Introduction
Today marks the start of our campaign, and from today we will be focusing intensively on the letter to the Philippians.
Many of you will have read Philippians before, but I still expect us to learn and recognise new things and also to recognise old things anew.
How was this letter written? Paul wrote it with Timothy in prison. The greeting is written by both of them, but otherwise it is written in the first person. Perhaps Paul also dictated it - we know this from the letter to the Romans, for example - and Timothy and he also discussed the content with the writer. Or they may have had one of their friends look over it again, as a kind of review. Maybe not, but I would do that. I already do this when I write an email about a difficult topic, perhaps also about a difficult person. Then I ask a colleague to have a quick look to see whether I'm expressing myself correctly, whether I'm getting across what I want to say and sometimes also whether I'm being polite enough.
And for such a letter, which is read out in front of the congregation and perhaps also passed on to other congregations, I would certainly have someone read it again.
And how was this letter actually read for the first time?
The congregation was called together and the letter was read out, probably in one piece.
I read a few verses out loud, timed them and calculated the time. It takes about 15 minutes to read the letter to the Philippians aloud.
There isn't that much now, the letter to the Romans would take at least four times as long.
This letter to the Philippians must have made a great impression on the church. Otherwise it would probably not have been preserved.
But what did the congregation do after the reading? Was it sacred, everyone was quiet, the organ started playing and everyone left the cathedral with their heads bowed? None of that existed back then, I know.
Or the Philippians listened silently and when in the fourth chapter the two women "Evodia" and "Syntyche" were asked to settle their differences of opinion, everyone turned to them and stared at them.
I don't believe that. This church was not as described in the letter; it dealt intensively with the letter.
They discussed: How can Paul write such comforting words from prison? He urges them to rejoice, but you can't rejoice when you're in prison.
Perhaps the church back then also had a Philippians campaign like we did in the weeks after the letter arrived. Those who could write made a copy and then they met in small groups back and forth in the houses and exchanged and discussed the letter.
And it wasn't like a literature circle, it was about practical life.
They read sentences such as "Treat each other as Christ showed you." Some people just can't do that, some say, and then you're in the middle of life.
Or another statement from the letter: "Christ is my life and death is my gain." Do you experience it that way, how do you get there? What is important in my life anyway?
That could have been what happened in the church in Philippi after they received the letter, couldn't it? That's what I would wish for our church.
And now let's take a look at the beginning of Philippians. Let's start with the greeting (Philippians 1, 1.2; NL):
Greeting
I have already mentioned that the letter is written in the first person, but Timothy obviously helped write it.
And it is addressed to all the believers in Philippi. Oh no, we're just stewing in our own juices again, aren't we? If we tell others that, they'll think we're unworldly.
All Christians today are afraid of this, afraid that others will think they are unworldly.
I also understand this fear, as I used to think this way myself. For example, when I took part in a church outing here in 1986, someone from the church who worked in the management of a computer company at the time was responsible for collecting the contribution towards expenses.
I wanted to pay with a euro cheque and, as a worldly student, asked this unworldly Christian if he knew how the euro cheque worked.
The Christian from management smiled and explained to me that he often deals with euro cheques. Of course he knew how it worked.
Everyone makes as good an ass of themselves as they can, I learnt again back then. That's a lesson in life that you can learn again and again.
Of course we are not unworldly. We have a job, or are looking for a job, or are in training or enjoying retirement just like others.
Christians are often even less worldly than "worldly people" because we deal with forgiveness and how it can help to repair relationships. By confessing our sins, we reflect more on our thoughts and actions. We often know exactly how the world works.
Of course, you have to look at it from an average perspective, there are of course also Christians who are completely free of pain. And there are also people who call themselves Christians and are completely free of pain.
But let's get back to the "unworldly". I see language as the main problem. Back then, Luther translated the Bible into normal spoken language. There was no Bible German. On the contrary, the Bible standardised the German language somewhat, so that people understood each other better thanks to the Luther Bible.
And that is how the letter to the Philippians should be. It is primarily written to the church in Philippi, but interested outsiders can of course also understand most of it and benefit from it.
But language must not be an obstacle. You know the hunter's language, which ordinary people hardly understand. In addition to its origins in the precise observation of nature, it also has its origins in the deliberate differentiation of the noble hunter from the common people.
We don't need a Christian language, German is enough. However, this has already become much better. Thirty years ago, the choice of words in church services was sometimes quite different. That's why, when I read Bible texts in public, I would only use a Bible translation that uses the correct sentence structure in today's German.
