To Live Worthy Lives
Philippians 1:21-30
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet I cannot say which I will choose. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that, by my presence again with you, your boast might abound in Christ Jesus because of me.
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 and in no way frightened by those opposing you. For them, this is evidence of their destruction but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ but of suffering for him as well, since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
As is sometimes the case with our lectionary choices, we get plopped in the middle of something and so we need a little context before we really start digging into what Linda read for us just now. The main piece of info that’s important to know is that Paul is writing this letter from prison— he’s been arrested for spreading the gospel.
Another thing that we might never realize about this letter from the section of it we just read—a major theme in this letter is joy. And yet— here we have Paul wondering if he’d be better off alive or dead. I realized reading this passage this time around that it’s similar to Hamlet’s famous to be or not to be soliloquy— Hamlet, in his angst and deep uncertainty, cries, “Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep.” And in our passage today here’s Paul— “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; yet I cannot say which I will choose. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better…”
But… what we miss here is the joyful outburst that comes before this. What we miss is this, in verses 15-20:
Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true, and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my salvation. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way but that by my speaking with all boldness Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.
So when we meet Paul today, this is where he’s coming from… he’s not, like Hamlet, coming from a place of angst and guilt, but rather from a place of joy, pride, and a life well-lived. Whether he lives or dies, the work of the gospel is being done, and will continue to be done thanks to his new friends in Philippi and beyond.
So as he’s contemplating whether it is better if he lives or dies, he thinks about the work he’s done so far, and he realizes… that work is not yet done. And so here he sits in prison with the very real threat of a death sentence hanging over his head, but then he lets his confidence in God win—his confidence that his life will be spared so he will see his friends in Philippi again—“…I am convinced of this,” says Paul, [and so] “I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith...”
Once he’s realized this is, indeed, not the end of his life, he pivots. He pivots into what he does best—teaching and encouragement. And Paul’s letter to the Philippians is really lovely—in so many of his letters, he’s doing a lot of admonishing and scolding… there’s not much of that in this letter. Paul has a real affinity, a real love for these new Jesus-followers of Philippi. And while he languishes in jail, he finds himself inspired by this scrappy group of Christians—inspired to keep going, to keep teaching, to keep fighting the good fight alongside them. And perhaps the most pivotal thing he says in this is in verse 27: “…live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…” This statement is a prime example of how some things get very lost in translation from the New Testament Greek into our modern English. Because the phrase “live your life” is better translated, live as citizens, or even, engage in politics “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
You see, Philippi was a Roman military colony, not just an occupied territory; and this is important because it means there were probably a good number of Roman citizens with in this new Christian community. So Paul is encouraging them to use their citizenship to spread the Good News. He’s telling them to use the privileges they have as Roman citizens to really make this movement of love and compassion grow, no matter the pushback, no matter the oppressive opposition. And the fact that Paul is so inspired by the Jesus-followers of Philippi leads me to believe that they have been doing this, and they’re going to continue to do it, even seeing what’s happening to Paul, sitting in jail, even seeing the risk that’s involved in this new movement.
And so… with all this in mind—how do we “live our lives” in a manner worthy of the gospel? How do we live as American citizens in a manner worthy of the gospel? How do we engage in politics in a manner worthy of the gospel? Because we live in a country, in a society where everything is political, where neutrality is an impossibility— but the Good News (there is always good news) is that we, as a people of faith, can look beyond politics, beyond the two-party system, beyond the cruel status quo, to what act in a way worthy of the gospel, to act in the way Christ would have us act. And in spite of the chaos of the world, there are incredible, life-giving, inspiring examples of this on an international level, and close to home.
I don’t know if any of you all have been following the pop music debacle involving pop musician and singer Ed Sheeren, and rapper Macklemore. Macklemore has, for years been outspoken against the genocide in Gaza; he’d been the opening act for Ed Sheeren’s massive stadium tour. (Ed Sheeran, for anyone who doesn’t know, is a musician who’s won Grammys, has had multiple platinum records, is worth like $400 million, is good friends with Taylor Swift, so he’s a pretty big deal). While opening for Sheeran, Macklemore simply said “Free Palestine” at a show recently, he got some blowback, which led to Sheeren having a conversation with New England’s own Robert Kraft, billionaire owner of the Patriots, in which Kraft told him that if Macklemore continued as Sheeren’s opener, they would not be allowed at Gillette Stadium. So Macklemore got kicked off the tour. But instead of that being the end of it, Macklemore made a statement pulling no punches—I’ll read a couple excerpts:
I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim…we have careers, opportunities, safety, and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences [we] face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.
Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships, and access. I’ve lost all those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has bombs and bottomless financial military support, refusing to take a side, doesn’t land you in the middle.
He ends his statement writing,
[If the words ‘Free Palestine’] cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.
And the fallout from this has been remarkable. Sheeren had three other openers scheduled for his tour, as well as a backing band that’s been touring with him for a decade. They all dropped out of the tour. Every one of them. A couple of those acts were up-and-coming musicians, giving up the chance of a lifetime to take this stand. What Macklemore did, what those opening acts and backing band did—that’s living a live worthy of the gospel. That’s using your privilege, your platform, to really make a difference, make a statement about what is right and what is wrong.
And we can be inspired by the actions of friends and colleagues right here in this brave little state. Some of you may have heard that a week or so ago, 7 Vermont clergy, three of them serving UCC churches, were arrested in an anti-ICE action at an ICE headquarters in Williston. In an interview with VPR last week, three of those clergy were interviewed about the protest, and about how their faith calls them to this kind of action. They, of course, talked about Christ’s call to love God, and to love God by loving your neighbor as yourself. And they talked about the fact that one of the goals of this action was, yes, to disrupt and shut down this ICE headquarters for a day, but it was also to bring attention to the facility, to what it does. I think we, here in Vermont, like to think of ourselves as insulated from much of the chaos of the world, but that headquarters in Williston is a real hub for ICE operations in the northeast—mostly in terms of data collection and surveillance. I will freely admit that this was something I was ignorant to before I listened to that interview. But that building, in our bucolic little state, is no doubt responsible for many inhumane and cruel ICE arrests. So job well-done, clergy protesters, I’m educated and angrier now… but you know… I’m also inspired and challenged. One of the arrested clergy, Elizabeth Gleich, the associate pastor in Middlebury—she’s about my age, has two kids at home and is currently pregnant. And that really challenged me to think, to wonder, what would I, what will I risk for the gospel? What will I risk in the name of my faith? Our faith? Our faith that tells us not to oppress, but to love and embrace the foreigner? Our faith that tells us in no uncertain terms, to love our neighbors as ourselves? Our faith that tells us that the world will know we are followers of Jesus when they see that we love others as Jesus loves us? This action really challenged me to wonder, what will I, what will we risk in the name of our faith?
But it did more than just challenge me. It gave me so much hope, just as watching the fallout from that Ed Sheeran concert. Because it showed me that our actions, big and small can make a difference. It showed me that the tide is turning when it comes to public opinion of the atrocities overseas; it showed me that our actions truly can educate people, truly can disrupt the everyday cruelty of the day’s aggressive immigration tactics. And this, even beyond hope, brings my joy. It brings me so much joy that we can, indeed, live our lives according to the gospel, that change, and goodness, and progress is still possible. We don’t have to sit and wonder if it’s better to despair and give up than to keep pushing on and fighting the good fight. Just as Paul is convinced by the faith and compassion of his beloved Philippians, so can we be convinced and inspired by the good trouble that’s happening on stadium stages as well as right in our own backyard.
But as always, we can’t do it alone. Macklemore’s stand wouldn’t have been nearly as significant if the rest of the backing band and openers didn’t drop out in solidarity. The clergy protest in Williston wouldn’t have been nearly as effective if it hadn’t been as planned or well-organized by these passionate, compassionate clergy, acting as one body.
“I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith; …[So] live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,” Paul says, “[and] I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel and in no way frightened by those opposing you.” And so I would challenge all of us today, to think about how we will stand firm in the spirit, how we will live our lives in a manner worthy of Christ. What stand, big or small, can we make show the wider community who we are? And in these times that are so trying, so stressful, so cruel, I would challenge you to find time for joy. I would challenge you to find the joy that will keep you going, that will keep you hoping, that will keep you standing firm in the spirit of progress and love that is still possible, and still ever-present in this world. And then, may we stand firm in that progress and joy and faith— as one body of love, together. Amen.
