Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Sept 28, 2014

The Epistle: Philippians 2:1-13 

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,
      and became obedient to the point of death—
      even death on a cross.
      and gave him the name
      that is above every name,
      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.

      he humbled himself

Therefore God also highly exalted him

      so that at the name of Jesus

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.                   

Reflections: Continuing with St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, we remember that while Paul is in prison elsewhere, the church in Philippi is being disrupted by self-styled authorities who criticize the community’s faith. Paul calls the community to share the mind of Christ.

            Citing a hymn, St. Paul gives us an eloquent statement about the nature of Christ: not self-aggrandizement, but self-emptying service. That is the mind of Christ. And in the final analysis, that is the test of those who claim religious authority.

            Paul encourages the saints at Philippi to seek unity in the will of God, and reminds them that it is only God who enables them to fulfill it.