10/11/2020 Sunday Sermon

First Congregational Church
October 11, 2020
17th Sunday after Pentecost
Philippians 4:1-9
“At Last”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Ole tried to organize a professional Hide and Seek tournament, but good players are hard to find. Lena burnt her Hawaiian pizza today. She should have cooked it on aloha temperature. Sven had been holed up in his house for weeks, due to Covid. Then he started having weird nightmares about his house being made of celery. Turns out he had stalk home syndrome.

One of the rather unknown Vikings was one known as Rudolf the Red. One day, he and his wife went out for a stroll. Rudolph the Red looked up to the sky and said, "We should hurry up. There is a storm coming". So his wife asked, "How do you know?” And he replied, "Rudolph the red knows rain, dear.”

During any given week, the choosing of the scripture text is usually between the Gospel passage or the New Testament letters - or epistles, as they’re called. The choice of which way to turn, so to speak, is determined by what I sense people need to hear, whether it be easy or tougher. After three weeks of tougher parables, and today’s assigned gospel, which would really need some hard digging, and balancing those things with what has occurred over the past week, it seemed that my heart was leaning toward an easier passage, albeit ever still challenging. It seemed that I could “hear” many of you responding with a famous song title, “At Last.”

The song, made most famous by the legendary Etta James, is one of the great love songs for slow dancing - with a person or a mop handle - Carol Burnett style. At last, My love has come along, My lonely days are over , And life is like a song. Go ahead and sing or hum that song with a loved one this week as you dance in the middle of the kitchen or garage.

“At last” could well be interchanged with the beginning word of this morning passage that begins the fourth - and last - chapter of Philippians. Our New International version uses the word “therefore,” but exchanging it with “At last,” having just heard the words from the famous song - which is entirely a backwards thing to do - adds a depth to the passage that makes it even more like a love letter to the people of Philippi.

The book of Philippians was written by the great Paul while under house arrest - most likely in Rome. House arrest, at that time, meant that Paul had to rent a house and people were free to visit him. But the house didn’t come with room and board, so somehow the people of Philippi heard about his situation and gathered some money for his day to day needs. Knowing that he couldn’t leave his house, they sent the money with an additional gift, a man to help obtain the necessary food and other needs, a man by the name of Epaphroditus. Paul’s thank you note, the book we call Philippians, is in gratitude to the money and Epaphroditus, along with some other words of encouragement.  

There will be a little phrase, “stand firm in the Lord in this way.” When we hear it, it may seem like a directive without reference. Going back to chapter 3, Paul is encouraging the Philippians to keep their minds on eternal things, rather than earthly things, so there is your reference.

Before Julie reads it, a side note about the two women you will hear about. We know little about Euodia and Syntyche, except that they were in some sort of argument that was big enough that it was known about all over the region. Paul’s mention of them tells us that he not only cares about the Philippians as a whole, but the individual people of their church.

Scripture  Philippians 4:1-9
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Thank you, Julie. At last, my brothers and sisters, all through the ages, you whom I, Paul, love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends. What sweet sentiments from one who was not in one of his most stellar moments. What inspiration for us - to send encouragement or sentiment when we are not feeling our most optimum.

“Let your gentleness be evident to all.” It implies that gentleness is implicit in each of us, like part of our DNA. It’s like the idea of being brothers and sisters of Christ the King, makes us princes and princesses of the Kingdom. It’s not a “someday” thing, but an “already” thing.

For those that may feel inferior, lacking, unworthy, at last you can lay those feelings down, because you are midferior - my own word that means between superior and inferior. You who have suffered with lacking, now are perfectly adequate and worthy to be. Period. At last, all of us can recognize that there is kindness in others, that we have the ability to be kind and are encouraged to live in the expression of it.

Stephan Garnaas Holmes wrote an amazing bit about gentleness this week. A butterfly in a storm. Candle that won't go out. Light moving through harsh wind. Spirit in you, alive, gentle.

In the face of brutality, under threat, bearing the weight of rage, resolutely gentle. What Satan can't fight, the emperor can't comprehend, what crumples the power of evil,
gentleness borne of love and hope.

Soft music beneath all the noise, wafting through the battle, tuning hearts invisibly, the song of gentleness. The Beloved bears you up with hope and joy undaunted, music and light moving through you, walking on, walking on.

It is hard not to be anxious about everything - much less about anything - especially in this day and age. And yet, this day and age isn’t all that much different from Paul’s day and age. Heads of governments still disagree, those in power still don’t rise to all the responsibility of it, and while the causes may have changed to one degree or another, none of us get a “live forever” card, like a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. All of us will one day need to give up the car keys and succumb to the care of others, even if that care is given by the heavenly host of angels. We do well to be concerned about that over which we can change. But how much harm do we do to ourselves in trying to cling to something that is ultimately not part of eternity?

Yet we don’t give up on prayer and letting God know what we need and how we feel. Perhaps more often than not, our requests and petitions are more like grocery store lists rather than conversation with someone who cares about you, someone with whom you can share your heart.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding is one of the most lovely, insightful and intriguing of phrases. Until you’ve experience it, it is more of a whim or aspiration. When you’ve experienced it, you realize how rare and precious it really is. The odd thing is how often that peace comes when one is at the bottom of the barrel or the end of a rope, and the effort to keep on keeping on has to stop, for whatever reason. The preciousness and pricelessness increases when we realize that this very free gift cannot be forced, coerced or bought. And oh, how good it feels, when at last we can know that peace.

I know this may sound goofy, but right now, all of you, here and at home, find a little piece of paper and a writing utensil. Seriously. Use an offering envelope or a deposit slip. And I’m going to wait for everyone to do that, so get on it right now. Don’t even worry about getting your glasses, because you will be able to do what I’m asking of you. I’ll even give you song to cover the wait.

“Jesus loves you, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to God belong. They are weak but God is strong. Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. The Bible tells you so.”

Now, write down these eight words. True. Noble. Right. Pure. Lovely. Admirable. Excellent. Praiseworthy. Put this slip in your pocket or billfold and when you get home, tape it to your bathroom mirror until December 30. I’m not kidding here, so don’t anyone give me any lip about it. If those who live with you give you any guff, tell them to come and see Reverend Haag, and she will straighten them out, because this is important stuff.

There is a little graphic floating out there in the internets, by a Rabbi Tarfon, from back in the middle of the first century, and it says this. “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the worlds grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

There is a huge amount of grief around us and not all of it is about a person’s physical death. There is a great deal of despair, which is life without hope. There’s a ton of sorrow that is not only about sadness. As we have received and heard from God, or seen in Christ, Paul, the most amazing Reverend Haag, and a plethora of others, we have the most honored and precious responsibility and charge to put truth, nobleness, right, purity, loveliness, admirable, excellence and praiseworthiness into action at last, beginning first with our own hearts and minds.

So shall we pray? Holy and Gentle God, we come to you this day, hopefully a little less weary than when we first came together. Even so, continue to give us the strength and zeal to be the little lights of joy and healing in this world. Empower us to present that which is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable and excellent and praiseworthy. Help those who haven’t experienced that peace that passes all understanding to find it in the coming weeks. Remind those who have experienced it that it is not dead, even should it feel that way. Thank you for all that you do to bring all of us to that place - at last - that we know home and wholeness and you. And all your people say, Amen.