Rejoice! - First Congregational Church - United Church of Christ

A sermon by Associate Minister Elsa A. Peters, October 12, 2008

Philippians 4:1-9

Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always! My brothers and my sisters, whom I love and long for, how could we dare? How could we possibly rejoice? Not with so much bad news from Wall Street and uncertainty among our neighbors on Main Street. Not while food prices soar and medical bills add up. Not while people and nations are fighting in armed conflict anywhere around the world. Not when the health of creation is at risk. Not while we watch candidates hack at issues that are central to our visions of what American should be. Not when it’s clear that there is so much that is wrong. But again, Paul will say, Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always!

“It’s Paul’s happiest letter. And the happiness is infectious.” Or at least, that’s how Eugene Peterson characterizes this letter to Philippi. So happy that it’s infectious. That seems hard to imagine today when so much is wrong. Then again, Paul is writing from prison facing a death sentence for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ that interrupts every value held by the powers of the Roman Empire.

Paul writes when so much is wrong with the world. There is so much that is wrong. There are so many reasons that it seems impossible to find happiness, never mind infectious happiness. Paul writes to assure a community struggling with arguments and divisions to say that the peace of God surpasses all understanding. It’s beyond our comprehension because it’s more powerful than anything we know. It is not a power of this world. No world leader or nation or government can contain it. It surpasses all that we know.

This is why Paul rejoices. He writes to Philippi to say just that: Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always! And again, Paul will say, Rejoice!

Locked in jail by the powers of this world, he writes about a power that is greater than the Emperor. The Roman Emperor was deemed Lord and Savior. He was worshipped as divine – but it is not the Emperor that will save. Sure, if enemies threaten the security of Philippi, this city on a hill, the powers of the Empire will secure and protect it. We can understand that – but Paul writes about a greater power. Rejoice! Paul says, not in governments or economic systems or military force. Rejoice in the Lord always! And again, Paul will say, Rejoice!

Of course, we’ve seen how this can stir a crowd. It’s exciting when our politicians promise change. They urge us, like Paul, to rejoice. Don’t worry about anything, they say. When the election is over, they promise that we’ll finally have “peace that [is] the presence of everything that persons need for meaningful human existence.” When the ballots are cast and the debates are but a memory, the American people will no longer worry about the economy, health care, terror, taxes or whatever you define to be Issue #1.

This is not why we rejoice. Not like this. This is not the peace that God promises – not because it comes from a particular candidate or a specific party – but because the peace that Paul preaches is outside of these powers. The peace of God is an alternative reality. This is what Paul writes to Philippi – a letter about another way of being in the world.

It’s a letter to remind all of us that being a good citizen is not the same thing as being a Christian. To be a good citizen means that:

we vote

we serve our neighbors

we respect those that disagree with us

we are honest about our needs as a nation

and we are generous is serving that nation.

To be Christian is to claim a different power, something so different from everything else in our world so that no matter how long we have participated in the life of the church in Philippi or on Meetinghouse Hill, we’re still not sure what that power is.

This is what I found when our families registered their children for Sunday School. We use a curriculum that guides our kids through the same Biblical Lessons we same in worship. This curriculum is our base – but I wanted to understand what it is about Christianity that parents want their children to understand. Now I confess, I made the mistake of using the word “values” in my question, so I got a list of replies that said being a Christian means:

we serve and love our neighbors

we respect those that disagree with us

we are honest about our needs

we are generous with our gifts and talents

and something about Jesus.

It doesn’t sound all that different from being a citizen– except for this thing about Jesus. Perhaps that’s what we’re not sure how to name in a world where so much is wrong. We don’t dare talk about Jesus because church is separate from everything else. And yet, so much is wrong. Our emotional, physical and economic realities are being threatened. There is so much wrong, but where do we look for help? Again, Paul says, Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always! The Lord is near.

Jesus is near. This is the infectious happiness that Paul writes about. It surpasses all understanding, but even now, when so much is wrong, Jesus is near. And so, my brothers and my sisters, Rejoice! Rejoice because we choose another way! Rejoice because the Lord is near! Rejoice because we know that if there is anything worthy of praise, we will think about these things! Rejoice because we will model our lives, not by our citizenship, but in seeking:

whatever is true

whatever is honorable

whatever is just

whatever is pure

whatever is pleasing

whatever is commendable.

If there is anything worthy of praise, this is how we will know. We will rejoice that the Lord is near, not the Emperor, a Presidential Candidate, a State Senator or other powers of this world. We claim that the Lord is near and so we will model our lives after him seeking: