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Message from Pastor Bill – June 2009
Rejoicing in the Midst of Droughts
Fans of the Chicago Cubs are models of persistent faithfulness, having suffered the longest dry spell between championships in modern sports history.
On October 14, 1908, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series by defeating the Detroit Tigers. The score was 2-0 in the fifth and final game of the series. This was their second World Championship win in a row. It was also their last.
For 100 years, the Cubs have been in a World Series drought. And yet, despite this long drought, Chicago fans remain faithful. They rejoice in the Cubs always. It's this same kind of persistent faithfulness that Paul is calling the Christians of Philippi to show when he writes, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near" (Philippians 4:4).
Notice that Paul says nothing about winning and losing, nothing about being champions of the faith. Instead, his focus is on rejoicing in the closeness of Jesus Christ, and on practicing the quality of gentleness—which in the Greek New Testament is a Christ-like characteristic that includes generosity toward others. Like long-suffering Cubs fans, the Philippians are not supposed to obsess over wins and losses. Instead, they are to find joy in being a fan of Jesus, while behaving in a Christ-like way.
Rejoice in the Lord. Always.
Paul goes on to say, "Do not worry about anything"—especially your failure to be World Champions! But "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (vv. 6-7). We Christians are to make our requests known to God, but to realize that God will not always give us what we want. Instead, he will give us what we need—give us what Paul calls "the peace of God," a total sense of well-being that comes from the Lord and links our hearts and minds to Jesus. That's a great gift, even when your team is losing and you are waiting for a hundred-year drought to end. It's a great gift when you are struggling in school, or feeling miserable at work, or failing at marriage, or dealing with deep anxiety and depression. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That's a promise, one that even the most despondent of Cubs fans can claim. The promise of peace.
Paul challenges us to place our focus on the peace of God, rather than on wins and losses. Too often we look at the church as though it were a baseball team—particularly in this season of serious discussions on pertinent issues that will affect the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in our forthcoming synodical and church wide assemblies—and we must not spend time and energy debating who's going to win and who's going to lose. We wonder: Who's in? Who's out? Who's on top? Who's on bottom? It's hard to resist this temptation, especially now in the midst of our economic recession. One thing we've lost in our highly polarized political climate is the idea that church can be a meeting ground—a community where people of diverse opinions and perspectives can gather, talk, debate and argue.
Church can be an excellent place for people to wrestle with difficult issues, share perspectives and learn from one another. But if such discussions are going to be fruitful, Christians have to ground their comments in shared religious values, and make a commitment to search for the truth in a spirit of gentleness. Paul knew that Christians are not always going to agree, which is why he urges Euodia and Syntyche "to be of the same mind in the Lord" (Philippians 4:2). It may not be possible for them to be of the same mind about tough political issues, but they can be of the same mind "in the Lord." Especially if they come together to rejoice in the Lord.
Our challenge St. Matthew, in this summer season, is to find joy in being a fan of Jesus, and to discover peace in the living of a Christ-like life. World Championships, presidential elections and other worldly prizes have no real significance for the Savior who emptied himself, humbled himself "and become obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross" (2:8). Any true victory is going to come from God, who raised Jesus from the dead and highly exalted him. Any lasting achievement is going to come from imitating the Christians who have gone before us, living in ways that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. As Paul says to the Philippians, and to us, "Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you" (4:9).
The God of peace will be with us, whether we win, lose or have to wait another hundred years for a World Championship. These kinds of triumphs, in sports or politics, really don't matter in the divine scheme of things.
Not if we rejoice in the Lord, always.
Peace and Power,
Pastor Bill
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