Transcript
Speaker: Greetings, and welcome to this week's episode of this Sunday podcast. I am Matthew Hardaway. Alongside me, as always, Pastor Phil Brandt. We are continuing our practice of taking a look at one of the readings for the upcoming Sunday in the church year. On today's episode, we will be looking at...
Speaker: Paul's letter to the Philippians for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, which will be for, I believe, September 20th. So, as always, we'll start with the collect of the day, and then I'll let Dr. Brandt kick us off in our study and our discussion.
Speaker: Lord God, Heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before you relying on anything we have done, help us trust in your abiding grace and live according to your word. Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Speaker: Amen. Amen.
Speaker: Well... This week, we get to start something new. We've been living in Romans for the last couple months. And that's a heavy lift. That's the word. So we get something. I wouldn't necessarily say something lighter.
Speaker: But I think something that is... ah It's really different. and And I think we'll be a welcome difference. for our for our dear listeners as we're coming through this. We're going to start a four -week series.
Speaker: on. The... Paul's letter to the Philippians. which is ah Just. an I think it. It's easily in competition for my favorite book of the New Testament.
Speaker: Why is that? Well... I really think it speaks to. It really speaks to today in many respects. Um, it It really speaks to... to the uh to the, To the...
Speaker: to the human heart in a really important way i mean i i love this little letter because Because it's just a ah thank you. But within then with this essay for the health.
Speaker: of that Philippian congregation. I mean, i mean the the gen the the genesis of the letter is that the people in Philippi had sent this guy named Epaphroditus. to help Paul when he was he was ah he was in prison.
Speaker: And in in the ancient world, you had to go and... You were responsible for your taking care of yourself when you were in prison. They didn't give you something to eat. Your friends, your family had to bring you food. They had to bring you clothes. You didn't you didn't get that stuff. that wasn't part of the prison system. They didn't have a prison system.
Speaker: um And so the the church in Philippi had sent Epaphroditus to help Paul. and But while he was there, Epaphroditus got really sick. um He almost died. um Paul, they they came back. they the The people in Philippi had heard about this. And so Paul sends Epaphroditus back.
Speaker: And he takes this occasion to teach them. and And what makes this so really important is that unlike... Um, you know, like Galatians or Corinthians or one of these other letters.
Speaker: Paul's not trying to solve really a big problem in Philippi. um He's just teaching them something. And he's encouraging, he's he's helping them, and he's really speaking to a healthy congregation.
Speaker: and and And that kind of lets him speak. you know i think of of of of that Christianity and that Christian faith in this kind of a healthy and fulsome way.
Speaker: Instead of a problem solving, because you know when you're solving problems, you know, you're kind of it's it's. you're You're always... having to you're having to kind of... Push! And and but you don't have that push here.
Speaker: Yeah. Now Paul has a problem. In the name of Christ. Right. and And and and we'll read next week. We'll hear. I mean, he's he's facing you know the possibility they're going to execute him.
Speaker: um But. Uh, ah the Philippian congregation he's writing to. is in this position of you know, being able to be generous to him. And and and and now Paul is sending this this generous gift of this guy back to them. And and he really wants to say, okay, first of all, Epaphroditus didn't...
Speaker: screw up I mean, I don't need you to send somebody else. I'm fine. And and we'll hear that toward the end. He'll talk about his contentment. um but But really, Paul wants to... paul wants to really kind of Speak.
Speaker: God's loving wisdom. to these people. and And it's all about joy. And you know I think about... I think about, well, what what is the real end of our Christianity?
Speaker: You know, we often die most might say life, we might say, you know. perfection, all these things. But you think about the... the Really, the one emotion. that God would feel.
Speaker: You know.
Speaker: I mean, I don't see love as an emotion in in God's realm. that That's always a deed. Um, I think that one emotion that Yeah. that God would feel his joy.
Speaker: Because joy is this thing you feel when everything is complete. you and And God is always in his completion. He's never lacking anything. And so the only emotion that really fits God is joy. and so So Paul's really... this is kind of where our Christianity goes, is toward joy.
Speaker: You know, and... um and the ah you know, the the first we We missed the first paragraph. We missed the great prayer. ah at the beginning of Philippians. And and if you're if you're really thinking of preaching this this week, you really ought to read that. We get it.
Speaker: in Um, the second week of Advent in Series C. All right. So we're like almost. exactly opposite of when you're gonna it's like a year and a half from now you know you're gonna get You've got to get this. So there's just too much distance there to really remember it. But it's got that wonderful line in it that that I just think is is one of the great lines of Paul. That the good work.
