Remade Mind: Philippians 2:5-11 - Sunday of the Passion

⁵Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
 ⁶who, though he was in the form of God,
  did not regard equality with God
  as something to be exploited,
 ⁷but emptied himself,
  taking the form of a slave,
  being born in human likeness.
 And being found in human form,
  ⁸he humbled himself
  and became obedient to the point of death—
  even death on a cross.
 ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him
  and gave him the name
  that is above every name,
 ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus
  every knee should bend,
  in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 ¹¹and every tongue should confess
  that Jesus Christ is Lord,
  to the glory of God the Father. (NRSV)

Palm Sunday by Les Chatfield on flickr.  CC BY 2.0.

Someone once asked me, “what is the one modern convenience that you could not live without?”

My answer is the microwave oven.  I can think of no appliance that is more useful other than the refrigerator.

Trouble is, the microwave is also the king of kitchen controversies.

For years, myths have swirled around that microwave ovens give you cancer and poison your food. Some folks, like my grandparents, will never use it—and no amount of scientific evidence will persuade them to the contrary.  Their minds are made up, and that’s that.

Please understand—these folks aren’t stupid.  They’re every but as human as you and me.  The human mind is sinful and broken—unlike the mindset of Jesus (as Paul describes it so beautifully in his letter to the Philippians):

 ⁶who, though he was in the form of God,
  did not regard equality with God
  as something to be exploited,
 ⁷but emptied himself,
  taking the form of a slave,
  being born in human likeness.
 And being found in human form,
  ⁸he humbled himself
  and became obedient to the point of death—
  even death on a cross. (NRSV)

Jesus was truly God—but he refused to exploit his divinity for his own benefit. 

But Jesus emptied himself of all the rights, powers, and privileges of being God’s son—and became a slave. 

But Jesus became even less than a nobody.  He cast himself to the very bottom of the social and economic hierarchy.  He exchanged power, dominion, and authority for weakness and helplessness.  He exchanged sinlessness for a sinner’s death.  He sacrificed himself for the sake of the people who nailed him to the cross.  “He was obedient to death, even death on a cross.”

Do you remember Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?  They ate the apple so they could be like God (Genesis 3:4)—because being like God means control, power, and authority.  You don’t want to serve others; you want others serving you!  You want others wishing they could be you!    In this climate of tribalism, competition, and high anxiety, adopting the mindset of Christ is the most difficult thing you can do.

Except—Christ’s mind was set on you and on the world God created in love.  Jesus became your slave.  Jesus cast himself into the depths of your sin.  Jesus descended into the depths of your pain.  Jesus went into the grave for you.  And, Christ’s mind was set on trusting in his Father to help him to bear the cross for us all and raise him up from the grave. 

These truths have the power to change your mindset.  Eating and drinking the body and blood he pours out for you changes your mindset.  The forgiveness of your sins changes your mindset. 

No longer will your mind be set on success and status which can so quickly vanish away.  No longer will your mind be set on things that perish.  No longer will your mind be bound to anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion. 

The mind of Christ sees God’s power at work when all signs point to the contrary.  The mind of Christ is set on the well-being of others, believing that their well-being is directly tied to your own!  A mind set on God’s promises freely pours out even what is precious, valuable, and vulnerable—trusting that God can do far more with what you would otherwise keep or control.  A mindset of Christ sees abundance of life not on power, privilege, or conquest—but in forgiveness, humility, and self-sacrifice.

The mind set on Christ sees the reality of Christ.  Yes, it’s difficult to change a made-up mind—but Jesus can change it.  But as a Church, Jesus wants us to have a shared, single mindset. 

So I ask you: what is the mindset of your church—and in what ways does Jesus invite you to be changed?

What if each of us took responsibility for one another’s faith and well-being—recognizing that you bring the presence of Christ when you show up?  What if you sat in a different pew to be closer to someone you don’t know well?

What if we strove to love this community as much as Jesus does—and see ourselves as part of that love? Can you see that there are folks out there for whom this church may be the only family they may ever have?  

What if we who are in positions of leadership created safe spaces for people to ask questions, share ideas, and even disagree?  Can we recognize that leadership and control are not the same thing? 

What if we embraced the future of our church with hope—keeping in mind that the church of tomorrow won’t be like the 1950’s, but something different—yet no less meaningful?  Are you willing to take risks and try new things in order to grow?

As we go into Holy Week, I invite you to ponder what a new mindset would be like for you—and for this Church—so that resurrection isn’t merely something we celebrate, but that it’s something that we experience every time we come together.