Trusting Jesus

St. Paul

3rd Lectionary Verse

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing on Toward the Goal

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Analysis- In this lectionary passage out of Philippians we are able to get a glimpse of what it was like in the time Paul was writing this. People were making salvation about the law and also about timeless Jewish customs (namely circumcision). Paul explains how faultlessly he adhered to these laws and also how he persecuted the church. In fact, he says that all he gained or profited from the law is considered a loss for the sake of Christ. As we see in reading this, Paul thinks true righteousness comes from God and wishes to know Christ and the power of resurrection, moving forward and not looking back.
When reading this passage as well as Paul's other writings it brings a couple thoughts to mind:

1) Nothing we do to ourselves or in ceremony matters much in terms of our salvation, but these things are often emphasized. Not only are these things emphasized, but they are constantly being argued about. Each denomination has their own way of doing things, but I believe those things have their place.
Now, please don't mishear me; Ceremonies and sacraments are important as an outward expression of what's inside. I'm just saying that these things shouldn't be placed over the priority of loving God and loving people or working for the betterment of the community, etc. We shouldn't judge others for how they express their inner faith in ways different than we may express the same faith.

2) Though what we do may not impact our salvation, our salvation compels us to keep doing God's work. Ultimately our relationship with Christ is work. Many people have pointed out to me throughout my life that we're saved by grace, not works. While there is truth in this, I have never felt God's grace more than when I'm doing what I would consider to be God's work. No matter where we are spiritually, we can all contribute to the greater good within the body of Christ and there is no better way to put your trust in Christ than by "putting your money where your mouth is."

I may have gotten a bit off topic with those thoughts, but Paul brings that out of me. Nothing drains me more or rubs me the wrong way more than when petty ceremonial things get in the way of the communal relationship with Christ. In Paul's day it was Jewish Christians emphasizing circumcision among other things to newly converted Gentiles. Today, the list could be endless:

Arrangement of the sanctuary, music, order of worship, baptism, scriptural translation, preaching style, etc., etc., etc.

Is it wrong for certain things to prick our individual hearts? No. Is it wrong to prefer a certain worship style? No. These things only become barriers when they are the standard we hold everyone to, and in doing so we limit the endless ways God speaks to people. When something happens that we don't prefer in a worship setting, let's take comfort that God can use the same thing that may irk us to speak profoundly to someone else.

That's all for today. I'll try to post the last lectionary analysis tomorrow. As always, I appreciate any feedback or questions you might have.

God bless,

Jason