Speaker: which he has begun in you. He will bring the completion. On the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And... And I just think you know that is...
Speaker: That is the... the the wonderful hope of this whole letter, that that God, in your baptism and in in the Word and sacrament, of how this God has started doing something good.
Speaker: in you. Something that's that's um in process. No, I'm not there yet. You're not there yet. But it's going to come to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ on that resurrection from the dead. when and when he he's gonna bring And what is that good thing he started?
Speaker: Enjoy.
Speaker: Joy that I mean Yes. Purity, forgiveness, love, all of those other things go with that. But they all actually are playing into... Enjoy.
Speaker: I just think that's really... Really cool. I want to just Matthew. I mean, did How do you... would When you think about joy, How do you get that?
Speaker: I mean, how do you How does how does one... become joyful.
Speaker: Definitely not by accumulating things. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, i mean yeah Madison Avenue, you know, that means that the. the the The people who are selling stuff tell you, oh, buy this thing. And, you know, and and you you get these you get these these images, you know, I mean, I, you know.
Speaker: landsend and Land's End and L .L. Bean and these catalogs always show these these wonderful, joyful people out doing you know these these these things out there playing in the snow in the new jacket that you could buy. And and and kind of the the idea is that if you would just buy this.
Speaker: coat or the slacks or this this... these boots or whatever, you could be just like these people. And there are clearly. having fun and joyful.
Speaker: Yeah, but I think for me not knowing you're going to ask that question. spring or You are so much a professor.
Speaker: Oh. Honestly, well, the first things that come to mind are the things that I got to experience that came from outside of me. Yeah. So I...
Speaker: Yeah. children, getting married. A baptism where, you know, a church that... you know I'm not forcing anybody to get baptized. It's it's God working. through creation and and I get to experience it.
Speaker: Yep. Yep. Yeah, I mean, i mean there's there's something there's almost something kind of counterintuitive about joy. That, uh...
Speaker: uh
Speaker: So it's kind of like if you... um If you... Try. and be joyful. That's the fastest way to be unhappy.
Speaker: yeah if If you make joy into the goal. of your of your whatever you're doing. I'm doing this in order to be joyful. It's like the joy will always just sort of be receding right over the horizon in front of you. You'll never get there.
Speaker: And and you'll you'll get frustrated and angry about it. Um, the the The really weird thing about joy... is that um The joy comes when you take your eye off the joy.
Speaker: And you start taking and you start looking at something else. And like you say, outside yourself. You know, you're you're looking at, oh, look at this thing that God is doing in this baptism. you know Or you look at you're looking at this this moment of this the the birth of a child or the or your wedding or something like that. Those those are... Those are...
Speaker: you know, Those are. you're you're you're actually doing something else. And the joy just goes. Yeah, almost perfect. analogy.
Speaker: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. and it Almost perfect because hes he doesn't want joy. He doesn't want anybody. He's just annoyed by it. But the only way he experiences it is... When he thinks he's done everything he can to keep it from happening, and then what's going on?
Speaker: right Outside of the mountain down. Whoville. Yep. but i mean You know that Theodore Geisel was a Lutheran, right? i i Yeah, I know. That's why I brought him up. that's Perfect analogy. All right. thats plan and pretty analog Right, right. Better than Lazy Boy and Schwan. and if If you want to hear somebody who is really, I think... um done us a great service with this because This is...
Speaker: This isn't just a reality of humanity. This is not a religious reality. I mean, all things are religious realities, but this is this is a ah this is a a reality that is accessible through...
Speaker: means other than revelation. um Look up the Yale. Um, a happiness study. you um The, the, the yeah the university of ya at Yale University many years ago, which is kind of in your neighborhood, of your neck of the woods. um Many, many years, back in the 1930s.
Speaker: they did They started a longitudinal study of young men. And so they took the freshman class. that was coming into Yale that year. And these were, of course, elites You know, the know getting into Yale, this was in the 1930s.
Speaker: you The guys who were going to Yale are kind of the the blue bloods of the of the of the world at that point. um and But then they also went across town. And they went to the blue collar neighborhood.
Speaker: And they grabbed. you know, a bunch of 18 year old guys who had just graduated from high school. but who are working. in the in the shipyards and on the in the warehouses and things like that. they gra Just regular guys.
Speaker: And they started every year. giving them this this survey. And it really focused on kind of quality of life issues. happiness I mean, the survey changed, you know, as they learn more about people and grew. and But they followed these guys all the way through their lives.
Speaker: Wow. Now, one of the guys who was in that class happened to be a fellow by the name of George H .W. Bush. Huh? So he went on to become the president.
