Philippians 1:21-30
“Out of Sight Together”
September 20, 2020
Sometimes hope is all you have. That was surely the case for LaShenda Williams who, for 10 months was homeless and lived out of her car. She often parked overnight in the East Nashville Kroger grocery store parking lot. She would sometimes wander the supermarket just to warm up. When she would be cold and hungry trying to sleep in her car, she would pray, “Lord, feed me.”
LaShenda would often ask the Kroger manager if there were any openings and one day, she was invited to a job fair and the manager spent a lot of time helping LaShenda fill out the on-line job application. She was hired that day and both her life and the life of her co-workers and customers were changed. She brought an energy and sense of hopefulness that revived the morale of all of those who came into contact with her, so much so that her fellow Kroger workers and others who heard her story put out the word that LaShenda had finally secured an apartment and within a day, donations of everything she would need to live in her new home started appearing after almost a year of living in her car. LaShenda knows that her faith in God helped her. In her words, “There were days I didn’t have anything to eat, but God made me make it through.”
Paul knows something about finding a way out of no way. Here he is writing to the church in Philippi from prison as he waits for his trial for the work he’s been doing as a Christian missionary. In Acts, Luke points out that Paul was opposed by businessmen in Philippi who were mad that his mission was messing with their profits. And yet, he is filled with hope and joy. This letter is the happiest of Paul’s letters and the faithful Philippians were said to be his favorite congregation. Paul speaks not of his own suffering but of the power of the gospel message of Jesus.
Paul was definitely a person easily able to generate controversy and get both enemies and fellow Christians riled up. He was willing to make waves in order to get folks to hear the gospel. When we think of those who have ever brought change to people throughout history, it was rarely done quietly. Those leaders who changed our world – women seeking the vote, civil rights activists, those advocating for help in combating AIDS or seeking rights for folks with disabilities – these were not shrinking violets. They often alienated as many as they were able to count as allies.
So, too, Paul recognizes that it is not his own suffering that is at stake but rather something bigger than himself. He knows that he could die from speaking the gospel. And so he prays not to be kept free of sickness, sorrow and death but rather he prays for the courage to endure these hardships. Throughout his imprisonment and torture, Paul has hope.
He recognized that people start dying when they lose hope. We each must have something to live for. God is on the side of our living. What is it we hope for? What is it we live for?
The Gospel or Good News is not that we will have a life free of suffering. Instead we are instructed to find hope and possibilities in those dark moments of our lives. We find hope and meaning when we look beyond ourselves. What can we as church be doing that looks beyond ourselves during this dark moment in history? Who needs to be offered the hope we know comes from the faith we have in the God of us all? Such hope is what changes the world, one life at a time.
Rabbi Hugo Gryn shared his experiences as a child held in Auschwitz. There was very little to eat in the concentration camp and the prisoners took great care with every morsel they could scrounge up. When it was time for the Festival of Hanukkah, Hugo’s father took a lump of margarine, and with a horrified Hugo looking on, used it as fuel for the light to be lit at the festival. When Hugo asked why, his father answered, “We know that it is possible to live for three weeks without food, but without hope it is impossible to live properly for three minutes.” (The New Interpreter’s Bible, 493)
May ours be a life of hope and let us live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Amen.