Saturday 03 January 2015

Psalm: Psalm 98:4-9

Background

When we looked at a passage from Colossians yesterday, we saw that the call to live asChristians followed from a great statement at the beginning of theletter of what God has done in Jesus Christ. Here, Paul takes adifferent approach. He has begun to urge the Philippians to liveout the gospel (the good news about Jesus) faithfully in spite ofdifficulties and then, to explain why and how they should do so, heincludes a creedal statement or possibly an hymn that might alreadyhave been known to them. It is familiar to many Christians today,not perhaps in this reading but in Caroline Maria Noel's paraphrase('At the name of Jesus') which was long a stapleof school assemblies.

There are two ways in which the passage can be understood,depending on how the word that NRSV in verse 6 translates as "to beexploited". It may mean that Christ was (before the birth inBethlehem) eternally equal to the Father and yet chose to humblehimself in the human condition. Or it may be understood as Christbeing like Adam, made in the image of God, but resisting thetemptation to which Adam succumbed of wanting to be "like God" (Genesis 3).

Either interpretation is possible. The key point is that Christchose to be humble and to take the lowest place - not only(metaphorically) of a slave but of a slave condemned to the mostshameful of deaths. Yet precisely because of his humiliation, Godexalted him to the place above all other places. The poem can bedrawn in the form of a V as Christ moves from divine greatness tohuman degradation to divine greatness.

This needs to be heard in the context of the Roman Empire whereorders were given in the name of powerful officials, the Senate, orthe Emperor himself. Jesus now has a name that is greater than anyof those. The words may even have been familiar at the time thatthey were included in Philippians but they are political dynamite.A crucified man is Lord of All.

To Ponder

• This passage is an exhortation to the Philippians to be humbleand not to think too highly of themselves. Why is that (at leastfor some people) so difficult?

• New Year is a time to take stock and to assess priorities andfor many Methodists tomorrow will include the Covenant Service. What does it mean to you tosay that Jesus Christ is Lord?