Sermon Title: There is a time for righteous
discontent
Sermon Text: Philippians 4:1-13
Sermon Date:
The Apostle Paul has surely been the
most influential figure of first century Christianity. And he has been a divisive figure evoking both
deep loyalty and fierce opposition.
(Keck, p. 3)
You see we are comforted and challenged
by his words and yet he has made statements that are hard for some of us to
live with. He is also blamed for things
he probably didn’t say.
You probably know this but Paul
didn’t write all of the letters that have been attributed to him. In Leander Keck’s book, “Paul and his
letters” he says that is vast agreement that Paul wrote Romans, 1 and 2
Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. This means that those words in 1st
Timothy about women not teaching men were likely written by a follower of Paul’s
but not by Paul himself. That doesn’t
seem to make a difference in many churches which is a sermon for another day.
Paul’s writings were important to
the people of his day. Think of them
like a sermon or a pastoral letter being sent to you, the congregation. I encourage you to read all of Philippians so
that what we speak of today will have a better context for you. As a matter of fact, that is why I put the
upcoming sermon texts in the bulletins most weeks. This allows you to prepare for worship by
reading ahead. Preparing for worship is
the responsibility of each of us in church today.
The main theme of his letter to them
is about being persistent in their faith in the face of opposition and even in
the threat of death. He offers himself
as an example of one who though imprisoned and facing death himself, he has
found steadfast courage and even joy.
So let us hear part of the words
written by Paul to the Philippians but first hear the words of Rev. Dr. Barbara
Brown Taylor, considered to be one of the 12 most effective preachers in the
U.S.: “In order for something worthwhile
to happen, the words need generous hearers – people who would consent to stop
guarding their hearts for a moment or two – just enough to let a little of
their lives rise up to meet the words in the air.” (Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown
Taylor’s sermon at the Washington National Cathedral,
Philippians
4:10 -- I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your
concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to
show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I
know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty
or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength. In any case, it was kind of you to share my
distress.
Paul was sharing with them his
appreciation for the way they had remembered him during his imprisonment – a
thank you note, but he was also letting them know that he could survive either
way…because of Jesus.
On August 19 this chapter was
the scripture basis of the prayer retreat.
Since then I’ve been reading Philippians almost daily- just those four
chapters packs a lot.
When I open my New Oxford Annotated Revised
Standard Bible which I’ve used since seminary I find quite a few verses
underlined.
The words “remain and continue” pop
up a lot.
1.27: Only, live your life in a manner worthy of
the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent and hear
about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side
by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.”
2.12: “work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you to will and to work
for his good pleasure.”
3.13-14: “this is one thing I do -- forgetting what
lies behind and straining forward to the goal for the prize of the heavenly
call of God in Christ Jesus.”
4.6:
“Do not worry about anything, 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 minds in Christ Jesus.”
Paul expresses his passion in this
epistle. And he has reason to – he
believes that Jesus is coming back soon, very soon, perhaps tomorrow or the
next day. He is concerned for those
around him. If Jesus comes and they
don’t know, haven’t accepted him as their personal savior, they will be left
behind. He is doing all he can to spread
the news, even from his prison cell. He
wants the people of
In essence Paul is making two points
in these short few words.
Point
One: Paul encourages us to be content
with our lives.
Paul is telling his friends that
even from a prison cell, awaiting trail, he is at peace with his God and his
savior Jesus Christ. Their good wishes
and gifts made his life better and he appreciated them, but he also wanted them
to know that he would have been okay without them.
Think of birthdays. When we were children, not getting a present
would have devastated us. Now we are
content with a card or a phone call.
Presents are just not as necessary as they once were. Paul was happy to be remembered, and the rest
was gravy.
If Paul were writing to us today, he
might have much more to say about contentment.
We live in a world where we have 80 television stations on cable and
complain there is nothing to watch. We
have remote controls that allow us to watch numerous shows, basically at the
same time.
We go into groceries where we can
choose from 20 different cheeses, 18 different kinds of olives and meats, 15
different salads and that is just in the deli section. There is seldom one choice on an item. You can buy whole milk, 2% milk, 1% milk, ½%
milk, nonfat milk, buttermilk, soy milk and I’m sure I’ve forgotten another
kind. We have trouble choosing among the
choices we have. And still we are not
content.
We can choose from different housing
opportunities, job and education options, restaurant choices, where to buy
clothing or cell phones or cars. Think
of all the options and opportunities that surround us. And it seems that with more opportunities we
become a more discontented society.
Paul would want us to work on
that. To find contentment in Jesus
first, and then find contentment in our lives that would please Jesus.
Perhaps we should start looking at
our lives in categories of needs, wants, and wishes. We need a roof over our heads, food to eat,
transportation, an income and clothing.
A need is a place to live is something big enough to meet our family’s
needs, so for myself a studio apartment could meet the need category. A want is my nice two bedroom apartment
overlooking the woods where I live. A
wish would be the log cabin on
A need in transportation could be a
good pair of shoes or bus tokens. A want
could be a car. A wish could be a
Jaguar. Anyway you get the message.
If you are having trouble figuring
out your own contentment level, think about your needs, wants and wishes. And if you are longing to live mostly in the
wishes category, perhaps you could rethink your priorities and be more open to
giving to others instead of yourself.
Being a generous giver would definitely increase your contentment level.
Which brings us to point two.
Point
Two: I
think from what I know and have read about Paul he wants us to know when to be
content and when contentment is not of Jesus.
Next week we will acknowledge the 5th
anniversary of a terrible day in nation’s history – 9/11. We will never forget that day. Our lives were changed drastically by the
events, although church researcher George Barna says it made no lasting impact
on people’s faith. The horror faded and
we went back to our normal everyday lives.
But I would argue that while church
attendance didn’t benefit, people were changed and many more people have
understood the term “righteous discontent.”
Without
“righteous discontent” the treatment of the poor in
Without “righteous discontent” we
might have ignored the horrific loss of life after the tsunami or earthquakes
in foreign countries.
When you think about history,
without “righteous discontent” women might have never received the right to
vote.
Without
“righteous discontent” people will continue to live without even minimal
health care and coverage. The minimum
wage will not be raised even though all the other expenses of living have. Stem cell research will be stifled. And the list goes on.
I want to leave you with food for
thought. What “righteous discontent” has
God laid on your heart? On our hearts as
a congregation? If you can’t find a
piece of righteous discontent in your heart, look for it. It is there, I promise you. For you as an individual and for us as a community
of faith in Jesus Christ.
What changes can we affect as people
of God? Seriously…pray about this. Ask God what you need to be doing. Ask God what we need to be doing for the
people of
Let me close with the first
Philippians’ passage underlined in my bible.
1.6: “I am confident of this, that the one who
began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus
Christ.”
The God who breathed life into us has great
expectations of us and knows we can do it.