The greeting goes even further: "We wish you grace and peace from God.
That sounds unworldly, but it is elementary. "Grace" means that my sins are forgiven, they are gone, they will never be imputed anywhere again. And "peace" means that I am at peace with God - and therefore also with myself.
That's great.
Have I found the right words so that even those outside the congregation can understand? Or was that too pious a way of putting it? How would you put it?
If we don't manage to bring these great things that we have with Jesus into the world, into our environment, then we become strangers to this world in the wrong way.
Thanks and prayer
Let's go further in the text, we can't just talk about the greeting today (Philippians 1:3-11; NL):
The first sentence is already amazing: "Every time I think of you, I thank my God."
Your church is great, nothing else says that. Paul is grateful to God for this church in Philippi.
I also gave the first unit of our campaign this title: "The church is great!" Perhaps this headline is not precise enough, "The church" can also mean the whole world, but Paul wrote specifically to the Philippians: "Your church is great!" I think that would have been a slightly better heading today. Or "Our church is great!" if we look at it from our perspective.
How do we see our church personally? Have we ever approached work colleagues or neighbours with the words "Our church is great, why don't you come along to the service?"
Or would we have concerns if the person came along? Do the concerns perhaps depend on the preacher who is on that Sunday?
Perhaps we already think that our church is great, but this class is not really expressed in the service. The service is just not as full as it used to be.
But let's not stop at the church service.
We should be more concerned with Paul's attitude. "I always pray for you and do so with a glad heart," he writes here.
This fundamentally positive attitude impresses me here. We Germans tend to see both the positive and the negative and often emphasise the negative even more.
Certainly not everything was great in the church, as he later gives advice on what the Philippians should pay attention to, what they should change, etc., but basically he takes a positive view of the church.
And I would like to see the same attitude from all of us here. It's not about suppressing or covering up problems, of course we have to face up to them. And we also need to develop new strategies and a vision for the future.
But I think it's important that everyone who takes part thinks this church is great, loves it, has a heart for the church and that we walk together on this basis. Then differences of opinion are not such a problem, they are just an expression of different realisations and we can talk about them in peace and perhaps sometimes even wrestle with each other for the right result.
For, as it says in verse 5, we have been working together for the good news from day one. And that alone is the raison d'être for our church.
Another important point in this text is Paul's longing to see the church in Philippi again. The relationship is addressed here.
We live in a time when more and more people are satisfied with themselves, the keyword being "cocooning". This is a trend that I also see in myself, and it is reinforced by electronic communication via social networks.
Many a Christian watches a TV sermon on Sundays and is satisfied with that. Why go to church when you can get everything you need online?
Are we happy when we see each other?
Paul also prayed for this: "I pray that your love for one another may grow deeper and that it may increase in knowledge and understanding."
That is an important foundation for the church. Otherwise, at some point we will mutate into a word dissemination organisation that is more or less well managed, but we are no longer a church.
But God has begun his good work with us, with you and me personally and with our church, and I hope that it will continue.
You can get a bit scared when you realise that congregations in our association are also dying and being closed down. I took a look at the national association magazine and some congregations report on their situation. One congregation has an average age of 73, some others over 60. It's not like that here yet and hopefully it never will be.
Do we believe that God will continue to work with our church and do we pray for this?
Pressure to perform is of course also the wrong way to go. At the end of our section, it says that Jesus Christ produces the fruit that our lives and also our church bear.
He gives the will and the fulfilment. If we only ever push ourselves, it will wear us out in the long run.
Jesus must motivate and inspire us in a positive way. Let us also pray that we are open to his spirit, his vision and his work.
Summary
I'll come to the end:
- Paul did not write the letter alone; at least Timothy took part in it.
- The letter probably made a great impression on the congregation, so that it was preserved. Perhaps they also organised a kind of campaign after the letter and discussed it back and forth in their homes.
- Although the letter is first addressed to the church, those outside the church can also benefit from it. It is important that no special Christian language creates obstacles. And we don't need to be afraid that people will think we are unworldly.
- The greeting directly contains the wish for grace and peace for the addressees. That's great.
- And our community is great too. Let's have a fundamentally positive view of our community without suppressing the problems and challenges.
- Paul prays for the church with a joyful heart. That could be an example for us.
- And then he prays for the deepening of the relationship with one another. Because that is also what makes a church, otherwise we are just a club for spreading the word.
- And God has begun his good work in you and me and will bring it to fulfilment, and this also applies to our church. Let us allow Jesus to drive and inspire us in a positive way.