Delivered on November 18, 2012 to complete a lay speaking course.
I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
In Tune with Christ
Early Audio Version
Scripture:
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though He was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to the point of death -
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted Him
and gave Him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:1-13 (NRSV)
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are My Son, the Beloved; with You I am well pleased."
Luke 3:21-22 (NRSV)
Take this world from me
I don't need it anymore
I am finally free
My heart is spoken for
From "Spoken For" by MercyMe
Of course, a piano can only live up to its potential if it is properly tuned. A piano tuner tunes a piano by adjusting the tension of the strings so that they produce the proper pitch when struck. A piano tuner will need a standard pitch for reference, and he can create this standard pitch by using a tuning fork.1
Evangelist A.W. Tozer once mused,
Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.2
It was this very sentiment that was running through St. Paul's veins as he composed his letter to the Church in Philippi while imprisoned. In this letter, he joyfully calls the Philippian Christians to "be of the same mind, having the same love," serving each other in humility.
Paul does not simply call the Christians in Philippi to be of the same mindset but to take on the very mindset of Christ. Biblical scholars believe that Paul, in his letter, is actually quoting an early Christian hymn to describe the life of Christ and the motivations that drove Him. This hymn reminds us that, though Christ was "in the form of God," He did not cling to His divinity but rather left behind the glory of heaven to be born as a human being. He did not exalt Himself but instead became a servant to all people, putting aside His own will for the good of humanity. Christ loved humanity so much that He, the Son of God, was willing to die the death of a criminal. It is this humility - this self-emptying of Christ - that Paul calls us to emulate in our own lives.
The concept of humility has gotten a bad reputation in our society, and I think that much of the problem is that people often do not understand what humility really is. First of all, humility is not self-hatred. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."3 If we take Him at His word, then love for oneself must be a precondition for love for another person. Humility is also not self-deprecation or low self-esteem. To have such an attitude about oneself is to believe a lie, a false testimony against oneself. God created human beings in the image of God and called them good.4 The psalmist David proclaimed that human beings are "fearfully and wonderfully made," knit together by God.5 To defame a masterpiece is to insult the Artist.
I believe that humility is actually the healthiest understanding one can have of oneself. C.S. Lewis, in his innovative work, The Screwtape Letters, defines humility as a type of self-forgetfulness. For example, Lewis describes a humble architect who "could design the best cathedral in the world, know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another." According to Lewis, God "always gives back to [people] with His right hand what He has taken away with His left." When people surrender their flawed self-love to God, God gives back to them "a new kind of self-love" which Lewis describes as "a charity and gratitude for all selves, including their own."6
From the dawn of human existence, humans have been locked in battle with each other for importance. It is this striving for significance, this "rat race," that often drives us to do many of the things we do and to seek many of the things we seek, from our career choices to our hobbies to the relationships we seek. In our society we are taught from a young age to be competitive, to make a name for ourselves, to "look out for number one," and to beat out the competition whatever the cost. Those in the business world often find themselves climbing the "corporate ladder," pulling down those above them to get ahead and kicking those beneath them to stay ahead. Our culture teaches us to value things like fame, fortune, influence, and status. Advertisers use this struggle for importance to their advantage, telling us we need certain products to "keep up with the Joneses" or to be more attractive to the opposite sex.
I can feel this struggle for significance in my own life, for I too find myself in competition with the people around me. My workplace is next door to a bowling alley, and this year my coworkers and I started bowling during lunch. This fall, we even started a bowling league so that we could bowl for a cheaper price. There are no stakes and no prizes to be won: we only bowl for fun. Nevertheless, sometimes, when we bowl, I find myself secretly checking the scores to see if anyone is doing worse than I am.
The battle for importance saturates our culture. Paul reminds us that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to be countercultural, disengaging from the struggle for significance and taking on the self-emptying mindset of Christ.