Speaker: um But there were all kinds of different guys in that class. um there's ah There's a really fascinating TED Talk on it. um that where this guy, he talks about it. And he talked about what...
Speaker: is the secret to happiness. because you know They had... A lifetime. a lot they They followed these guys all the way up until they died. and ah He was the TED talk was you know, there were just only a handful of these guys left and he was talking about this And.
Speaker: uh And one of the things that he said is that. that. That in order to be happy You have to get outside yourself. You have to be...
Speaker: You have to be really... concerned about dedicated to pursuing if you will. the happiness of somebody else.
Speaker: That the people who consistently spoke of being happy Joyful. were people who were who were serving.
Speaker: Not the people who were... yeah who He said that the the quickest... a way to kill your joy. is to be.
Speaker: Self -centered. But that it was the other -centered people, the people who were who were you know committed to spous ah to their spouse, to their children, to to their community, to their... to somebody other than themselves, those were the people.
Speaker: who had joy. you know. And. yeah I really like that that study because what it really does is it comports here with what we're going to read. in Philippians. right here.
Speaker: um Now, Paul is going to take that another layer for us. He's going to take that to another level in in what he's doing here. because some of this is going to just almost be head -scratching what Paul says.
Speaker: But... um Really, it it works. very nicely with that Yale study. I mean, that that I think the Yale study did a really good job of explaining.
Speaker: something very fundamental about our human nature. And that is that that sin... in turning us in survey, curvatus, you know, turning us in on ourselves um and making us into these kind of egocentric and self -centered kinds of people.
Speaker: has has really... serve to to suck the joy. out of life. And that what Jesus has come to do in death and resurrection, but also in this calling to do a new way to think about life in which you.
Speaker: Love one another. And if you think that's what Jesus said, love. We love each other. Um, that that becomes Really? key to the to the reintroduction of joy.
Speaker: to the human life. And that that that ultimately is our... goal is to participate in the joy of God.
Speaker: But that's that's where we go. That's heaven. is when we participate in the joy of God. God's joy is eternal. God's joy never diminishes. It doesn't matter what happens in this world. You can never make God lose his joy.
Speaker: Right? And. and and and And the whole commitment to the creation. to his creation after the fall and the sending of his son and all those things is simply to bring the creation back into line.
Speaker: with his joy.
Speaker: So let's hear what Paul has to say to us. This is this is actually really cool. So after his initial prayer. ah to the Philippians, which, like I say, is really worth reading. and you You may want to, you know, I just encourage the whoever's listening to this. Read the first part of this.
Speaker: He gets kind of now into the meat of the letter. I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. So that it has become known through all the whole... throughout the Imperial Guard and to all the rest.
Speaker: that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Speaker: Now, Right now our pericope. reading on Sunday morning is going to skip the next Three verses. I'm going to read them because I think they actually are really important for this.
Speaker: Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry. but others from goodwill. The latter do out of love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel The former.
Speaker: proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition. Not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way. Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Speaker: Well. Bye. I mean I get why they pulled it out. because it... it It kind of complicates the reading in a sense. and And on a Sunday morning, you want it. to be a little simpler. But I think the preacher and and the person who's really studying this really needs that. that excised little.
Speaker: paragraph right there because you know What you see Paul doing here is saying, okay, yeah, they've thrown me in prison. And... Uh, you know You think about it.
Speaker: Wow. If somebody were to throw me in prison, I'd be. I'd be pretty unhappy. you know That would seem to be a major...
Speaker: cause for me to Lose my joy.
Speaker: But it was Paul. Paul. Hasn't lost his joy. In this I rejoice. And. and And as you read the letter, you realize. Paul's not just putting on a nice face here. He's not just...
Speaker: you know affecting something, you know, a fake smile plastered on there so that Polypius can see it. No, no, he he really hasn't. And I think the key is is right here.
Speaker: is that Um, you know, if If I'm self -centered... And you throw me in jail and you make me suffer. Well, that's going to suck the joy right out of my life.
Speaker: But for Paul... His joy. is the proclamation of Christ. And now that he's been thrown in prison, it seems to have made room for a whole bunch of other people to preach Christ.
Speaker: And so now. Christ is being preached by... a dozen people instead of just Paul. And he's just. Isn't that so cool? and And. And he even admits that, yes, some of this is garbage. because yeah Some of these guys are doing it out of rivalry, and they're they're doing it because they're they're by they they don't like me, and other people are doing it because they love me. And he says, I don't care as long as they're talking about Jesus.
Speaker: I'm rejoicing. and And so what you see is that that really. Paul's whole life. he I mean, his his ego. has just been kind of displaced.
