The Mind of Christ – Philippians 2

A text – Philippians 2:5-11

5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God
    as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8     he humbled himself
    and became obedient to the point of death—
    even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
    and gave him the name
    that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

A reflection:

This is a familiar text to mainline Protestant churchgoers, since it usually comes up twice a year in the lectionary. We call it The Christ Hymn. It may also have been familiar to the churchgoers in Philippi, to whom Paul wrote this letter. It probably was an early church hymn, maybe so familiar that, as with many beautiful writings like the Lord’s Prayer, we who know them say them without thinking. Perhaps Paul wanted his letter readers to really think about the words of this hymn in conjunction with his letter about the conflict they were experiencing and how he wanted them to behave with one another.

Paul is making the case to the congregation that, if we have the same mind (or mindset) that Jesus had, we do not use our power and influence to win for ourselves. If we have Jesus’s mind, we give up our power in order to make things better for those without power. Theologian Dr. Sammy Alfaro puts it this way: Jesus “stepped down from his glorious position with God and entered into our earthly realm by triply emptying himself: becoming a nobody, living in the condition of a slave, and dying the death of a criminal on account of his divine selflessness…the Servant Lord dying out of love for those who are lesser than he.” This emptying of status would have been just the opposite of what people in Philippi, a Roman colony filled with retired military folk, would have been used to, for whom everything centered on rank and status. But Paul is saying Jesus gave up his entire earthly existence to redeem the rest of us. So the church at Philippi is being asked by Paul to essentially forget about what status they are “owed” and use their power to raise others up, for whatever was good for the community as a whole.

We might consider giving up our status or our lives for our children or grandchildren, but not for countless people we have never met and who behave badly much of the time. But that is the kind of God we have, revealed in Jesus who did exactly that for us so that we could live eternally. It is the central thing to keep in mind during Holy Week: letting the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for letting your power go and suffering death in order to open a path to eternal life for us. Thank you for keeping God’s promises. Help us to remember your faithfulness to us when we are tempted not to keep promises we have made to one another. Amen.