“In the Day of Christ”

A Communion Meditation

Philippians 1:3-11

In his introduction to Philippians in The Message Eugene Peterson writes, “This is Paul’s happiest letter. And the happiness is infectious.” In his introduction to Philippians in his translation of the New Testament William Barclay echoed those thoughts, “Through this letter the warmth of Paul’s affection shines and throbs and glows…”

Paul loved the Church in Philippi. And they loved him right back, to the point of sending a care package to him in Rome, where he occupied a prison cell while awaiting the wheels of Roman justice to spit out its final verdict. The Philippian Christians were not perfect. Their church was not perfect. They had some problems, but they were minor: preachers who wanted to compete rather than cooperate with Paul, legalists who wanted make the whole Gospel thing all about works righteousness again, and a couple of ladies who’d had a spat and were unwilling to reconcile. For all of which Paul had a simple solution. Quoting William Barclay once more, “… Paul’s cure for everything is to have the same attitude of humble service as Jesus Christ had in his life.”

This was an essentially happy, healthy church that Paul considered to be a full partner with him in ministry. The words of today’s text overflow with thanksgiving, love, and joy. Paul let them know that God had begun a wonderful work in them, one that God was sure to bring to completion. Underlying this was Paul’s prayer that those Philippian Christians would be found faithful in the Day of Christ, that day when Jesus would come again.

Hear again some of his words to them, this time from The Message: “So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of Christ.”

Hopefully his fellow preachers would hear those words and know that Paul wanted to be their colleague and not their competitor. And that the legalists would come back around to a fuller understanding of God’s grace. And that the two angry ladies would show one another the love of Christ. And ultimately that these words, along with the rest of the letter, would lead those Philippians to have within and among themselves the same mind as Christ Jesus.

This text like many Advent texts is more about the Second Coming than it is about Christmas. But I want to focus neither on the Second Coming nor Christmas. I want this text to draw our attention to some appropriate gifts we can lift up to God and share with one another in every season but especially in this season of Advent. And especially on this day when we gather together at the Lord’s Table as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul wanted those Philippians to love one another, not in some ooey-gooey bursts of sentimentality, but in the same way that they were loved by Christ: steadily, healthily, intelligently, sacrificially, and humbly. And he wants us to do the same.

What is it that Jesus desires from us this Advent? I’ll let the words of Malcolm Tolbert and William Barclay answer that question: “The best life which we can present to the Lord will be one that is lived by the power and under the direction of [Christ’s] love.”

“The Christian aim is to live such a life that the glory and the praise are given to God. Christian goodness is not meant to win praise and credit and honor and prestige for [ourselves]; it is meant to win praise for God.”

“The Christian life is a partnership or fellowship. It is a shared life. We share with all other believers the blessings of God’s grace. We also share with them the responsibilities in our new life in the proclamation of the gospel. If the gospel is to reach our world, an effective partnership among many people is necessary.”

“There is peace for no one where there are broken human relationships and strife among [people]. There is no lovelier sight than a family linked in love to each other, and a Church whose members are one with each other because they are one in Christ Jesus their Lord. Only in Christ can there be the loveliness of perfect human relationships.”

This Advent Jesus wants us to love one another as he loves us, and to allow his love to guide our lives. This Advent Jesus wants us to remember that it’s not all about us. Our lives are to glorify God and reflect the love of Jesus. This Advent Jesus wants us to live in close communion with him and one another, always remembering that no one of us is more important that the Gospel message and the health of our Christian fellowship. This Advent Jesus wants us to stop snipping, snapping, and sniping at one another, and to practice mutual tolerance, sacrificial love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. He wants us to have the same mind in us that he had during his earthly ministry: one of servanthood, sacrifice, and humility.

In closing, let us turn our focus toward one of the messages of Advent, as it comes to us from Reginald Fuller: “The importance of the Advent expectation of God to act lies in the fact that [we] cannot produce [our] own salvation. The resources for [our] salvation do not lie within the possibilities of human history. They can only come from outside. Neither the incarnation nor the [realized Kingdom of God] can be thought of as products of human evolution.”

We are saved by the grace, mercy, and love of the God who walked among us in the person of Jesus Christ. In the name and after the example of our Lord Jesus let us extend that same grace, mercy, and love to one another so that “in the day of Christ [we] may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” Amen.