Who Is Your King? Philippians 2: 1-18 November 25, 2012 (Christ the King Sunday) Rev.

Deborah Dail Denbigh Presbyterian Church Scripture Philippians 2: 1-18 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.

Sermon: In the movie Titanic Jack stands with Rose on the forward deck of the illfated Titanic, arms outstretched. He shouts Im the king of the world. Apparently, those words were never in the original script. Remarking on the 15th Anniversary of the film, producer James Cameron said, The shot was already lined up, and I radioed up the line Im the king of the world. I said, Leo, in the next take just say that because thats what you feel like. You dont have a dime in your pocket, but youre the king of the world. (from aweirdthing, Neil Chappell) Im the king of the world. Its got a nice ring to it, dont you think? Most of us sort of like the idea that we are or could be king of something the top dog, the one in charge, the one with the power. Many of us spend a considerable amount of energy trying to be king of something our homes, our workplaces, our playgrounds, our company of friends, our community groups. Remember the playground game called King of the Hill? The object of the game is to stay on top of a large hill or pile (or any other designated area) as the "King of the Hill". Other players attempt to knock the current King off the pile and take his or her place, thus becoming the new King of the Hill. When Paul wrote Philippians a letter written to the people of the church of Philippi he had apparently been made aware of some problems in the church. Two women whose names I struggle to pronounce (Euodia and Synthche) are called out by Paul later in Philippians. He urges them to be of the same mind in the Lord. I suspect both of them wanted to be king of the hill in the church, a problem that has never repeated itself in church history! People in the Philippian church had apparently taken sides in the dispute between the two women (also something that has never repeated itself in church history!) The problem in the church at Philippi may also have been created by some misguided preaching. Some preachers at Philippi may have been trying to introduce elements of Judaism into the faith and practice of the church. (Philippians, Interpretationseries, Fred Craddock) So, not only were the two women playing king of the hill but also the preachers.

The problem may also have been some jealousy among church members. Some may have felt they werent in Pauls inner circle. You know how it is: if you cant be the king of the world you want to be as close to the king as possible. If you cant be the most popular kid, you hang out with the most popular kid. If you cant be the bosss favorite at work you stay close to the one who is. All these situations were creating disunity in the church at Philippi. So, Paul writes to the church members and points them to King Jesus the true and rightful king of the world, king of the entire cosmos. Paul reminds his readers that Jesus is God Jesus is King -- and he chose to leave his earthly throne, to take on human flesh, to empty himself, to become a servant, to die on a hill called Calvary. Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. One scholar said: We must never forget that Christ radically redefined and transformed the concept of kingship. Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he connected his role as king to humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death. While Christ is coming to judge the nations, his teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. When we celebrate Christ as King, we are not celebrating an oppressive ruler, but one willing to die for humanity and whose loving-kindness endures forever. Christ is the king that gives us true freedom, freedom in Him. (Textweek.com) Paul holds up Jesus as the ultimate example of servanthood and the basis for seeking unity within the church. Instead of trying to be king of the world or king of the hill, Paul says be of the same mind, have the same love, be in full accord and of one mind. He says dont do things out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you
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look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Fred Craddock summarizes: Paul regarded as inappropriate to the body of Christ (the church) the selfish eye, the pompous mind, the ear hungry for compliments and the mouth that spoke none, the heart that had little room for others, and the hand that served only the self. (Philippians, Interpretation series, Fred Craddock, p. 38) Craddock also notes that it may seem like overkill that Paul is bringing out the big guns as he describes Christs servanthood servanthood even to the point of death when he is just addressing a mere matter of disunity in the church at Philippi. But, Craddock says: Paul did not subscribe to the notion that congregational problems and disputes should be answered practically and expediently as though big questions get big answers and small questions get small answers. On the contrary, small issues could be an indication that the church was suffering from the biggest problem of all: pettiness. (p. 43) Today is Christ the King Sunday. This Sunday is always the Sunday right before the beginning of Advent when we cry out Come, Lord Jesus. Come, King Jesus. It is a good time for us to ask ourselves again Who is my King? It is a good time to examine our lives for the areas in which we have claimed the throne and forgotten about Jesus. It is a good time to examine our lives for those times and places where we are striving in worldly ways to be the King of the World or King of the Hill. It is a good time to remember Christs redefinition of Kingship as servanthood. Do you want to be king in your home? Then serve your family. Do you want to be king of the playground? Then show kindness, help others and dont demand first place. If you want to be king of your workplace, serve others, doing nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. If you want to be king of the church or any other organization, have the mind of Christ, dont look to your own interests but to the interests of others; in humility regard others as better than yourself. You will never be king of the world but you and I can resemble our king we can display his likeness -- when we serve as Christ did. Happy Christ the King Sunday.
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