Friday 9 August 2024

Psalm 40:1-10

Background
Paul has already charged the Philippians to live lives worthy of the gospel (1:27); in these opening verses of chapter 2 he fleshes out what that might mean. The motivation for such a life is divine, ‘encouragement in Christ’, ‘sharing in the Spirit’ (v. 1), the means are for all, unity, love, humility, unselfishness (vs 2-3), and the result will give Paul further reason to rejoice (v. 2). 

The repetition of the need for unity/single-mindedness might cause us to wonder if there were seeds of dissent and disunity in the Philippian congregation. Any such seeds are not to be allowed to grow.

Rather, lives worthy of the gospel will come, Paul suggests in verse 5, from believers having the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. This is an example of another theme running throughout this letter, that of thinking rightly. Christians are urged to have the same mind as Jesus and to be humble (see vs 3-4). As we noted from the very start of our journey through Philippians (see the notes for Monday 5 August) humility is a key theme in Paul's letter and this passage reveals that it is the ground on which unity and steadfastness may be built.

Lest any reader (then or now) should wonder what having the same mind as Jesus might involve, verses 6-11 paint a glorious picture. There has long been debate about whether these words are Paul’s own, or if he's including an early hymn to Jesus. But these lines certainly support and further explain verses 1-4. 

The poetry in vs 6-11 takes the shape of a great parabola (you can see the shape here). It resonates with an analogy used by the writer CS Lewis in chapter 14 of his book Miracles. He describes Christ as being like a deep-sea diver searching for pearls. Starting in the heights of heaven, Jesus journeys down through self-emptying into slavery and perishable human flesh. He's like the diver plunging into deep water, which gets darker and darker the deeper he goes. The descent for Jesus continues further – to death on a cross. It's the very lowest point on the parabola, when the diver plunges his hand into the mud to seek the pearl-bearing oyster. Then begins the return journey in which God raises Jesus back up, as Lord and saviour of humanity, rather like the diver surfacing, and entering the light, bearing aloft the precious pearl.

To Ponder:

• In what ways do you find the marks of Christian living listed in verses 1-4 helpful as you seek to ‘imitate Christ’? Are there other attributes you would add to Paul’s directions?
• What part does humility play in your life as a Christian disciple?
• Read and reflect on the hymn suggested for today, Charles Wesley’s brilliant ‘Glory be to God on high’ (Singing the Faith 199) with all its paradoxes and contrasts.  (Or listen to it here).

Prayer
Emptied of his majesty, of his dazzling glories shorn,
beings’ source begins to be, and God himself is born! (StF 199 v. 2)

Bible notes author: Jill Baker
Jill is glad to be part of the small Methodist Church in Scotland. She is a local preacher and tutor in the Strathclyde Circuit, and lives in Glasgow.