Weekend Reflection - Philippians 2:1-11 If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those 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. It may be hard to hear to our modern ears, but this weekends passage from Philippians is commonly understood to be a hymn of the ancient Church. The beginning of this hymn (Philippians 2:5) states that we are to have the same attitude that is also in Jesus Christ. Other translations state the beginning of the hymn more bluntly: Take on the mind of Christ. At first, this sounds like an audacious claim that we can somehow have the mind of Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity and we are fallen humans. However, the key to understanding how we can have the mind of Christ is found in a simple and profound statement that appears later in the hymn: He humbled himself. This hymn would have been seen as rather subversive in the ancient world. Ancient Mediterranean culture deeply valued social structure and status. Therefore, to be seen as a person of importance meant that you needed to find a way to enter the top rungs of society. In this hymn, however, we hear of how God entered our existence in a way that is completely opposite to social intuition: God emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave. This emptying, taking on the appearance of a slave, and becoming obedient points us to a core understanding of Jesus life and ministry: the life of Christ is not about success but fidelity. By extension, as we are called to have the mind of Christ in our lives, we come to two applications of this reading in our lives. 1. The reason we can have the mind of Christ isnt because of a status we can attain, but it is the fact the Christ has emptied himself to meet his people. 2. Our lives, therefore, are not to be about success, gain, and status, but our lives are to be about faithfulness to God and living a life of humility. Spiritual exercise: Do you strive for a spirituality of advancement or humility? Do you seek the seats of honor and public acclamations or do you resist such recognition, realizing that what is being praised is simply you doing what you were asked to do by God? Seek humility, seek obedience, and seek to take on the mind of Christ so your life may sing the glory of God the Father. When we think of a life of humility, there are few Saints that have a clearer life pattern of humility as St. Therese of Lisieux. Here is Fr. Barron speaking of the life of St. Therese and her humility of life.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 15:45:48 +0000
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