Speaker: By Jesus.
Speaker: and And, you know, now, you know, Paul is this is this little satellite orbiting the sun that is Jesus. And and and that sun shines. And it and doesn't matter if you... if you you in As we're going to hear later, whether you kill that satellite, whether you crush it and destroy it.
Speaker: The sun still shines. And Paul is still happy. And you can't take that joy from him. Because the center of his joy... isn't Brawl.
Speaker: It's Jesus. and And that... and and And I think it's really important that that to phrase it this way. It is a radical. displacement.
Speaker: of Paul's ego. Jesus has come in. And. occupied that space. It isn't that Paul, out of some... you know, force of his will or spiritual discipline or something like that.
Speaker: managed to become less self -centered.
Speaker: He who has begun a good work in you. We'll bring it to completion. that That what happens in our baptism is Jesus. takes up that little, that that space in our heart, and he starts living in us.
Speaker: you know, Galatians 2 verse 20, you know, it is not a I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. Um, that that uh that that That new reality of Christ in it is sort of... pushing me out of the middle of the picture.
Speaker: And it's more and more. He's begun a good work. He's going to bring it to completion. I'm somewhere in between beginning and... fulfillment, an end.
Speaker: but he is pushing that Jesus. or that that that that that old center of me. Out. And and. and And the really beautiful thing is that when he pushes me out and he takes up that middle spot.
Speaker: Paul rejoices. And we rejoice. So that the secret to the, you know, the the key to this. to to real joy, you know the secret to the power of the universe. is Uh, is to kind of get over yourself.
Speaker: and and And to really... Turn your focus on to Jesus. And. and to and to realize that that this isn't about me.
Speaker: It's all about him.
Speaker: Paul's going to continue. Let's keep going. So he says, yes, and I will rejoice. Not only do I rejoice now, but I will rejoice. Okay, so so... Paul is looking ahead to a rather grim reality.
Speaker: okay There's a good chance, and he gets really graphic about it next week, they're going to chop his head off. Yeah. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance.
Speaker: So Paul says, I'm pretty sure they're gonna let me go. Because one, you're praying for it. And two, I think the Holy Spirit is working for it because I think he's still got things for me to do.
Speaker: as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed. but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Speaker: So notice again Jesus is the one. we're talking about here. And... And whether I live and go on and continue to be a missionary and an apostle of Jesus Christ into this world.
Speaker: Or whether... I'm a martyr and I die. Either way. That son of my life, that Jesus. Still shines.
Speaker: For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Speaker: You know what I mean? The... The persecutor. The... the the person, you know, the the Roman or or the government or whoever it is that is doing this, that that believes they're going to silence him.
Speaker: Or somehow. Squash? This Jesus movement. By killing but Paul realize now well that we got They can't stop it.
Speaker: My dev. is not going to. End. what He has given me. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. I'll go on being a missionary.
Speaker: Yep, which shall I choose? I cannot tell. I'm hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ. Yeah, i I would love to you know I would love to.
Speaker: you know close my eyes in death and wake up on that last day be and to have the good work completed All right? I would love to do that. That is far better.
Speaker: but to remain in the flesh. is more necessary on your account. In other words, I think I think people still... need me to preach this good news.
Speaker: Convinced of this, I know. I will remain. I'm sure of it yeah ah martin luth but ah Philip Melanchthon one time got really sick. And Martin Luther wrote a great letter to him, and he and he said,
Speaker: Philip, don't worry. You're going to get better. I prayed to God, told him I really needed you. So he's going to help you get better.
Speaker: Um, Convinced of this, I know I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.
Speaker: In other words, I think i'm gotnna they're going to let me go. I'm going to come visit you again. And we're all going to say, thank you, Jesus.
Speaker: I just find this... This. This whole, you know, Paul's, this this first part here, this verse is 12 through 26, this wonderful reflection.
Speaker: on The, uh... on Paul's joy. You know, even though Even though... Okay, there... He's facing trial. It's a capital offense, they might kill him, and he's in prison.
Speaker: And Roman prisons weren't nice places. Yep. He's got every reason. To be. depressed, to be unhappy. And yet he's not. And and and I think he's he's very clear in this whole thing. The reason he's not.
Speaker: upset is because It's all about Jesus, it's not about him.
Speaker: Um, I think our world really needs to hear that message about this is the key to joy. you know I think you brought up... earlier, this this idea of, you know,
Speaker: um Uh, consumerism. Or... or you know this this idea of of act acquiring, that he who dies with the most toys wins kind of an attitude. um Yeah.
Speaker: That is a powerful lie.
