Psalm 27:1–14 · Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18 · Philippians 3:17–4:1 · Luke 13:31–35

We continue our contemplation and reflection on this Second Sunday of Easter Preparation as we move toward Easter. We’re learning about being in relationship with a God who chose to become vulnerable in the human Person of Jesus, and we’re being reminded about our own vulnerability, especially when it comes to being comfortable with half-truths and easy answers that benefit us while others are deprived.

Our weekly theme is God’s holy timeline. As we noted in last week’s sermon, personal and collective transformation takes a while and is rarely easy, smooth, or even linear. There are periods of stability, followed by times of stress, which are ultimately resolved, and we find ourselves to be changed, hopefully to be more expansive in the way we perceive the world than we were originally. For example, King David is believed to have authored Psalm 27 while he was running away from King Saul. It was a difficult time for David, facing unjust persecution, and the psalm affirms his belief that God was looking out for him. David’s fear turns to hope for the future, regardless of the difficulties he faced in the short term. Genesis 15 features Abraham’s vision when God established a covenant with him to bless him with numerous descendants despite his lack of an heir at the moment. The Gospel reading from Luke 13 takes place after the Transfiguration when some friendly Pharisees warn Jesus about Herod’s intent to kill him. Jesus tells them he has to be on his way to Jerusalem anyway, and then he laments over those in Jerusalem, longing to gather them under his wings like a mother hen. Our sermon text in Philippians explores our tendency to look for easy shortcuts to spiritual transformation outside the context of relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There Are No Shortcuts

Philippians 3:17–4:1 NRSVUE

Forbes magazine ponders this question. In its May 16, 2024, issue, “Do Get Rich Quick Schemes Really Work?” Journalist Melissa Houston dissects the anatomy of a get rich quick scheme, identifying three main components:

• • • High returns with low effort.
    • Strong sense of urgency.
    • Anecdotal success stories.

The reason these schemes fail, she writes, is that they lack a sustainable or long-term strategy, often bypassing ongoing effort and proven principles. These schemes also are riskier, and many people end up losing money rather than making it. Lastly, get rich quick schemes often involve deception or outright illegal activity.

You probably have heard about get rich quick scams and know enough to stay away from them. [Examples may be helpful.] But our sermon text today shows how we try to figure out an easier way to achieve just about anything. This inclination to make our lives easier has led to some great inventions. However, when it comes to our relationships with God or with each other, there are no shortcuts. Anything that appears to provide the same “return” with minimal effort, despite the examples we might see, is not the spiritual transformation we are looking for. We can be easily enticed by those who seem spiritual or who profess to have “special knowledge.” However, as a “priesthood of believers” (1 Peter 2:9), we don’t need to rely on those who try to convince us they have a direct line to the Divine. In truth, God’s holy timeline requires sustainable investment in relationship with the Divine as we seek to be transformed by Christ. Let’s read our sermon text.

Context of Philippians 3

Paul begins the third chapter of Philippians with a warning against those who were trying to persuade others that circumcision was necessary to follow Christ:

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3:2–3 NRSVUE

The “shortcut” of circumcision meant nothing in the environment of grace through Jesus Christ.

In Philippians 3:17–4:1, we notice that Paul encourages believers to consider his own example (v. 17). However, previously in Philippians 3:1–6, Paul admits that he is far from perfect. He reminds readers that he was a “a persecutor of the church.” Despite his Jewish pedigree and education, he tells readers in Philippians 3:7–8 that what he thought mattered really didn’t.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ … Philippians 3:7–8 NRSVUE

Paul can criticize those who are trying to enforce the Law upon new believers because he was “a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees” (Acts 23:6). Barclay’s Commentary says this:

So Paul proves to these Jews that he has the right to speak. He is not condemning Judaism from the outside. He had experienced it at its highest point; and he knew that it was nothing compared with the joy which Christ had given. He knew that the only way to peace was to abandon the way of human achievement and accept the way of grace.

