Philippians 1:12-14
Introduction
To understand this letter to the Philippines we must first appreciate the circumstances from which it was written. Paul didn’t write this letter from the comfort of some spiritual retreat center high in the mountains, but rather while imprisoned in a dark, dingy prison cell. He was under Roman arrest for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and he was awaiting Rome’s sentence for doing such—a sentence that could mean execution. And he’s writing his letter to a church whose greatest problem wasn’t making budget or how it was going to market itself— rather he was writing to a church that was suffering—suffering from adversity on a daily basis. They were unsure how they were going to survive, how they were going to keep going.
When we understand the circumstances around this letter the words become even more striking: “I want you to know, beloved that what has happened to me has actually happened to spread the Gospel… my imprisonment is for Christ, and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.”
Paul is in an unimaginable situation—he could die. Actually, that’s not so unimaginable, is it? And the Philippians church are in an unimaginable situation—outside forces are threatening their very existence. I guess that’s not so unimaginable either, is it? And because of all that is happening, Paul is encouraging them, and showing them, that when they keep the faith and keep moving forward God will undoubtedly make happen everything they need.
Move 1
So Paul has been arrested. He’s in prison, waiting for his verdict on whether he will live or die, yet he faces this suffering with such faith that not only are other Christians embolden in their faith, but even the prison guards— who weren’t followers of Christ— are talking about the strength and courage Paul draws from his faith in Jesus.
And while this is an important piece to the text, what is worth noting is what is missing. Nowhere in this text do we find the modern obsession “why do bad things happen to good people?” Because it would be understandable if Paul said, “I want you to know beloved, what has happened to me is a crying shame! I don’t know why God is letting me languish away in this godforsaken prison cell. I pray day and night, but my prayers go on answered. What have I ever done to deserve such an unjust fate? I’ve been a good Apostle, but it seems God has forgotten me. Why God? Why me?”
If Paul had spoken these words do you think they would have strengthened and emboldened the faith of anyone? Of course not. There is no hint, not a trace of “why me?” It is a letter filled instead with the confidence and courage that comes only from trust and faith in Jesus Christ.
But times have changed, haven’t they? We now live in a time that looks upon suffering as patently unfair and undeserved. And as a result, for many, trusting God goes only as far as they’re good fortune reaches. When they’re good fortune runs out, so does their trust in God. Suffering has proven through the years to be a destroyer of faith because we let it take away everything we need to endure and overcome adversity.
Move 2
Scottish preacher Arthur John Gossip preached a famous sermon following the death of his wife entitled “But When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” In it he preaches, “So many people’s religion is a fair-weather affair. A little rain and it runs and crumbles; a touch of strain and it snaps. Many of one’s religion is like that. So long as God’s will runs parallel to ours, we follow blithely. But the moment they cross or clash, when life grows difficult, when we don’t understand—how apt faith is to fail us just when we have most need of it!
Paul’s letter has no answer to the great question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” But he did give a new perspective upon Christian suffering. Paul saw it as an essential need, as well as an opportunity. An opportunity to show how to endure and overcome adversity—while witnessing to the steadfast love of Jesus Christ. He showed that a follower of Christ can successfully endure and overcome adversity, they can learn to refuse to allow it to defeat him or her; all while showing others—even those who didn’t believe—that faith in the midst of adversity will lead to new life.
Paul knows this. He is seeing it happen. Which is why Paul calls the Philippians, and all Christians, to show themselves to be those who don’t abandon their faith in difficult times, but rather they lean even more into their faith. Because frightened, despairing, complaining Christians don’t endure and overcome adversity—not to mention they make poor witnesses.
But Christians who are caught in the midst of life’s struggles, and still keep their faith in Jesus, will do far more to advance the Good News than a thousand theology books and 10,000 sermons. No sermon I ever preach can match the sermons you preach through your determined faith that shines like a beacon in the midst of adversity.
And I know this to be true because I’ve seen these displays of faith.
*******
I once visited a church member who was in a fight for her life with cancer. I went expecting to deal with all the justified questions of “Why me?”, “Where is God?” I went expecting an onslaught of depression, anger, and bitterness. But I got none of that. Instead, I heard and saw and witnessed faith and hope in the God she knew was with her. And I will never forget what she said before I left—the last time I would see her alive. She said, “Whatever happens, God will be there. What more do I need?”
Is there a more powerful witness to Christ than a Christian in the midst of suffering and adversity who refuses to be overwhelmed; refuses to go down; refuses to give up their faith in God?