Speaker: that that really consumes a lot of people. Um. Uh, But... But there's all kinds of other lies out there. You know, that that that are that are really feeding into that ego. That that if I just... if If only everybody would just keep...
Speaker: do their job right then I could be happy. It was like... That ain't never going to happen for one thing. But secondly, I don't know that that's the key to your happiness. You know?
Speaker: Um, Yeah. I mean, what what i I guess, Matthew, what what other lies do you hear out there of of here's the key to happiness? that that ah that are just lies.
Speaker: You know, that they're that they don't work. You know, I mean, I think I think. i think Every addict. knows this. And yet they're they're sucked into this the power of this lie.
Speaker: You know, whether it's alcohol or drugs or whatever, or gambling or whatever, they think that this is going to give me happiness. Right. Well, I think does where where Satan comes in is he's constantly, just like in the garden.
Speaker: Yeah. Turning us inward. Yeah. Oh, Adam and Eve, you guys don't know what God knows. Like, look inside. Do you know? No, it's right over there.
Speaker: mm -hmm It's not God. Peace. You know, walking over there. It's over there on that tree. Oh, don't worry about that one rule. um That is so, it's just sinful nature. I don't, I mean, i for some people, it's oppression.
Speaker: and And Satan's attacking. But just in general in life. I think it's it's anything for anybody where... Perfect. Dopamine trigger. goes off inside the brain.
Speaker: So Facebook, just... settled with the government for like $15 billion. dollars You know, for something. I don't know. i didn't I didn't dig into it. I was too busy. But we know what what they're doing. is And it's not just the the youth. Like, young people, which is where...
Speaker: The little bit I did see, that was where they were focusing. But I see it with people of all ages that are on social media. or stuck to the TV screen or, you know, doing, you know, sometimes even exercise.
Speaker: Mm hmm. There's anything that I can focus on that gets me out of myself. Because I don't like being inside myself.
Speaker: Mm hmm. I don't like getting stuck. in there And so I want to. get out and go do something. whether it's it's Facebook, drugs, Exercise, it's TV, movies.
Speaker: um Books. I'm not talking about you know, the thousands of books that you have behind you. but ah but But okay, okay, dare I say romance novels.
Speaker: Why were those so huge? in the the beginning of the 20th century. because Well, you had literacy where women could read.
Speaker: Mm -hmm. And I'm not saying women are bad here. That sounds a bit wrong. I just realized what I said. I'm not doing that, but... You have women that maybe, and we were talking about this before we were recording on the show, like I think, or maybe it was at the beginning of the show, but after the the World War II.
Speaker: where you have the the ideal American family where mom stays home. Mm -hmm. And there are benefits to that. i mean God will work through any family dynamic that is present. God's going to work through it.
Speaker: But what what do you do when the kids are at school, your husband's at work? The dishes are done. The house has been vacuumed. Oh, look, we got all the stuff that makes it quick and easier.
Speaker: Oh, I'm bored. Yeah. So it's either going to be gossiping with the neighbors. That's a total female thing. Yeah. Yeah. right um or Or I'm gonna go and I'm gonna read something that takes me out of my reality, out of this.
Speaker: And I think... Not that the any of the any of those things, well, except for the drugs. None of those things are in themselves inherently bad. If you're remembering what Paul is remembering.
Speaker: Yeah. is that it's all this stuff it's it's just stuff and if i lose sight of the sun it's Taking and and working in me then yeah, it's not gonna work well and And I think that that I mean... Yes, outside of yourself, but ultimately, I think a lot of those things end up feeding self.
Speaker: and end up actually feeding that self -centeredness. That what Paul is is really talking about is... you Notice he says, i'm I believe I'm going to get out of this and I'm going to.
Speaker: But it isn't so that I can live. It's so that I can serve you. Because I can get out and proclaim this Jesus. And and that that Paul's focus...
Speaker: you know is very different than the person who is addicted to novels or alcohol or porn or whatever the The idea is that this per that that Paul is talking about saying,
Speaker: Yeah. the focus of my life is to go out and serve. You. and to and in so doing, really to be serving Jesus. And that's what that Yale study was was saying, was that that the that the happiest people are the people who who have really...
Speaker: gotten over themselves. And gotten out of that self -centeredness. That self -feeding. and understood their life to be other feeding. to be taking care of people. and to be serving other people. And what Paul does with this is he takes that and puts in this kind of vertical dimension to it. And says, yeah, even when I'm serving other people, who am I really serving? I'm really serving Jesus.
