Lent

April 2, 2020

Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death—
   even death on a cross. –Philippians 2:5-8

What was in Christ’s mind? According to this poem/hymn, Christ recognized that he was made in the form of God but was not equal to God. Perhaps that relates specifically to his tenure as a human. For Jesus to be fully human and thus completely understanding of how humans think and feel, it was imperative that God Incarnate must experience full humanness. Did that require him to give up special powers? Yet he healed the sick and raised the dead. Have we reached for knowledge and wisdom to follow in his footsteps? We have come a long way, but we are not finished yet. Jesus was cautious. He did not use his gifts for selfish gain or personal aggrandizement. Are we to follow that model also?

What does it mean to empty oneself? Are we to purge ourselves of all things that made us who we are and start over again? Jesus talked about being born again. I doubt that we could ever shed our histories. Some may be embedded in our DNA. We do need to work at ridding ourselves of all the baggage that we carry that is holding us back from being the person we are created to be. Finally, if called, could we be obedient to the point of death? As I write this, I cannot help but think of all the health care workers who are striving to save people from the covid 19 virus, many of whom have already given their lives in service to others.

 According to Genesis we are all made in the image of God and none of us are equal to God, but we have been blessed to be siblings with his Son Jesus Christ and invited by him to share in forming a Kingdom ruled by love. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? We are each fully capable of loving ourselves and one another. We have no excuse for hating anyone or disparaging anyone or classifying ourselves as better than anyone. And most of us have probably only tapped the tip of the resources God placed in each of us at our beginning. In times like these we need to persevere, testing the limits of God’s gift to love and apply it as needed even if it simply means sheltering at home.

Prayer: Lord of Love, thank you for the gift of your Son to model the ways of love. Strengthen us as we face the challenges of life and help us grow in oneness and justice as we deal with this crisis.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.