*******
On closing his sermon following his wife death, Rev. Gossip references the Jordan River—a place throughout the bible that marks a literal and metaphorical place of life, death, and rebirth. He says, “Standing in the roaring of the Jordan, cold to the heart with its dreadful chill, and conscious of the terror of its rushing, I can call back to you who one day in your turn will have to cross it, and say, ‘Be of good cheer for I feel the bottom, and it is sound.’”
Christians who stand in the rushing waters of adversity, and lean into their faith, show themselves and those around them: When our time comes to face adversity there will be a solid rock to stand upon—and that solid rock is Jesus Christ.
Move 3
Leaning into our faith is the answer, but we don’t always know how—especially when adversity turns from the unimaginable to reality. Author Glendon Harris, in telling about his grandfather’s passing, gives us some insight on how. He writes, “My grandfather passed away when I was 14, and I accompanied my mother from our home in Montana to North Dakota for the funeral. Grandpa had immigrated from Germany is his youth and homesteaded near the small town of Watford City. He was a true pioneer in that remote northwest corner of North Dakota.
On the morning of his funeral, I went to the local barbershop to get a haircut. No one knew who I was and while waiting I listen to the barbershop talk, and soon heard the barber ask, ‘You fellas getting trimmed up for the funeral this afternoon?’ He was referring to my grandfather’s service. Many were, and it opened a conversation about the life of my grandfather where they commended him as a real pioneer. Then one man said about my grandfather ‘He was a ‘sticker.’ Though I had never heard the term before I knew what it meant. It referred to those homesteaders who stuck to their land even when the going got tough and dreams were dashed with the reality of crops succumbing to hail, grasshoppers, lack of rain, and other adversities that caused many to give up and leave. I remember one man summing up the conversation, saying, ‘This community wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for stickers like him.”
*******
Stickers. People who, no matter what, stick to their core values, their beliefs, their faith. Paul was a sticker. No matter life’s varied circumstances, he stuck to his faith. And he is calling upon us to stick to our faith even when the going gets tough and dreams are dashed by adversity, division, pandemic, or whatever else makes us think about giving up. Because it is the stickers who are responsible for the ongoing nurturing and witnessing of faith in this battered world. It is the stickers who remind us that the God of the cross knows what we are going through and will not abandon us to our suffering. It is the stickers who witness to the spiritual presence and strength of the living Lord who, even though he was afflicted in every way, was not crushed, and will not allow us to be crushed.
Conclusion
In this letter to the Philippians the adversity Paul is facing, the affliction he is suffering, is not seen or described in a negative way. Instead, he sees them as an opportunity. An opportunity for the Good News of Jesus Christ to be shared.
Faced with this adversity, Paul becomes stronger, more focused, more positive. And he can do this because when Paul looks at adversity—even death—he sees new life.
The Church can take comfort and direction from the words of Paul, especially in times of struggle and adversity. Throughout history, adversity has strengthened the church. The amazing fact that adversity leads to growth reflects the paradox that lies at the heart of the Gospel— namely, that God’s power is revealed through the weakness of the cross and that victory comes through apparent defeat. So knowing the end may be near, Paul tells and shows the Christians in Philippi, and he tells and shows us… be a sticker. Stick to your beliefs and your faith. For when we do, whatever happens, God will be there. What more do we need? Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, January 30, 2022
Gracious and loving God, we know all too well that life is predictably unpredictable; that it is fairly unfair. Adversity comes to all of us sooner or later. We all have had, are having, or will have struggles, tragedy, heartbreak, misfortune, or hardships that come upon us and threaten to undo our faith. The Apostle Paul knew this to be true—all the way to the point of being executed. But yet he kept the faith, and encouraged others to do the same, showing how it can be done—how even in the midst of suffering, we can be stickers just like him.
So we pray holy God, continue to make us into stickers. Just as Paul says later in his letter to the Philippians, help us live our lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ so that all will see and know we are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the Gospel.
Show how the grace and love of Jesus Christ has enabled us to endure and overcome all adversity—even unto death—for in doing so we become stronger and more faithful.
But we know such strength and unity doesn’t often happen in good times. In fact, it usually happens in difficult times. And your Church is in a difficult time—a time of declining faith, of declining participation, of declining belief that the Church today has much use or relevance.
This is the adversity your Church faces today. So we pray you remind us how you are able to bring forth new life where there seems to be death.
Remind us of the opportunity within this difficult time to witness to your Son’s Good News, and its life changing possibilities.
Remind us how you are always right in our midst, upholding us, strengthen us, guiding us, and promising again that though we bear a cross today, there will be a resurrection and new life tomorrow.
May we never forget this truth, and may we never miss the opportunity to share its Good News.
Hear now the prayers of our hearts as we lift them to you in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of Christ Jesus, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”