Speaker: Right. Well it's like ah a social media reel or anything where you're watching somebody cook a meal. Yeah. and But it's for TikTok. Yeah. And that's the point is I want to show you you either what I can do, this great thing, this thing that I saw.
Speaker: and I'm serving me, but is that really going to bring them joy compared to the person who at the same time is making a meal for a neighbor? Yeah, or their family Or are there family? and ocean And again, not that TikTok's bad, but what Paul, I think, is getting at and what we're talking about is...
Speaker: there's so much more joy in when When you're serving others, when you're looking loving your neighbor. Well, it doesn't seem like it should work, but it does. and and Yeah. I mean, it's it's really counterintuitive. You would think that, okay, if I'm going to be happy, I'm going to be taking care of myself.
Speaker: No. If you're gonna be happy, you're gonna be taking care of somebody else. And and that and that that Paul isn't, I think, saying that there's more joy. I think he's making a stark contrast between there is joy and there's not joy.
Speaker: Hmm. that That it's not a, he's he's not talking about how self -centeredness can be kind of joyful. but that this is more joyful. No, i think he's I think he's saying that self -centeredness is just really dark.
Speaker: Yeah. and And you, that that's... That's it. I want to go into the last part of this reading. Because what he does here, Paul... Paul does something really really interesting. um And this is another reason why I just love this book of...
Speaker: of Philippians is really for this last Paragraph of Chapter 1 Um, Blippi. was The, uh...
Speaker: was a Roman military. colony. um The Roman army... was different than the than the the Army we're used to. First of all, it was a 20 -year hitch.
Speaker: you When you joined, it was a 20 -year... enlistment. Um, Assuming you survived, and that wasn't a given at all in that part ah in in the world, but assuming you survived, the Roman the roman government made a pledge to you.
Speaker: and said we will give you a farm. in Rome. in the in that you a farm that allows you to be within the confines of Rome, essentially that of, in short, citizenship.
Speaker: Okay. in in the In the ancient world, you weren't ever a citizen of the Roman Empire. Nobody was. You were a citizen of your city.
Speaker: And so you could be a citizen of the city of Rome. And so what they they... They quickly ran out of space. in, in in the environs of Rome to give these veterans a farm.
Speaker: And so they started creating these kind of legal fictions. of a of ah of a sort of like a a very distant suburb. Okay, so this Philippi is actually way up in northern Greece.
Speaker: But it's technically, in a legal sense, a suburb of Rome. of the city of Rome. Mm hmm. And it became one of these these colonies filled with veterans.
Speaker: That they had given. you know, attractive land to that they could farm if they wanted to, or they could rent it out. And this became their pension. This was their this was their their lifetime of and of of income for the rest of their lives that that came because of their military service.
Speaker: Well... um The reason they did that in Philippi. was because um Philippi happened to be very near to a very... famous battle.
Speaker: in which Uh, Octavius, who would become Caesar Augustus. And Mark Antony finally tracked down... um The guys who... ah The guys who... had knifed Julius Caesar in the in the forum.
Speaker: You know, A2, Brute. um but Also, even you, Brutus. Yeah, that that the guys who had killed Julius Caesar in the Forum were really, you know, they were fighting to maybe try and reestablish the authority of the Senate. They didn't want to have a dictator. They wanted to they wanted to keep old Rome.
Speaker: Well. Rome was changing. it needed a it needed this centralized authority um and octavius and and mark anthony the friends of Julius Caesar and the nephew of Julius Caesar ah tracked down, raised an army, tracked down the the the perpetrators, and they met not far from Philippi.
Speaker: And so in ah in a very real sense, Philippi, for the... ah for the for the Romans. was kind of like Gettysburg. okay It was a Valley Forge kind of a place. you know where where this huge where where this big battle had taken place that really was instrumental in in forging the the the modern Roman Empire.
Speaker: um And so in this last chapter. in ah ah if If you've ever been in one of these communities that that is dominated by a military base today, for instance.
Speaker: And my my... My dad served a ah community like that in Missouri. um i've We've got several of them here in the Northwest. I mean, if you go to Bremerton, Washington.
Speaker: Okay, there's a huge naval presence there. you know and and And wherever you go, there's just sort of this. you kind of military flavor to everything.
Speaker: Um, ah Paul is aware of that in Philippi. and And this paragraph is going to pick up on that. It's really interesting. Let's hear how he does this.
Speaker: Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. When he starts using that worthy language there. That's the kind of language.
Speaker: That. that gets drilled into somebody in bootcamp. Mm hmm. Be worthy. Be worthy of this oath you have taken. Be worthy of this this empire you serve.
Speaker: Here it's worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I come. And see you. or I am absent. I may hear out that you are standing firm in one spirit.
