway, before I even saw the cycle tattoo. He was different, not better or worse, just really
committed to something I’m not. So too with the church. We’re not better or worse than anyone
else. Just really committed to something else. Jesus. And all those Jesus loves—especially those no
one else loves. Shouldn’t we look different? Be different?
16Finally
the “Day of the Lord.”17 Paul prays for his friends that “on the day of Christ you may
be pure and blameless.” The day of the Lord, judgment day, is something Paul longs for. Hopes for.
Not most of us. I grew up with apocalyptic fears of the Cold War. One day we would nuke the
Russians, or they would nuke us, and all would be vaporized. Those of you who don’t remember the
Berlin Wall falling in 1989 will have to watch Rocky IV to know what I’m talking about. Since then,
the west has a new enemy, radical Islam. Our apocalyptic imagery is of burning buildings, just as
horrible. Sometimes the church makes this worse, by speaking of judgment in fearful terms.
Here’s the question: when was the last time you saw a glimpse of the future with hope in it?
The left says our environment will kill us all. The right says Islam and the liberals will kill us all.
Hollywood serves up images of meteors killing us, zombies killing us, one another killing us.
Everyone is terrified.
Not Paul. Not the guy in prison who will die by the sword. He prays the Philippians’ love will
overflow until the coming of the Lord.18 That we’ll be so filled with Jesus that we’ll spill over onto
others, in our work and play and families and church and friendships and lives. That there’ll be so
much Jesus, he can’t all fit. This is the goal of the Christian life, this is where we arrive: to be filled up
with Jesus. The day of the Lord isn’t terrifying, whatever anyone thinks. The day of the Lord is when
God makes everything right. When every wrong is erased. When every hurt is healed. When justice
rolls down like waters and righteousness like a flowing stream. When you can’t look at your
IV. Citizenship
Acts 16:12--Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony
16 V. The Day of the Lord
17 Php 1:10: “That in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless”
18 http://greaterworkshow.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/overflow.jpg
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neighbor or your street or yourself or your enemy or any blooming thing on this planet, and not see
Jesus. That day is arriving. And that’s good news.
This first Sunday after Epiphany is a day when the church remembers Jesus’ baptism.19 We
often do it by renewing our own baptismal vows as we’ll do in a few minutes. I’ll pray over the
water, you’ll process forward, and either I or Jaylynn or Lisa [I or Gene or Natasha] will make the
mark of the cross on your forehead and tell you “Remember your baptism and be thankful.” The
kingdom has arrived. In the church we look forward to its arriving in full. We’re citizens of a
country that doesn’t quite exist yet. We’re a colony, not yet a country. So we can pray for a day
when the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. Amen.
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This paragraph draws from Chandler’s To Live Is Christ.
1919
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