THE HIGHEST FORM OF FLATTERY
A meditation by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk
Harundale Presbyterian Church
Text: “join in imitating me.” (Philippians 3:17)
First
Second
Growing up,
my brother was always five years older and five inches taller than I was. The only way I could really get his attention
would be to mimic whatever he said or did.
I got very good, in fact, in talking just like he did and doing whatever
he was doing at any given time. Of
course, it really bothered him when I did that, so he would always go running
to our mother and complain that “Jimmy is imitating whatever I’m saying and
doing.” Our mother’s classic response
would always be, “Well, you know
Now Paul certainly doesn’t want the Philippian Christians to imitate him as a point of annoyance. Nor, is he interested in their imitating him in order to flatter him. What he’s most interested in is their following his example on what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ. After all, Paul had spent some time in prison on behalf of the Gospel and it was the Philippian church that had sent one of their own, Epaphroditus to minister to his needs. Paul also plans to send Timothy to them as an example of someone who places the interests of Christ over above his own needs. So, when we hear Paul say, “Join in imitating me,” he’s more interested in this very favorite Christian community of his continuing their spiritual development.
As soon as he finishes saying that, however, something happens. There must be some rascals afloat in the community, for he goes on to say, “For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.” He never says who the rascals are, but it’s obvious from how he describes their characteristics that their primary goal is to live for the moment and to the glory of their own well-being rather than as disciples of Christ.
Many of you went with us to see The Passion of Christ last Sunday. I would recommend that everyone see it. It’s a very intense, and I think theologically sound portrayal of Jesus last moments on earth. However, it’s also the closest and most realistic portrayal of what Jesus must have suffered. Many people were taken aback by the intensity of the beating, to the extent that some wonder how, if that were the way it was, Jesus was still alive by the time he got to the cross. But what became very real is what Paul refers to as the enemies of the Cross of Christ. The Roman centurions beating and flogging him all the way to the cross were definitely enemies of the cross of Christ and is that what you would want to imitate. Yet, many of us have. We don’t want to deal with the agony Christ went through. We want our Christ to be painless, somewhat our hero, without thinking the extent to which God has gone to forgive us our sin.
Paul refers to their god is their belly. This past week McDonald’s announced how they were down sizing their super meals, mostly because the public has become “carb” conscious and will no longer support eating just one meal in excess of 1200 calories. But the point remains that Americans, probably more than any other nation in the world, live to eat more than it eats to live. All of us at some point or other have or need to become more weight conscious and not imitate those whose god is their belly.
Paul goes on to say how their minds are set on earthly things. The last two Sundays, unfortunately during our time of prayer together, someone’s cell phone has rung. In fact two weeks ago, during the worship service, there were four times when the cell phone rang. Now, here we are, supposedly taking time to worship, to observe the Sabbath, and to come before God in a time of praise and thanksgiving and people have the audacity to keep their cell phones on. Is keeping earthly connections more important than worshipping God? Or, are they more afraid that that they’ll miss a phone call than tuning into what God may have to say to them? Or, is it that they take themselves so seriously that what they might miss one hour of the week is more important than what they might gain for a lifetime?
Paul
follows with a classic line: “He will transform the body of our humiliation
that it may be conformed to the body of his glory.” David Hajdu writes in a recent edition of The
Atlantic Monthly about his encounter with jazz great Wynton Marsalis. Marsalis is one of the truly exalted rulers
of the jazz universe and on this particular night was playing a set with a
small combo at the Village Vanguard in
“Then it happened. In the middle of that sacred silence, at the song’s most dramatic point, someone’s cell phone erupted in a chirping, sing-song electronic melody. In an instant, the spell was broken. People in the audience giggled nervously, turned to their drinks and resumed their table conversation. Marsalis paused for a beat, and stood motionless. His eyebrows arched. The embarrassed cell-phone owner fled the scene, and conversation in the club grew louder.
Marsalis
could have stepped down at the moment and quit the gig, disgusted. After all, he is the king of jazz and doesn’t
need to perform in little clubs with rude cell-phone users. But he didn’t move. Instead, he put his lips to his trumpet and
replayed the stupid cell-phone melody note for note. Then he played it again, and began
improvising variations on the tune. The
members of the audience stopped chatting and slowly began to listen up. He changed keys once or twice and then
seamlessly eased back into a ballad tempo, and in just a few minutes, finishing
his improvisation, he was exactly where he had left off: ‘I don’t stand…a
ghost…of…a…chance…with…you…Wynton Marsalis transformed a rude interruption into
a moment of glory. He didn’t allow an
unexpected shock to stun him or stop him or silence him, but instead he twisted
this setback into a comeback.” (Hajdu, David, “Wynton’s Blues.” The Atlantic Monthly, March, 2003, pages
43-44. Quoted in Homiletics, March 2004, pages 11-12.)
There’s a message in this for all of us, especially as it reminds us everyday how God twists our setbacks into comebacks. Paul concludes, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.” Let us join in imitating him and stand firm in the Lord in all that we do.
Thanks be to God,
Amen