Speaker: Standing firm. the roman The Roman legion. was was absolutely fascinating. Um, Most barbarians, I mean, we we call them barbarians. Don't don't think of...
Speaker: you know people with horns on their helmets and things like that. They were just people who didn't speak Latin. Um... ah Most of the non -Roman soldiers or militaries in the world simply were a collection of guys who all had a weapon.
Speaker: And they would all run at each other and they'd start fighting each other. Okay, but it was really... one -on -one. And what you kind of get is sort of one side had more guys win their individual battle.
Speaker: And pretty soon the other guys got afraid and they ran away.
Speaker: The Roman Legion operated very differently. These guys... trained and drilled constantly. So that that they would form a a a formation of men um that would march across the field.
Speaker: in unison. It's sort of this wall. going across the field and um the There are accounts and in in the ancient world ah of... of of barbarian armies, non -Roman armies.
Speaker: Watching the Romans simply come and they just ran away. They they couldn't even handle it And you'll hear Paul talk about that here. So you're standing firm in one spirit. So you're in line now.
Speaker: with your fellow soldier. You're going to stand firm. With one mind striving side by side. for the faith of the gospel. The reason this worked for the Roman military was because you colored your shield on your left hand.
Speaker: and you had your sword or your spear in your right hand. And so your shield would guard your left side. But it would also guard the right side of the guy standing right next to you.
Speaker: And your right hand, which doesn't have a shield. is behind the shield. of the guy on your right. And so it became... critically important that they... so drove side by side.
Speaker: This is the way the Roman Legion worked. So that freed up your... aren't you know your weapon hand to be out there doing its job but you are protected on both sides.
Speaker: If somebody bolted and ran away, did not stand firm. It wasn't just... only a matter of cowardice. But it also exposed the guys on either side of him.
Speaker: There was now a whole. In the line, there was a place of no protection. And so ah that was drilled into these these Roman soldiers. Side by side, you stand firm.
Speaker: Uh, You are not frightened by anything in your opponent. OK, so you you you you see that you see that, you know, you get put up against the big barbarian, you know, the guy with the big club or whatever. at you. You stand firm.
Speaker: You know, because you not only your life, but the life of your neighbor. Your fellow soldier depends on you standing firm. And you have to you have to do that together.
Speaker: This is a clear sign to them of their destruction. I talked about how. when when these other armies would see the Romans ah advancing across the field, they were terrified.
Speaker: I always think of it a little like, that have you watched the... The, uh... Lord of the Rings movies yes You know, when when the elves... do this like a machine They're like a machine when they when they are are in their armor.
Speaker: And they they just this kind of that's kind of the way they saw the Romans. Because the Roman general could be behind there and he could just blast, he would send a code through a trumpet blast.
Speaker: And these guys would move and they would all just move and turn another way and they'd make another formation. and the barbarians were looking at. How did they do that? Well, they did it because they had trained.
Speaker: mercilessly to be able to do this. that that all they had to hear was hear that trumpet blast and that, you know, those three blasts and that that sequence. And bang, okay, that means we make this other formation.
Speaker: but That means we turn right. Well, that means we turn left. and ah and And this was a clear sign to the enemy. of their destruction. The Roman legions had just dominated the Mediterranean world.
Speaker: Nobody could beat him.
Speaker: It's a sign to them of their destruction, but to you, it is a sign of your salvation. You know. when you go into When you go into battle and everybody runs away, That means I don't have to fight.
Speaker: Yep. Now, this is from God. Now, paul Paul brings us back in and says, we're not talking about military here, right? We're talking about your Christian life.
Speaker: It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him. But also... Suffer for his sake.
Speaker: That is boot camp language. but You get to suffer for your country. you know You get to, you have the privilege.
Speaker: of being a soldier or a marine or a sailor. they they they talk that they They talk to recruits that way and to and to guys. You have this privilege.
Speaker: and And that's the way Paul is talking to these guys. He's using the language that that community knows. And this is the language. But also notice what he's doing is.
Speaker: You talk to. you know old veterans who have been in combat in your congregation and and Or you listen to these guys in interviews on television.
Speaker: Bill? who've done amazing things, you know, in... in in in ah in a combat situation, they will almost always tell you, I didn't really do it for my country.
Speaker: I did it for my buddies. I did it for my my platoon, for my company, for my my friends. My guys in the trench with me are the guys in the foxholes with me who were who were.
Speaker: whom I... and and really in those kind of crucible moments. They come to love.
Speaker: and And I think Paul is really picking up on that right here. in this In this passage, You're engaged in the same conflict you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Speaker: I love the military metaphor. That fills this. And also this this idea that Paul is really tapping into is that. That.
