Standing Firm
Second Sunday of Lent
Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
February 21, 2016
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Then he said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.’ But he said, ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’ He said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.’ – Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. – Philippians 3:17 – 4:1
Last Sunday we took the first steps towards living a Holy Lent by reflecting upon Christ’s spiritual virtue of praying with a vulnerable heart. A faith that can be vulnerable breaks through our pretenses and allows us to draw closer to God.
As we enter into this second week of wandering in this shared spiritual wilderness, we consider living a holy Lent by standing firm.
Paul’s letter to his church plant in Philippi is one of encouragement. While he continued to build up the body from a distance he wanted to keep his flock focused on what really mattered in life. He wanted them to keep the main thing the main thing. Paul says towards the beginning of his letter: “Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm” (Philippians 1:27). He restates his point in our text today, “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me and observe those who live according to the example you have in us…stand firm in the Lord” (Philippians 3:14, 4:1).
Whenever a word or phrase is repeated in Scripture is it important and it begs us to pay attention. Standing firm was important to Paul. It was about spiritual formation and growing in godly character – by imitating Christ and Christian role models like Paul himself.
Philippi was a colony of Rome. It was known for its gold mines and gave the community a sense of prosperity. Paul’s ministry there was centered upon outreach as the church he founded was primarily Gentiles and not from the Judeo-Christian tradition. We can tell that Paul’s ministry impacted the Philippian church in significant ways as this community is shifting in their life perspectives because of the gift of faith. The Philippians are not only partnering with Paul financially to share the gospel with other regions. The faith community of Philippi is also shifting in the way they are finding meaning in life. Paul says when life is centered solely upon earthly things then our end is destruction and we find ourselves cut off from God’s intentions. Instead life should be centered upon eternal things. For Paul a life well lived is a matter of perspective and it makes a difference how we order our lives.
David Brooks says there are two main ways we attempt to find meaning in life. One way is by seeking “résumé virtues.” This outlook focuses on developing our skills to accomplish something in life. It is to work towards life goals to be successful and sustainable. It considers how we measure up to the world’s standards. Brooks says résumé virtues are based upon “utilitarian logic. Input leads to output. Effort leads to reward. Practice makes perfect. Pursue self-interest. Maximize your utility. Impress the world.”
The second way to find meaning in life is by seeking “eulogy virtues.” This outlook focuses on developing the core of our character instead of taking stock in our skill sets. It is considering the moral qualities that we often offer to summarize a person’s life. It is to live a life of integrity to “love intimately, to sacrifice self in the service of others, to live in obedience to some transcendent truth.” Brooks says that eulogy virtues are based upon “an inverse logic. You have to give to receive. You have to surrender something outside yourself to gain strength within yourself. Success leads to the greatest failure, which is pride. Failure leads to the greatest success, which is humility and learning. In order to fulfill yourself, you have to forget yourself. In order to find yourself, you have to lose yourself.”
These résumé virtues and eulogy virtues collide because we often spend more time and energy focusing upon the earthly things – obligations that steal our potential joy and meaning in life. We end up missing opportunities to cultivate the eternal things of life – qualities that are godly and inspire others. Godly character inspires us to reach towards the weightier qualities of humility, sacrificial love, and greater purpose. Godly character is what gives life greater meaning.
It is important for us to pause and to reflect upon our lives. No matter our age, we get caught up in the rat race of the day to day list of obligations. We don’t stop and look into our lives until life forces us to stop. Illness will force us to slow down because we are worn down. The unthinkable happens and it causes us to question everything in life. Still others are forced to pause when life begins to draw to a close. It is as we approach the very thin space of earthly life and life eternal that we wonder what have we really done with this wild and precious life of ours.
A palliative nurse spent years listening to the regrets of patients as they reflected upon their lives and these statements are what so many of her patients shared as they looked backwards in time:
I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself and not the life others expected of me.
I wished I had not worked so hard.
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends.
I wish I had let myself be happier.
Lent is a suspended period of time to allow the Spirit to shift our life perspectives. It is a time to reflect upon our personal and communal lives, past and present, and ask questions like: Are we keeping the main thing the main thing? What are we living for? What are we living towards? What gives our lives meaning and purpose? If we want a life of integrity how are be cultivating a godly character?
We are to look at the cross and empty tomb for they are significant to the character of Jesus Christ – the One we are to imitate. We are to consider what it means to stand firm in the Lord.
Standing firm means is to acknowledge that the cross is our guiding compass in life. It is an intimate partnership vertically with God and horizontally with neighbor. The cross tethers us to the steadfast love of God (vertical)and the relational grace of Jesus Christ (horizontal). In order to stand firm we must prayerfully discern where Christ is leading us to live out our faith in meaningful ways at school, in the work place, through the community, and in the world. Consider where your passions and God-given talents intersect the world’s deepest needs, as Frederick Buechner says. A life filled with meaning is not self-seeking. It is trusting that each of us has been given a greater purpose to serve God and one another.
Paul says, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). We allow God to bring this good work to completion as we search for these sacred intersections in life through efforts, trials, and practice. It also takes intentionality to cultivate character that is driven by humility and sacrificial love. The core of Christ’s character was giving up his will in order to faithfully serve God and others. Christ’s character of humility, unconditional love and service allows us to lose ourselves so that we might find the joy of participating in God’s redemptive work.
Standing firm is to live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel. Paul says our lives should be a long obedience to God’s promises: “The God who made the world and everything in it, he is the Lord of heaven and earth…From one ancestor [Abraham] he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and boundaries of places where they would live, so that they [Abraham’s ancestors] would search for God and perhaps grope [personally discover] for him and find him – though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:24-28).
In order to stand firm we must continue to look for Christ in one another. Take the time remember your faith mentors and let their examples of godly character inspire you to search for God. Remember the storytellers who looked for the awe and wonder of God’s presence. Remember the women and men who allowed adversity to be a pathway to champion justice and mutual forbearance. Remember the children and youth who encourage us to be present each day and to be our true selves.
But more than these, Paul says standing firm is to live in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27). It is a privilege and a struggle to live according to the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. It is a privilege that we are united and shaped by the gracious character of Christ for “God chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4). It is a privilege to experience and share God’s amazing grace.
But standing firm in this gift of faith is one that calls us to struggle as we seek the mind of Christ in all things. This week prayerfully consider how the cross is shifting our perspective of life. Consider how the character of Jesus Christ is moving us to lose ourselves so that we might find ourselves clothed with a little more humility, sacrificial love, and God-given purpose. This gift and call guides us by the cross and moves us towards a shared purpose to seek the sacred intersections of life and to live for God alone.
Let us encourage one another to stand firm in what really matters in life.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sources:
David Brooks, “The Road to Character” (New York: Random House, 2015), p. xii - xiii.
Joe Martino, “Top 5 Regrets of the Dying,” April 27, 2013. Collective Evolution website
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