Philippians 2:12-4:23: And Again I Say Rejoice!

2:12-30: Star Power

When I do services of baptism I will often pray over the child that he or she will grow up to be “a light in a world of darkness.” Paul writes in verse 15 that we are “to shine like stars” as “blameless pure children of God in a crooked and depraved generation.” Casts of TV shows & movies and athletic teams often talk about “star power.” Here we have a different kind and the good news is that “you can be a ‘star’.”

3:1-11: “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

This passage should remind you of Galatians, even though it is written more than a decade later. Paul gives his testimony to show that you can be “dead right.” By Jewish law (particularly in the extreme understanding he had at the time), he was “faultless,” and yet absolutely lifeless. He writes with exuberance, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” True discipleship costs, but the reward is unbelievably worth it.

3:12-4:1: “Pressing On…”

During a recent playoff game, I heard a commentator say that the primary skill a relief pitcher needs to have is “the ability to forget.” Because they are nearly always brought into the game to get their teams out of trouble, relief pitching has failures and disappointments built in. The same is true for people who serve as doctors, nurses, tech people and aides in emergency surgery and intensive care in the hospital. If the losses are taken too deeply on the mound or at the hospital, it can make it so other games cannot be won or other lives cannot be saved. Paul says we need “to forget what lies behind” and “press on.” We learn from failures and then we place them in the past where they can be instructive instead of destructive. We rejoice in successes and place them in the past where they can build confidence but not become restrictive. The picture here is the running of a race in which we “lean into the tape.” We stay holy, we stay resilient, we stay tender, we stay joyous.

4:2-3: Countering Odious and Cynical

Their real names were Euodia and Syntyche, but I have renamed them for my own entertainment. They were divisive in the Philippian church and Paul calls them to account. A friend of mine says that there is an African proverb that says, “When the elephants fight, the only one hurt is the grass.” The point is that when leaders fight, often there are long-term results for those who follow them. Conflict and difference of opinion are human and necessary. But there are ways to disagree that don’t have to create division. We can “speak the truth in love” without setting up alliances and power plays, for which churches are infamous!

4:4-4:9 - "Joy, Joy, Joy"

Joy is more than being pleased or successful. Joy is a disposition of the soul of one who is united in Christ and lives a life of world-transforming love. I have seen joy on the faces of the grieving and the destitute and seen it missing from the successful and affluent. But like love, joy is both a gift and a choice. We cannot manufacture joy, we must receive it from God who is more anxious to give it than we are to receive it. We also must choose (properly at the beginning of the day) whether we will live that day in joy or in anxiety and pickiness. Paul calls forth the joy of the Philippians and so calls it forth from us.

Our joy is not "pie in the sky." We have reasons to rejoice. In verses 8-9 of chapter 4, he invites us to reflect on those things that feed our joy: "whatever is true...right...pure...lovely...admirable...praiseworthy...excellent." How long has it been since you fed your joy? Most of what we see and hear actually sucks it right out of us. That means if you are going to be a joyful Christian you will have to be intentional about it. And hear this reminder - our joy is not circumstantially dependent.

4:10-4:23: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Paul is thankful for their offering, but for him it more importantly is a gesture that express their love and partnership with him in the ministry of Christ. A fellow pastor said to me about the church in which I committed my life to ordained ministry (Grace UMC in Alamogordo, New Mexico) that it would always be my Philippi. I served there as Music and Singles Director for three years, but I still have connections there that now (after 28 years) are more affection and memory than actual maintained friendships.

Paul, after 25 years of slugging it out for Christ, is learning how to be content no matter what. That’s a tough lesson to learn, and you usually have to be knocked down often before you learn it. He is content with a lot and content with nothing. Philippians 4:13 is one of the most memorized verses in the Bible. But I am afraid it has been misunderstood. One more accurate rendering of the Greek here is, “I am ready for anything through Christ who gives me strength.” I like the “can do” perspective on life and there are other verses that support that, but the emphasis here is about being able to be versatile and content in the situations you are in. When I played basketball on defense, it was important to be on the balls of my feet and bent at the knees so that I could go in any direction I needed to go. Readiness, contentment, versatility, flexibility, and resilience are all part of what Philippians 4:13 is trying to communicate.

Finally, Paul reminds them that they cannot outgive God. They have given when they really didn’t have it to give and God will supply their needs “according to his riches.” Over and over I have found this to be true in my life. How often I have sought to give myself away to the glory of God and finished feeling like I had been as a thief who was going out with much more than I came in with or deserved. How have you found yourself unable to outgive God?