I really didn’t like the delivery or the incoherence of this sermon, but anyway here is what it would have been (more or less) had it been delivered word perfect -

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Community through Love, and Love through Humility

Good morning.  We’re going to start today’s sermon a little differently.  We’re going to watch a scene from a movie, 300, which is about how 300 Greek soldiers turned away a much larger enemy which was trying to invade their city.

I apologise for all the bloodshed.  What you have just seen is a very violent movie with 300 men carrying spears and shields, and wearing very little else. 

You’ve also just seen the phalanx, a military formation used by the Greek and Roman armies at work.  In this formation, the soldiers stand should to shoulder, shields interlocked, to form a wall to protect each other against the enemy.  This wall would be impassable so long as every soldier stood firm in his position, even in the face of death, and if every soldier as one pushed together against the enemy. 

However, if someone chickened out, there would be a hole in the “wall”, and the enemy would be able to break through.  Also, most of the armies during these times were not professional armies, meaning that these were often not paid soldiers.  The “soldiers” in a phalanx could therefore be anyone and everyone from society – it did not matter whether you were rich or poor, a politician, a businessman, a farmer, or a teacher – if the city was under attack, everyone would take up a shield and stand side by side to defend their city.

By now you must be wondering what this has got to do with the message today.  So let’s turn our Bibles to Philippians 1 : 27 -

“… stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.”

Philippians is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in Philippi.  And in the passage we just read, Paul used the phalanx to illustrate a principle in spiritual life to his readers.

All of us have an individual relationship with God.  But Paul says that there is also a part of Christian life that is to be lived as part of a larger community.  And like the phalanx, the ideal community is one in which Christians, regardless of background, stand together in one spirit, striving together as one, in which no one turns back because he is afraid or discouraged.

Here Paul is also putting into words our inner desires.  As humans we long be part of and loved by a community.  God did not create us to live alone, but as social beings.  In our successes, we don’t want to celebrate alone but with friends.  And when we struggle or when we are hurt, we appreciate friends who stand by our side, and walk with us and cry with us.  We need a community to watch out for us, encourage us, affirm us and advise us.

In Christian life as well as life outside the church, we desire to be part of a community.

The obstacle to community though, and that is our humanness.  Humans are by nature proud and selfish. We are proud because we like to compare and compete; we don’t like to associate with people who are different, or who we consider “lower class”.  We are selfish because we don’t like to share with others.  And so over time even the most perfect community will start to see pride and selfishness creep in, and people will start to feel resentful or unwanted.

So how can we build a community that lasts ?  Secular organizations have attempted to get around our humanness is several ways.

North Korea, a communist country, tries to build a community around a mythology.  It tells its people stories about the country and its leaders, hoping that the North Koreans will stick together based on a shared belief.  But the country lives in fear because it is built on lies.  In other places, leaders are afraid of going to war or a poor economy.  The leaders of North Korea are afraid that the leaflets with truthful information floated across the North-South Korea border – of all things – will instigate the North Koreans to defect.

Other organisations attempt to build community by creating rules which are strictly enforced, like in the military.  But that only creates a false sense of community, because people don’t like to follow rules.  So when the military authority is gone, discipline starts to fall apart.

Democracy is the other way that organisations try to create community.  The idea is to give everyone a chance to vote, to decide for themselves how the community should turn out.  However, this still can result in a divided community, because there will always be a minority who voted the other way, and who feel resentful and unhappy.

So how can we build a genuine and lasting community ?  Fortunately, Paul offers a fourth and more perfect solution in Philippians 2, which I will summarise in one phrase, as

“Community through love, love through humility”

Let’s turn our Bibles to Philippians 2 -

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!

I mentioned just now that because of the pride and selfishness in human nature, a community no matter how perfect will become divided over time.  And it was no different in the case of the church at Philippi.

The church at Philippi was the first church that Paul established in Europe.  Now being the first is something to be proud of – imagine if you had the honour of being the first group of Christians in Singapore or Asia !  Even then, things started to fall apart after the early years of excitement as a new church.  In other parts of Philippians, you read about believers who were quarreling with each other, believers who feel discouraged, and believers who went back to their previous way of life.

And Paul’s solution, which you just read in Philippians 2, is love.  Have the same love, he says.  But what is love – what does it mean to love?  Talk is easy.  You don’t need an expert tell you that the answer to a perfect marriage is love.  So what does it mean to love ?  Does it mean -

 Giving each other flowers ? 
 Giving each other hugs ? 
 Celebrating birthdays together ?

When Paul writes about love here he did not have in mind romantic love.  Philippians was written in Greek, and the love which Paul wrote about is known in Greek as “agape” love.  Agape love appears many times throughout the New Testament, and is used to describe the selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love that Jesus has for us.  But what I find surprising on reading Philippians 2 is that Paul says, agape love is expressed through humility.

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

What has love got to do with humility ?  When we think of love we usually think of giving something to someone that we love.  Or not doing something that would hurt someone that we love.  But to think of humility as a show of love is unusual. 

And what is humility ?  Paul says -

 Do nothing out of selfish ambition
 Do nothing out of pride (vain conceit)
 Value others above yourself
 Look out for the interests of others

So maybe from this I can draw up a checklist against my own life -

 I am not interested in doing anything in church, whether as a leader or otherwise (no ambition)
 I think that my singing is quite lousy, but I help with the backup vocals anyway (no pride)
 I think the worship leader today sounds a lot better than I do (value others above myself)
 I will save some leftovers for the worship leader (look out for the interests of others)

One of the changes that we see in Singapore recently are more “humble” political leaders and here, I clarify that I’m not referring to any political party.  So we see and read about leaders who, for a change, take the MRT and public transport and who eat at coffeeshops, when in the past you would rarely see them mingling with the man in the street.  All these are picked up by the media and you see pictures of these politicians in the news and on the Internet, with people commenting that the politicians are “waaah … so humble”. 

