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Philippians 3:17-4:1
Lent 2C
We generally think of citizenship as, for instance, American, Canadian or whichever geographic country we call “home”. That citizenship not only identifies us but also shapes at least some of our attitudes and behavior. The Epistolary Lesson the RCL appoints for this Sunday, however, is not about national, but heavenly citizenship. That citizenship too, writes…
Philippians 4:4-7
Advent 3C
The Bible is full of commands to “Rejoice.” Yet they’re not always calls to God’s people to just “be happy.” After all, the Scriptures’ calls to rejoice sometimes seem to come in the context of the least happy times and places. For example, the Paul who writes the Epistolary Lesson the Lectionary assigns for this…
Philippians 1:3-11
Advent 2C
This second Sunday of the month of December seems like an appropriate time to explore Philippians 1:3-11. Its theme of thanksgiving is, after all, consistent with the Thanksgiving holiday that Americans recently celebrated. What’s more, this Sunday is also near the beginning of the Advent season in which we look forward to “the day of…
Philippians 2:5-11
Lent 6B
Has such lofty theology ever been put to greater pastoral use on the ground level of life? Whether or not these verses in Philippians 2 represent Paul’s citation of an early Christian song, the fact is that these verses represent a very high Christology. What’s more, an entire sub-branch of Christology, Kenosis Christology, got launched…
Philippians 4:1-9
Proper 23A
I imagine they blushed a fairly deep shade of magenta. I imagine them sitting there as part of the Sunday worship service, surrounded by the rest of the congregation. On this particular Lord’s day, in addition to the usual components of the liturgy, they had the added special blessing of hearing a letter from their…
Philippians 3:4b-14
Proper 22A
What happens to your life after you encounter something so shocking, it both retrospectively and prospectively changes everything you ever knew or thought you knew? In some ways, Paul’s words in Philippians 3 are an extended answer to such a question. As Paul begins this third chapter, it quickly becomes apparent that like so many…
Philippians 2:1-13
Proper 21A
I have heard a certain story several times, each time involving different people so I have no idea if it ever really happened to anyone or not. But one version of it that I heard was from the old “Tonight Show” starring Johnny Carson. The famous singer Frank Sinatra was a guest and in the…
Philippians 1:21-30
Proper 20A
They say a death sentence has a way of focusing the mind, and certainly the Apostle Paul could attest to this. He is in prison as he writes to the Philippians and even though he just went out of his way to assure the Philippians both that he was doing fine and that even the…
Philippians 2:5-11
Palm Sunday A
“Shining Like Stars”: A sample sermon The story is told that one evening a man in a Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant bumped into no less than the famous Chrysler chairman, Lee Iacocca. “Oh, Mr. Iacocca,” the man exclaimed, “what an honor to meet you! Say, my name is Jack and I’m having a business dinner with…
Philippians 2:5-11
Palm Sunday C
The story is told that one evening a man in a Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant bumped into no less than the famous Chrysler chairman, Lee Iacocca. “Oh, Mr. Iacocca,” the man exclaimed, “what an honor to meet you! Say, my name is Jack and I’m having a business dinner with some colleagues over there at that…
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