Speaker: your joy. is going to come when you are so plugged into that guy next to you. That you're giving your a life. you know You're not afraid of the opponent who's in front of you.
Speaker: You're giving your life, you're putting your life on the line for those people. for somebody else
Speaker: And they're doing it for you. and And that... communal sort of outside of myself. This isn't just about me.
Speaker: This is way... Bigger than me. That is. That is, I think. uh uh I think really key.
Speaker: to what Paul means. as a ah as as what what what Paul says. Joy.
Speaker: Here's how you get it. and And he plugs into this common experience of ah of of these men who live in Philippi. who've been in the army.
Speaker: you know and and and that that ethos is undoubtedly penetrated into their families and into the whole commute, the shopkeepers, everybody, even the guys who aren't in the army. Okay. They all know this language. Thanks very much.
Speaker: and And I just find it fascinating that Paul... you know, Paul is a great preacher. He speaks in the language of the people he's talking to. right He finds that metaphor, those images, that picture of of of how to do this that they know.
Speaker: And uh... I just need that. Absolutely. Wonderful.
Speaker: But I'm never gonna watch any movie with Roman Soldiers, the same again. Yeah, right. yeah Actually, what what you what you need to do, and and he's an he's an incredible braggart, but... But it is, read Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.
Speaker: Mm hmm. But there's also some really good secondary literature today that talks about... how the Roman army actually fought. that That's really interesting. Um, uh and and you can learn a lot from it i find it just really fascinating that he's he's uh uh Uh, using this this Military metaphor.
Speaker: But he's using... He's not so much, I mean, he uses the military metaphor, like in Ephesians, you know, we talked about put on the armor of God, that sort of stuff. But here... I think he's really plugging much more into.
Speaker: Um, into the fact that That. If you've known old veterans, oftentimes... you know They are... Their very best friends in the world are the guys they fought with.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah, I... Just had a... are. Bye. I just had a conversation before we started this with a member of my parish, and he's... um He's well into his 80s.
Speaker: And. Every year. every year those guys get together. Yeah. They get together and they're coming from all over the country, but they've got this weekend. and they They come together every year. and you know. Remember the guys who aren't still with us anymore, but they and they they remember that.
Speaker: fellowship. That koinonia. of over. of that time they spent. risking, you know,
Speaker: when their lives were in jeopardy and they were Totally committed. to each other. And that was how they survived. I think that's what Paul was talking about.
Speaker: this is your This is your key to joy, guys. It's to be thinking about somebody else. And in that thinking about somebody else, know that you're also serving Jesus. Because he's really the center of this whole picture.
Speaker: That's. The key to joy.
Speaker: Even when you're receiving the 40 lashes minus one, even when you are in prison, even when... i you're being ridiculed even you know Being spiritually attacked.
Speaker: Drive through the mud. you can't take that joy away Yeah. That joy is durable. That joy has has has grit. It is. It perseveres.
Speaker: it It is, you know. Have you ever seen that? Uh, That great fireside. Where. you know you it's one of those The comic strip, The Fireside. of Where... where the the devils are all in hell and there's slaves all over the place. And the one looks at the other and says, you know, we're just not reaching that guy. And there's some guy wheeling a... ah wheelbarrow full of rocks and he's just whistling.
Speaker: We're just not reaching that guy. and This is Paul. uh Yeah, that poll. you know tormented by Satan himself.
Speaker: Yeah, you can't take my joy away.
Speaker: Because... I serve Jesus. And I served Jesus either by dying. You know? by By suffering in in ministry, by living, you know, and and you like you say, getting lashed by the 40 times less one or shipwrecked or whatever.
Speaker: You're not going to take blank my joy away. You cannot do it. Even if you are preaching the gospel because you hate me. I'm still going to say, I'm glad you're preaching the gospel, man. I'm glad you're doing it.
Speaker: And ah yeah, you just, you, you. You get the sense that Paul is... is Just.
Speaker: irrepressibly. Joyful.
Speaker: and And he kind of gives us the key to it.
Speaker: du I see why you like this letter so much. Yes. Preach yourself a good joyful sermon on this one. All right. I don't think I have to worry about yours.
Speaker: Well, yes yes, you do, because I've got to find some way to get all of this into a sermon. good right right rather than add it does the two -hour lecture that I would like to give.
Speaker: Heh. It does need some prayer. All right, Patty. This was fun. Thank you. As always. Yes. Thank you. And until next week.
Speaker: We'll see you then. All right. Have a blessed day. You do.