The self-emptying spirit that Christ exhibited in His life is sometimes called kenosis by theologians. Jesus' epic duel with Satan just before the beginning of Jesus' public ministry is an excellent example of this kenosis. Three times Jesus is tempted to serve Himself, and three times Jesus defeats this temptation, quoting Scripture. Jesus has been fasting in the wilderness for a long time, so naturally He's hungry. Satan appears and tempts Him to perform a miracle to feed Himself by turning a stone into bread. Jesus replies, "One does not live by bread alone." Next, Satan shows Jesus the kingdoms of the world and promises to make Jesus the ruler of the world if He would only bow down to him. Again, Jesus refuses Satan, saying, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him." Finally, Satan whisks Jesus off to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem and dares Him to jump and to let the angels catch Him as the Scriptures said they would. The Temple is central to Jewish life, so this spectacle would be seen by many people. Jesus could make a name for Himself as a man sent by God and generate some publicity for His upcoming ministry. For a third time, Jesus refuses Satan, saying, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."7
When Christ fought temptation, He fought three things that we as humans encounter in our own struggle for importance. When He refused to turn a stone into bread, He fought the exploitation of power for personal gain. When He refused to bow down to Satan in order to rule the world, He fought worldly ambition. When He refused to jump from the temple so that angels would catch Him, He fought self-glorification. The humble, self-emptying spirit that Christ expressed in the midst of temptation was evident in the rest of His ministry. Christ only performed miracles out of love for other people. Christ never sought to bring attention to Himself: at times, He even avoided crowds and told people not to tell anyone what He had done for them. Christ sought only to bring attention to God. Christ had no ambition on this earth except to usher in the Kingdom of God and to bring people into this Kingdom.
We often look at Christ's battle with Satan as an example of countering temptation with knowledge of God's Word.8 Studying, understanding, and contemplating Scripture is vital to the journey of faith, but I wonder if maybe something else sustained Jesus in this time. Immediately before Christ fasted wilderness, He went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. John lowers Jesus into the water, and, as Jesus comes up out of the water, He sees the heavens ripped open hears the voice of God calling out, "You are My Son, the Beloved; with You I am well pleased." I wonder if Christ saw no need to struggle for significance because He knew He already had significance as God's beloved Son. Perhaps Christ was so secure in who He was before God that He did not want any of the things Satan offered Him. Christ was able to stay out of the battle for importance and to instead live for others, devoting His life to healing the sick, befriending the friendless, and proclaiming a message of hope.
The hymn which Paul quotes in his letter reminds us of Christ's downward journey from godhood, to humanity, to servanthood, to death on a cross. This hymn also tells us of Christ's upward journey, for God has exalted Christ, giving Him a name above all others, a name at which all people will eventually bow. This hymn reminds us that Christ did not struggle to gain importance but rather received His importance from God. As Christians, we are called to emulate the life of Christ, not only in His downward journey but in His upward journey as well. As St. James puts it, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you."9 When we put aside our struggle for significance, we are free to accept our significance from God as beloved sons and daughters. When we are secure in who we are before God, we are liberated from the vain ambitions of this world.
When we are free from the vanity of this world, we are free to follow our calling as the the Church to continue the work Christ started two thousand years ago. We, the Church, have been called the "Body of Christ," and Christ Himself is the head of this Body.10 We have also been called the "Temple of the Lord," built around a single Cornerstone which is Christ.11 Christ alone is our standard. Maybe the Church could also be compared to musical instruments in a symphony orchestra, called to make beautiful music in the world. We can only make this beautiful music if we are in tune, not only with each other, but with Christ Himself.
May you realize that you do not need to struggle for importance, because you already are important. You are a beloved child of God, for whom Christ was willing to leave the glory of heaven to seek and to save. May you be secure in this knowledge, free to leave behind the vain ambitions of this world and free to be Christ's hands and feet. May you live your life in tune with Christ.
Amen.
Notes:
1 - Wikipedia: Piano Tuning
2 - A.W. Tozer. The Pursuit of God.
3 - Matthew 22:39 (NRSV)
4 - Genesis 1:26-27,31
5 - Psalm 139:13-14 (NRSV). David actually said this of himself, but I believe it applies to all humans.
6 - C.S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters. Ch. 14
7 - Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV)
8 - The verses Jesus quotes are Deuteronomy 8:3, Deuteronomy 6:13, and Deuteronomy 6:16.
9 - James 4:10 (NRSV)
10 - Ephesians 1:22-23
11 - Ephesians 2:19-22
The image of the inside of a piano and the image of a tuning fork are public domain.
If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.
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