The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from prison. According to Jesus scholar and Bishop Tom Wright “Paul sat in prison in Ephesus with only a few friends and colleagues looking after him when suddenly a guest appeared bringing news from the church in Philippi. This church was facing suffering and various difficulties but they were firmly loyal to Jesus and grateful to Paul for bringing the Gospel to them. As a token of their appreciation this church has given this guest money to present to Paul as a thank offering.” Now let’s hear the text we will explore this morning.
I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.
First let’s acknowledge that whether in prison or living a relatively free life receiving a gift, especially a substantial amount of money, is a pretty heady experience. Paul makes it clear that he used to have money and money is no longer a concern for him. But he really is touched that this faith community he helped to found has taken the time to send him these kind and affirming words. I told you last week what a blessing it was to receive Kathy’s email when I got home from the Brunswick Street service. Her affirming words about Bethany and the work we do together really boosted my spirits. I am sure each of us can remember a time when we received an unexpected card of thanks from someone.
As humans we are social beings. All the way through our scriptures we hear stories of our inherent social nature. From the Book of Genesis with its emphasis on relationship, to the deep covenant between Ruth and Naomi, to the proclamation that “wherever two or three are gathered God is present”, to the greatest commandment “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbour as you love yourself”, we can see how God has given us a DNA to care for one another, to find joy in one another. So affirming each other, taking the time in community to recognize the gifts in each other, is more than “being nice”, it is life-giving and spiritual. The Apostle Paul understood the importance of these acts when he characterized the church as a body, each part as essential as the other, all performing a function necessary to bringing Christ’s love to life.
And for those who have not heard many kind words in their life, who have never been affirmed for their gifts of the spirit, such affirmations can make all the difference. Just last week I attended a Bible study where a man living with mental illness shared that he had never heard anything but judgment in church. He told us that our little group was the first place he had ever been affirmed in a church setting, where his views and insights were sought and celebrated. That affirmation was so strong that when his dear mother died recently he took the Bible we gave him and used it to read 1 Corinthians 13, “love is…” at her funeral. After many years living close to the street such a sight would have been a tremendous blessing to his family and friends. It is truly amazing what affirmation in the context of Christian community can do.
However, such affirmation can become addictive and we may find ourselves relying on these words as our source of happiness. The Apostle Paul wants the church at Philippi to know that while he deeply appreciates their gift and their kind words he is sustained in large part by his ongoing relationship with God and his journey living the Christian Way. Paul specifically talks of not needing money or resources as he once did, he is more content. Further, words of encouragement, while appreciated, also mean less than they used to. I found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.
This inner strength of Paul that comes with the understanding that I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am is crucial. And there is no substitute for a meditative, prayerful, deep connection, between ourselves and the one we call God. Without that ongoing communication and attention we can find ourselves like the Bible story, tossed to and fro in the storms of life like a house built on sand. Only when we find our footing in this relationship with God do we realize we stand on solid rock, that the storms of life cannot move our core resolve to be who we were called to be.
I remember receiving a call from the Sunday School coordinator in a previous church, there were no parents signing up to teach Sunday School. So I called each and every parent and asked them to reconsider. I ended leaving a lot of voicemails. One response really startled me. A parent told me, “I tried teaching one Sunday but no one thanked me, I never received a note, a card, or an email. Do you know at my neighbour’s church the congregation has a huge party at the end of the year where all the Sunday School teachers are treated to a three-course meal? Why don’t we do that?” I sometimes wonder if we now live in an age that unless we receive applause or a certificate we don’t feel affirmed in our gifts. Surely some part of our faith journey has to include some service that is to some extent thankless, sustained only by the knowledge that we are doing the Lord’s work, being faithful to the vision Jesus set before us.
At a most crucial part of my ministry I remember coming face to face with my need for praise and affirmation. I had served a church that deeply appreciated my ministry and they lavished attention and thanksgiving on me. I became addicted to it and the harder I worked the more they appreciated my efforts. Then I moved on, and the new church I served did not seem as interested or impressed by what I did or said. I felt lost and hurt and did not know what to do. And then I remembered… In my childhood I would go on these walks and talk to God. So I began to build that into my day, I would walk to the Art Gallery where I would gaze at the works of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson and other more specifically religious art. God spoke to me and God filled me with a sense of who I was and what I was called to do. Suddenly the compliments and the praise left me cold. Sure I preferred affirmation to criticism, who doesn’t. But after each service I was my own worst critic and I knew where I was failing and where I was succeeding in my ministry.
And with this shift came this, I now sought out lay participation as a partnership, not an appreciative audience. I am sure you’ve heard the old saying, “Be careful what you ask for…” Well that is exactly what happened at this church. As my confidence returned I knew God was calling me to something different and the church could see I was drifting away. Try as they might with monetary gifts and relentless praise and affirmation I was just not interested.
To this day compliments leave me cold. I love it when things go well and more often than not success happens because we work as a team and the community as a whole heals, proclaims and celebrates. I confess the one and only thing I still take a lot of pride in is connecting people to other people and possibilities. But that is pretty much it. I share all of this because we need to be aware that addiction to affirmation will not make us happy, that we need to deepen our awareness and connection to the Divine. However you name God, wherever you find God, in whatever way you connect to God, this “ground of our being” as Paul Tillich once wrote, find that rock, that solid place where you stand and know and are known. That experience is what will carry you through, will sustain you in good times and bad and help you identify the ministry that you are called to embody.
In community name the gifts of your sisters and brothers who carry out their ministry in love. In deep relationship with the Creator find the strength to be faithful, to be faith-filled. Amen.