Palm Sunday

Preparation

    Please begin by reading Philippians 2:5-11 in your Bible. If you do not have one at hand, we have provided that text for you at the end of this reflection.

Reflection--Sacrificial, Self-Giving Love

   The center of our text today is an early Christian hymn which is believed to predate Paul. The hymn serves as a reminder of the sacrifice, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and ultimately universal confession of Christ, which is central to the events that will unfold on Easter Sunday.

    The hymn may be comprised of six stanza’s which tell the Christ drama from his preexistence to heavenly exaltation. The story begins with Christ “in the form of God” and concludes with his exaltation to God’s right hand.

    In reciting the hymn, we understand the drama which unfolds from Christ’s descent to earth where he becomes a human and ultimately experiences his humiliating death. After his death, God’s exaltation of Christ occurs through raising him from death where eventually there will be universal recognition of Christ and ultimately universal confession of Christ as Lord.

    In chapter 2 of this letter to the Philippians, Paul calls the people of Philippi to take on the mind of Christ in order that their activities are mutually supportive and in order to continue in sharing resources as they concentrate on movement toward the day of judgment.

    From the tone of his letter, it would appear that Paul had a premonition of his death and being aware that this congregation was experiencing internal struggles, and perhaps was on the verge of a split (sound familiar?), Paul was reminding them to “take on the mind of Christ.”

    Paul reminds them that to “take on the mind of Christ” requires that they love one another in such a manner that they are willing to put the other person first, even to the point of self sacrifice. Paul reminds them of the requirement to follow Christ in their actions toward one another by use of the early hymn of how Christ sacrificed himself, his self-emptying in order to save human-kind.

    Verse eight sets the tone as we enter Holy Week, it speaks of the mind of Christ and indicates the selfless, sacrificial obedience which brought Christ to his death on the cross.

    In his self emptying, Christ made himself nothing, he entered human form as a servant and sets the stage for his ultimate humiliation and crucifixion. His acceptance of death constitutes his full obedience and shows his sacrificial self giving love for all of humanity.

    But the hymn also shows an exalted Christ, one raised from death, and even though he was humbled, he ultimately became exalted. In the exalted status, he received the name Lord and is recognized as Lord by the whole cosmos.

    In this hymn Paul reminds us that there is only one way to enter the presence of God’s reign, and that is to follow the example set by Christ Jesus. The humility of Jesus, the self-emptying that allowed him to be obedient to the point of death, is the way to ultimate life.

    In taking on the mind of Christ, we also are called to understand that just as Christ experienced humiliation and death, we who call ourselves his disciples, cannot nor should we expect any better. While we may not be called upon to pay the ultimate price, we should not be surprised that we may experience misuse, abuse or other forms of humiliation in standing firm in our faith and following Christ.

    But regardless of what may befall us in our life, our faith calls us to be loving and self giving to others, and to lift up our brothers and sisters in the faith, just as Paul called upon the Philippians to do. For in unity is strength and in each one of us practicing self-giving is found love for the other, which makes it possible to remain firm in our faith journey.

    “This early Christian hymn confronts us with the dual focus of the Christ story – humiliation and death along with exaltation and life. As such, it should propel us toward Easter, but also remind us we must first walk through Good Friday. In so doing, we are once again reminded of the paradox of the Christian faith – exaltation through humiliation.”

Editor's Note: "Maw Barker," who chose that pen name because of her love for dogs, is the Rev. Gail S. Hicks, a Pastoral Assistant at MCC Washington. Thanks to Gail for sharing her thoughts with us during this holy season.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [NRSV]