Embodying What Brings Us to Jesus: Philippians 2:5-11

A text – Philippians 2:5-11 

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

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

⁹ Therefore God exalted him even more highly
    and gave him the name that is above every other name,
¹⁰ so that at the name given to 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 passage is thought to have been a hymn or recitation the believers of Paul’s day regularly said in church services. He is borrowing it to make a point to them about “having the same mind” and living together well. Moravian New Testament scholar Frank L Crouch puts it this way: “He doesn’t necessarily want them all to have identical thoughts and beliefs. He wants them to embody and be guided by the kind of decision-making that leads one into the ways of Jesus, opens one up to God’s life-giving power that permeates all of creation.”  

Paul puts this idea into his letter to the church at Philippi by using the word phronesis 10 times in various paragraphs to explain what he means by having the “same mind” as Jesus. Phronesis is more than thoughts or ideas or facts. It’s about ideas put into action – it’s about how we live together, knowing what we know. Here’s Dr Crouch again: “Phronesis is a skill that can be developed. But it’s not just about knowing and memorizing things. Memorizing traffic laws and the directions from your house to a friend’s house 500 miles away is different from driving with family or friends through 500 miles of weather, traffic, and road conditions to get from door to door. It takes a group phronesis for you and your passengers to make countless wise, thoughtful, and caring decisions as you travel so that when you reach your destination, you’re all glad you made the trip.”

Phronesis in a community, or as Paul would call it “sharing the mind of Christ,” means living humbly with one another so that we share our skills and strengths and knowledge in order to lift up one another and get something important done for the glory of God. There is perhaps no better description of Jesus’s action on the cross in order to save us for life eternal with the Triune God. Jesus used his power for the good of the whole world. Now we should imitate Jesus, using our powers for the good of the whole world. Yes.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for using your great power to bring all of us to yourself and granting us, though we never deserved it, eternal life in you. Help us to remember always that we are the ones who are receiving this gift, and that we should be living our lives to your glory so that others will see your works in us and come to believe as well. Amen.