Sometimes I wonder if politicians have a “humility” checklist -

 Mon                          Take MRT
 Tues                         Eat at coffeeshop
 Wed                          Take bus
 Thu                           Use public toilet
 Fri                             Make my own coffee

So is humility a checklist of “to do” items?  When you read Philippians 2 carefully, it is more than that.  Paul calls it a mindset and more specifically, the mind of Jesus Christ.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus

Humility is not just about doing.  It is about a change of heart, a change of values, a change of mind.  And Paul tells us to imitate Christ in this regard.  But what does it mean to have the humility of Christ ?

6 Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!

Have you ever asked the question – why did Jesus have to become a human in order to point us to God?  He could have appeared as a supernatural being, maybe like an angel.  He could have spoken through a burning bush or thunder and lightning.  Even if He wanted to become human, He could have chosen to be born as a king or prince or at least into a rich family.

But the standard of humility that Jesus demonstrated was not a checklist-type, single-act-type, of humility.  It was not a I’ll-appear-through-a-burning-bush-on-Monday, I’ll-take-an-MRT-train-on-Tuesday, I’ll-speak-through-the-lightning-on-Wednesday, I’ll-inspect-the-public-toilets-on-Thursday, and I’ll-make-my-own-coffee-on-Friday type of humility.  It was not a I’ll-do-something-humble-today-and-go-back-to-heaven-tomorrow type of humility.

Rather, Jesus went all the way, and made himself nothing.  He chose to become totally human, born as a helpless baby into a simple family, experienced poverty, hunger, sickness, pain, rejection, suffering and finally death.  He chose to identify Himself with the full range of human experience, when He could have done something less drastic. 

The passage also tells us that Jesus also became a servant, and submitted Himself to death on the cross.  Mark 10 : 45 says that Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”.

By this, Jesus shows us that the humility in love, and the love that builds community, means standing by the people that you love, identifying with their struggles, and not turning your back on them.  Jesus also demonstrated that humility results in service to one another, and a willingness to give up even our lives in that service. 

Wow, tall order.  What does this mean in practical terms ?

In this lifetime, we as a church will not be able to solve every problem.  We may not have the money to help every bankrupt person, we can pray for but will not be able to cure every disease, we certainly cannot stop people from dying or resurrect every dead person, and we cannot intervene in matters beyond our control, such as a boss’ decision on whether to promote you. 

In the same way, in His earthly lifetime, Jesus did not rescue every bankrupt person, heal every sick person, feed every hungry person, resurrect every dead person, or otherwise intervene in the personal life of every person.  But what Jesus offered was fellowship and compassion – He walked with the poor, the hungry and the hurt, crying with the people who were sad, identifying with their pain.

And that is what we too, can do as Christians.  We humble ourselves by offering our fellowship, empathy and time to others who are struggling or hurting.  We encourage each other through our service, whether by sharing a testimony or a song up here, or one to one, or through other acts of love.

I have to confess that I have mixed feelings whenever I am asked to share or teach, whether up here in the pulpit, or in Sunday school, or in small groups at my workplace. 

After a long and difficult day or week at work, what I long for is to chill, switch off the brain, read about some scandal in the news – there’s a lot recently - type some rubbish into my Facebook, go to bed, and – because I am quite vain and want to stay slim – wake up for an early morning run.  The last thing I want to do is disrupt this routine, by having to listen to someone else’s problems – I have enough of my own – or to plan for Sunday School class or a sermon. 

One of my friends recently joked to me – “life is too short to be deep”.  Which perfectly sums up what I want to do – I want to live for myself, I don’t want to be deep and have to care about other people. 

However, the love of Jesus Christ compels us to do otherwise, such that we no longer live just for ourselves, but for the community of believers and of the people around us.

Finally, you should also know that the radical love and humility that is inspired by Christ, which comes from a changed heart and mind, is not confined to the church.  You can’t be this wonderful, loving, humble person in church, but a monster at home or in your office.  There will be a noticeable change in how you relate to people at all times, and they will be attracted to the life that you lead in God.  In Philippians 2 : 15, Paul tells the church that they can “shine like stars in the universe” for God.

God will also honour your love and humility.  In the case of Jesus, Paul writes in Philippians 2 that -

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

James 4:6 says that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”.  Just as Jesus is glorified for His love and humility, God will honour your love and humility, so press on.

“Community through love, love through humility”

Today we started with a bit of conventional wisdom, which is “begin with the end in mind”.  What is the end which we want ?  We want to build a community.  To begin with the end in mind, means to know our purpose – community – and focus all our efforts towards the goal.

We want community so we will love
We want to love so we will be humble

There is nothing wrong with this conventional wisdom, but in closing I want us to look at things unconventionally, in reverse order. 

I believe that a lot of the things that we want to do or change, whether it is in our personal life, in our community of believers, or even in the workplace or Government, are superficial if there is no change of heart.  And when we follow conventional wisdom and begin with the end in mind, we tend to focus on the external – what new procedures and processes can we put in, to reach our goal?

But today we understand from Paul that a genuine love and humility that transforms communities, comes from a transformation of the heart and mind, so that we will have the heart and mind of Jesus.  That is why 1 John 4 : 19 says that “we love, because He [ Jesus ] first loved us”.

So when you go home, hopefully with a renewed desire to build community, as you start to draw up a checklist of things “to do”, put at the top of your checklist, a desire to understand the depth and breadth of Jesus’ love and humility.  We will be able to love as Jesus did, and establish the ideal community, only when we understand how much He loved and humbled Himself for us.