September 21, 2008 at Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK
Isaiah 55: 6-9 + Psalm 145 + Philippians 1:20-24,27 + Matthew 20:1-16
It is a dark day in the life of Paul. He is in prison. He will be tried,
and there is every possibility that he will face execution. From that prison under these circumstances, he writes to his most beloved community of friends at Philippi, and we are privileged to hear what he writes on a few Sundays this month and are led into a profound reflection on the meaning of and the hope we have by our relationship with Christ Jesus.
The Philippians have sent him a gift of money to ease his suffering in confinement. He writes to thank them, and then turns the tables, so to speak by comforting the ones who wanted to do the comforting. Their fear for him is challenged by his joy, and their anxiety is challenged by his faith. The message here is addressed to anyone who has any fear or anxiety about death. Paul sees the possibility of his death as a portal to a deeper union with Christ. He understood dying as the beginning of a new way of living.
It is not as though Paul hates this life and longs for the next. On the contrary, what we feel in his writing is a tension between the two which have noble and worthy ends. He could remain and carry on his mission and work in which he finds meaning and happiness, or he could be with the Christ for whom he longs. This tension becomes a marker by which we all might well measure the development of our faith. It might be something to examine in our selves without the pressure of a serious medical problem or advancing age. In fact, those challenges to this life might be easier if we have already come to the point to which Paul has come. By his own admission, Paul was not sure whether he preferred to go on living or to die and be with Christ. Living meant more work, more preaching and more confrontations with those who opposed his efforts and rejected his message. Dying was a plus all the way around; “for me,” Paul said, “death is gain.” What he shows us is how to arrive at that point of faith,and then be content to do as God sees fit.
All of us who follow Christ as did Paul have our feet in both worlds;
the already and the not yet. We have already a sense of God’s presence and love,but have not yet realized and seized it entirely. There is so much to keep us focused on this life: our families, our children, our careers, our hopes and expectations! Getting rid of the dread of death and jumping with both feet into a faith-filled loving relationship with God means that first of all we have to embrace what the prophet Isaiah said to us today: God’s ways are not our ways. God sees how things will end up, and as God said at creation, “It is good.” And then we must immerse our selves into God’s merciful love. That is the generous mercy we have just heard of in the Gospel. Without that kind of mercy and generous love, we have no hope of survival. Whether we believe it or not, we are the ones who have come late and last. Out best hope is that a generous God
will receive us with the same welcome as those who have done more and done better and served longer.
I think sometimes we are more afraid of faith than we are of death. We are afraid of what faith may ask of us or where it may lead us.
It seems safer to keep God at a distance. Faith will challenge our lifestyles; it may cost us a relationship, some pleasure, and may make us more religious. But without it, we will never know the depth of the fullness of life and love in Christ unless we take the plunge with both feet. Living this life to the fullest like Paul is what makes it possible to face the next life with Joy rather than fear.