Beacon Of Light Through The Inscrutable Darkness

September 20, 2020

Hope Lutheran Church

Rev. Mary Erickson

Philippians 1:21-30

Beacon of Light through the Inscrutable Darkness

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” This 27th verse from the first chapter of Philippians speaks through the centuries and into our current context.

I’d like to read it again, but this time from the New International Version. That version captures the thrust of the verb in the sentence a little more accurately. Here it is: “Whatever happens, CONDUCT yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

The verb that Paul uses for CONDUCT contains the very important root “Polis.” It means City. The name, for instance, of Minneapolis ends with Polis. The city’s name combines the Dakota word for “Water” with the Greek word for “City.” So it’s the City of Water. Very appropriately named!

As he writes to the Philippians, Paul’s refers to how they conduct themselves. With the presence of the word POLIS, his meaning is very public. Paul isn’t referring to their private conduct. He’s addressing how they conduct themselves in public.

Today and during the four weeks of our fall stewardship emphasis, we’ll be focusing on passages from Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

Paul wrote this letter while he himself was in jail. While in jail, the Philippians had sent a delegation to visit Paul. They brought with them a nice care package to help Paul during his imprisonment. Paul is so overjoyed by their actions that he sits right down to script a letter to this community who cared so deeply for him.

Paul is well acquainted with the public situation the Philippian Christians live in day after day. Philippi was very cosmopolitan. The city was founded by none other than the father of Alexander the Great, King Philip of Macedonia. The city is very Greek in its culture. The Jews they know and tolerate, but who are these new Christians? Even the Jews don’t seem to like them.

Every day the Philippian Christians find themselves under public scrutiny. Their every move is being watched. As a new movement, they also face the wrath of their foes. They’re very susceptible to public vilification. And if vilified, then persecuted.

Writing from jail, Paul himself is no stranger to their situation. Paul realizes that he’s a walking witness of Christ. Even in jail, he’s being watched! How does he conduct himself under duress? What others see in him is a man absolutely filled with hope and faith. Paul may live under lock and key, but he exudes freedom, freedom in Christ!

Paul’s future looks bleak. He senses that his end may be just over the horizon. But his words speak only of promise: “To me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” No matter what happens in the future, Paul has already won. He wears the crown of glory.

Paul’s words to the Philippians sound very similar to those of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As King approached his final days, he, too, sensed that his end was near. But on the night before his assassination, he was filled only with words of hope:

“We’ve got some difficult days ahead,” he said, “But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land”

Like Paul, King knew that his days were numbered. But even with the specter of death hanging over him, he conducted himself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hope and promise outshone dread and despair.

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

We don’t live in Philippi, but Paul’s words reverberate through time and speak to us in 2020. What a strange and bizarre year it has been! Frankly, it’s exhausted me. It’s like a decade of events have been crammed into this one year. Let me review with you the year so far:

• The year began in January with news of a novel coronavirus that had emerged far away in China.

• Almost overnight, the virus spread across the globe. The medical community sprang into action. We listened to the daily tallies as the numbers in our country and our state and our counties ticked upwards.

• As if our world wasn’t surreal enough, then the murder hornets emerged in the Pacific Northwest.

• In early spring disturbing news stories revolved around inappropriate policing actions with minority communities. George Floyd, who was choked to death, became a household name. Protests sprang up across the country to call for change.