Philippians 3:4b-14 BEING RIGHTEOUS IN GOD S EYES In about another month I ll be 58 years old. To some people, I m still a spring chicken. To others, my life has peaked. My best years are over. It s all downhill from here. As one comedian said about being in his late fifties, They tell me that I m middleaged. But I don t know very many people who live to be 116 years old. Maybe fifty is the new thirty, I don t know. But what I do know is that, as I fast approach 60 years of age, I m finding myself reflecting more and more about my accomplishments in life or the lack of accomplishments, thereof. I think about the dreams I had as a young man in my teens and twenties, and even in my thirties, and how many of those dreams never came to fruition, and now I m starting to set them aside because, if I m honest with myself, I have to accept that they re probably never going to happen. I m also at an age where I m beginning to wonder more deeply about how God sees me. I think I m a good person. I work hard at this ministry profession I ve been called to; I believe I ve helped some people in times of need, assured some people when they were in distress, and comforted some people when they were grieving. But at the end of this mortal existence, when I stand before God and give an account of my life to the final, ultimate judge of all people, will God look upon my life, overall, as a good one? Do my good points outweigh my bad points? Will my life, as a whole, be looked upon as being righteous? It s comforting for me to know that the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian evangelist who ever walked the earth, wrestled with the same kinds of questions about his life. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippian church from prison. The church in Philippi was the first church Paul planted on European soil, during his second missionary journey. When he wrote to them in response to a monetary gift they had sent to him, Paul addressed a concern about some people in that church who were making the same error other churches had made putting excessive emphasis on fulfilling the law of the Hebrew Scriptures rather than trusting in the kind of righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
2 The fundamental question for the Philippian church, and for us, is, what makes us righteous in the eyes of God? For some in the Philippian church who were still deeply influenced by their Jewish heritage, it was a matter of faithfully observing the Jewish Law. Some of them were even insisting that gentile or non-jewish converts to Christianity first had to become faithful and observant Jews in order to be fully Christian. Philippi was a Greek city, so this issue of having to become Jewish first before becoming a Christian apparently was a problem for this young church. Paul saw this Jewish first, then Christian approach as putting confidence in the flesh that is, in our own ability to observe and fulfill the Law. He then went on to cite his own impressive resume as a Jew and a Pharisee, in which he was both a faithful observer of the law and a zealous champion of it. But, wrote Paul, he considered all of that to be rubbish compared to the greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Embracing this new relationship with Christ didn t come without a cost, Paul continued. He acknowledge that he suffered the loss of all things in order to gain the new life that comes through sharing in Jesus resurrection; but he saw this new relationship with his Lord as being of such great value that it made the loss more than worthwhile. Because of that, the focus of Paul s life was on the future God was drawing him toward, rather than on his accomplishments of his past. Instead of placing his confidence and security in his adherence to the rules of the Jewish Law, Paul embraced the freedom that had been made possible for him as he shared in Christ s resurrection. So, for those of us who have regrets that the best years are over and now all we have left in the so-called golden years are our recliner chairs and golf clubs and early bird specials at Denny s, Paul gives us inspiration. Because he made it clear that there s much more to come in life. Paul hadn t yet reached his ultimate goal. So he wasn t going to sit back on his heals, buy a condo in a warmer climate and wait to be called home by God. No, Paul wrote that he would press on to achieve whatever aims the risen Christ had in mind for him. Why? Because Christ Jesus has made me his own. That is to say, Paul belonged to Christ, and Christ was in charge of Paul s life, now. It s kind of liberating, isn t it? To let go of the confidence we have placed in our own performance, in our own achievements, and trust in the power of Jesus resurrection that s at work in our lives. What we did yesterday, good or bad, no longer matters. What the risen Christ is doing in our lives today, and will be doing in our lives tomorrow, that s all that matters now.
3 Many of us can look around our homes and offices and find evidence of some of our accomplishments. Diplomas, degrees, award certificates, trophies and the like are tangible reminders that we ve accomplished certain goals or excelled in some aspects of our lives. And while we may find satisfaction in having attained those accomplishments, we re not defined by them. Or, at least we shouldn t define our lives by them. Because our life before God is defined by the degree to which we share the kind of selfgiving love that guided Jesus through his life, ministry, death and resurrection. Those of you who have been a part of this church the First Congregational Church of Scarborough for many years, may find yourselves at times looking back at the past. I call it, Remember when. That s when we think, or say, or hear someone else say, Remember when our church did so well back twenty, thirty, forty or fifty years ago? Remember when the pews were filled, and our Sunday School had a hundred children attending, and our church played a more central role in our community? You remember, don t you? It s a good thing to hold on to our history and remember the heritage of our church. But I would caution that living too much in the past and yearning for a return to the way things used to be can interfere with and stall the present and future possibilities that can only happen when we fully embrace what God is seeking to do now in our lives and in the life of our faith community. The Apostle Paul used a race-running analogy in his letter to the Philippian church. He urged the congregation there to look to a deeper place in their lives for meaning and hope. Like runners who are poised at the starting line for a race, Paul urged the Philippians and he urges us to forget what lies behind and to strain forward to what lies ahead to press on toward the goal for the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul was saying that we are to embrace the future that God that envisions for us and the world by living out our life of faith in the present, in ways that reflect the kind of love expressed in Jesus life, death and resurrection. So, rather than remembering and yearning for the way things were and how faithful our church was yesterday, it s better that we respond to the crying needs in our world right now, because that s how we offer Christ s love to others and share in Christ s resurrection today. As most of you know, I ve done a lot of funerals lately. Too many funerals, if the truth be told. In my mind, funerals are supposed to be two
4 things: a celebration of the deceased s life, and a committal of that person s spirit into the eternal care of our loving God. In celebrating the life of someone who has died, people stand up and speak, or the minister speaks, about the deceased s achievements and accomplishments. All those people whose funerals I ve officiated at recently were good people who did good things in their lives. Most, if not all of them, could even be described as being righteous people. Whether they put their trust in their own righteousness or in Jesus Christ is for God to decide, although if it were up to me they would all get a righteousness pass. Being righteous in and of ourselves is a good thing; but as Christians, being righteous in God s eyes is something else. As Christians, we don t do good and love others to be righteous in God s eyes; rather, we find our righteousness by believing and trusting in Jesus Christ, and out of joyous gratitude for what Christ has done for us, we do good and loving things. Do you see the difference? On February 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of his most famous sermons, entitled, The Drum Major Instinct, at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. In that sermon he addressed the issue of his own mortality, and said these words only a few months before his assassination: Every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. I don t think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, What is it that I would want said [at my funeral]? King went on to say, I d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. So may it be for us, as we face the daily choice between the righteousness we try to attain through our own accomplishments, and the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul encouraged the Philippians, so may we also forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, as we embrace the only way of life that makes us righteous
5 in God s eyes and brings us into full relationship with God a life of love and service that is grounded in the faith, gratitude and joy of knowing Jesus Christ and his victory over death. None of us are who we used to be yesterday; but, with God s help, we are becoming who God wants us to be today and tomorrow, because Jesus Christ has made us his own. Amen.