We can see in Philippians 3 that Paul is addressing those who were trying to create unnecessary requirements for following Jesus. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. Paul wrote about it in the letter to the Romans, too:

Not knowing the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. Romans 10:3 NRSVUE

We, too, can sometimes lay burdens on people based on our personal opinions of what we think God is asking of us. [Examples may be helpful.] We want tangible shortcuts for the transformation that takes place over a lifetime of living, loving, and following Jesus. This is a problem, according to Paul, as the Philippians could be led astray by others offering an easier or programmatic way. So could we.

Enemies of the cross of Christ

Let’s consider how “enemies of the cross” live their lives, and what a life reflecting our citizenship in heaven might look like.

Paul says in Philippians 3:18–19 that the enemies of the cross of Christ have these characteristic behaviors:

• • • Their end is destruction.
    • Their god is the belly.
    • Their glory is in their shame.
    • Their minds are set on earthly things.

Rather than interpreting these phrases as encouragement to view the body and its needs or desires as inherently sinful, Professor Emerita of Homiletics Susan Hedahl notes that v. 18–19 conveys a pattern of living, not individual shortcomings. She writes:

In other words, their mindset, actions, and orientation war against everything Paul considers Christian … Paul is asking, in this passage, for believers not simply to “behave” but to look at the meaning of all they do in relationship to a much larger power and reality.

Destruction, shame, and an earthly (rather than kingdom of heaven) orientation — these describe the pervasive state of sin from which we’re all in need of rescue. And the good news is Jesus Christ “transforms the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory.”

The preoccupation with “earthly things” also hints at viewing success and what constitutes a good life through the lens of culture. [Examples may be helpful.] This is often connected to systems of power within a society, and unfortunately, it is far from living the life of love Jesus lived in caring for the poor and sick. When we buy into worldly systems of power and support leaders who use fear and scarcity, we are taking our eyes off the example of Jesus and substituting the antithesis of what He lived on earth.

Citizenship in heaven

Philippi was a Roman colony, and as such, citizenship was an important concept. Roman citizenship offered legal and political privileges as Paul wrote about in Acts 16:37–38, Acts 22:25–28, and Acts 25. Earlier in Philippians 1:27, Paul implies that believers should consider how they live:

Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel. Philippians 1:27 NRSVUE

While most translations render it as “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel,” New Testament Studies lecturer Elizabeth Shively writes that the literal translation is “live as citizens worthy of the gospel.” As “citizens worthy of the gospel,” this way of life is not a solitary path. Rather, it is a communal activity. Notice Philippians 3:17 begins with, “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me,” and Paul encourages the church to imitate his example of humble care for others.

This way of humble living, caring for “the least of these,” is the way we follow Christ because “just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Though this was part of a parable Jesus told, the message of humble care for others, especially those most vulnerable, was conveyed throughout his life and demonstrated by his actions. While we can’t save the world like Jesus did, we can “stand firm in the Lord in this way” (Philippians 4:1 NRSVUE). In this way, we show non-Christians that our lives reflect the One we profess to follow. Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” When we live as if our citizenship is in heaven, not as part of this world’s corrupt power systems, we offer an example worth imitating.

There are no shortcuts to spiritual transformation and relationship. It requires high effort but offers high returns, and Paul provides a testimonial worthy of imitation as well as a call for urgency in Philippians 3:17–4:1. It’s a process that takes a lifetime and one that we walk in community with each other and with our Beloved.

Call to Action: During the Easter Preparation season, think about what you believe makes life meaningful. Consider how much space worldly success takes up in that mental list and how living a life of transformation looks in terms of body, mind, and spirit.

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For Reference:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissahouston/2024/05/16/do-get-rich-quick-schemes-really-work/

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-philippians-317-41-2#:~:text=Paul%20is%20asking%2C%20in%20this,sermon%20is%20that%20of%20transformation.

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-philippians-317-41

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Small Group Discussion Questions