Philippians 1:9-11 * December 6, 2009 * Advent 2 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today clearly belongs to John the Baptist. Two of our three readings are centered on him (the Old Testament and the Gospel) and both hymns we’ve sung thus far mention him. The Gospel reading for next week will also revolve around his work.

This is how it should be. John the Baptist is the premier and preeminent Advent figure. He is the one chosen by God to introduce the coming Savior to the world, and he is the one who was to prepare the hearts of the people to meet their Lord. To go throughout the Advent season without thinking about him or singing “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” would be the same as going through our Christmas services without thinking about Jesus or singing Joy to the World.

John’s appearance during Advent is both welcome and predictable, and we are indeed going to talk about him. But we’re going to wait until next week.

We know that Advent is a period of preparation and anticipation to meet Jesus both in His first coming as the Babe of Bethlehem as well as in His second coming as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our Gospel lesson reminds us that this four week period of Advent is also a season of personal reflection and repentance.

Today, however, we’re going to consider another aspect of Advent. In the words we have before us we’ll see that in addition to being a special time of preparation and anticipation and reflection and repentance,

ADVENT IS ALSO A SPECIAL TIME OF PRAYER

As we work our way through this text the Apostle Paul will give us specific instructions on what it is we should be praying for these days.

Some of you probably know that Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians while he was in prison. Along with Ephesians, Colossians and a very short letter to Philemon, Bible scholars refer to these four as his prison epistles.

You might expect that given the circumstances these letters would be tinged with at least a little sense of foreboding, but they’re not. In fact, the tone – especially in the letter to the Philippians – is positive and upbeat and confident that because we have Christ in our lives everything will eventually turn out just fine.

Paul begins this letter by praising God for the faith He has created in the hearts of these Philippian Christians and thanking them for their commitment to the cause of Christ.

Then he says: ⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

This is a beautiful and heartfelt prayer. It is worthy of our contemplation and, like all of Scripture, has been given to us by God for our instruction. What Paul prays will be increasingly developed within the 1^st Century Philippians is what we as 21^st Century Christians can also pray to be increasingly developed within ourselves.

While there are a number of ways we could approach this passage, we will divide Paul’s prayer into three petitions. If the question is personalized, what should we be praying for this Advent?, here is Paul’s answer:

#1: That our love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.

#2: That we may be able to discern what is best so that we remain pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

#3: That we may be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

And that all of this may be done to the glory and praise of God.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these petitions. There is a sermon in each one of them, so we’re only going to hit some highlights.

Petition #1: Let us pray that our love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.

In grammatical terms, love is a verb in need of a direct object. Who or what is to be the object of our love? In the Gospels Jesus tells us we are to love God and, as a logical outgrowth of that, to love our neighbor. When asked the question who is our neighbor, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. In broad strokes our neighbor is our fellow man.

Is loving God difficult? Some people I’ve talked to say so. They say “how can you love a God who allows pain or seems to turn a blind eye to injustice?” But such people aren’t talking about the God of the Bible. They’re talking about a phantom God based on what they think God should be.

But God is not defined by human expectations or subject to human construction. God is defined at the cross. There we find divine knowledge and depth of insight. In Jesus Christ and the message that our sins are forgiven through His life and death as our substitute and sacrifice we find not only redemption but the ultimate act of unvarnished and unrelenting love. He died so we might live for all eternity. He lives so we will never be alone on this earth. And it’s not hard to love a God like that.

As far as loving our fellow man, there is much we could say. At the base is the fact that we love others because God loved us first and asks us to reflect His love. But perhaps what may be most helpful is to remember the vast difference between the world’s and God’s definition of love.

The world defines love as purely an emotion or feeling. In contrast –and as has often been said – Christian love is not first and foremost something we feel, rather it is something we do. First Corinthians 13 tells us love is patient…kind… not rude… not easily angered, etc. Those are things we do and extend toward one another.

On Maundy Thursday Jesus told His disciples that people would know they were His followers by the way in which they loved each other. Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is the same: that they may abound more and more in an active love formed by a growing understanding and knowledge of what Christ did for them. That’s our prayer as well.

Petition #2: Let us pray that we may be able to discern what is best so that we may remain pure and blameless until the day of Christ

The original language Paul wrote in is interesting here. In Greek the three words translated “what is best” literally means “something which makes a difference.” (Sidebar: It’s the same root word from which we get the word “adiaphora.” Some of you may be familiar with that term. “Adiaphora” are things which God does not speak about in His Word so in that sense “don’t make a difference.”)

On the other hand, Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is that they are able to determine the things that do make a difference. That is, the things which are in line with God’s Word. “What is best” is always going to be in conformity with God’s will.

Do we always do what is “best?” Well, (we’re thinking to ourselves) we try. But where should I turn for reliable counsel, and how do I know what is best? The Apostle Paul helps us with that in a beautiful passage from Romans 12. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Paul’s counsel to us is to develop what we might simply call “a Christian mind.” This we do through contact and familiarity with God’s Word. That’s why Bible Class is important. That’s why personal Bible reading is important. Slowly, surely, gradually is the way of spiritual growth. There are no crash courses for Christian discipleship. It is a life long pursuit.

We just talked about this in 7^th and 8^th grade catechism class. We talked about how our faith – and we could add our spiritual knowledge – is like a muscle. Muscles don’t grow by telling them to grow. You can talk to your biceps and tell them to get bigger until you’re blue in the face, but nothing will happen. Muscles grow and get stronger through exercise, maybe even with the help of a personal trainer.

So it is spiritually. Think of the Bible as being our gym and the Holy Spirit as our personal trainer. As we spend time in the Word we get spiritually stronger and more developed. The end result is that a more and more sharply defined Christian mind emerges – and we are increasingly able to “discern what is best.”

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is that they remain spiritually strong up until Jesus comes to take them home. That is our prayer as well.

Final petition: Let us pray that we may filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

Here Paul is praying for the Philippians life of sanctification: that is, the grateful and evident life of discipleship that comes as a result of thanksgiving to God for what He has done for us in Jesus.

What is important to note is that the righteous life God would have His children live can only be accomplished with and through Jesus Christ. Recall Jesus words in John 15: “I am the vine you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Our connection to Christ through Word and sacrament will result in a life that is not only personally satisfying and spiritually enriching, but noticeable to a watching world.

Paul isn’t praying that the Philippians will be showy or ostentatious in their Christian life, as if discipleship is a performance; rather he prays that they will remain devoted to their Lord. When they do, the world will know that they are His.

How? By the way they talk. By the way they deal with adversity. By the way they treat each other. By their quiet acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. By the way they conduct themselves and go about their business, even when no one is watching.

Paul’s prayer is that the Philippians increasingly be who they are as Children of God and disciples of Christ. That is our prayer as well. And all to the glory and praise of God.

So what should we pray for the remainder of this Advent season? Here is Paul’s advice:

#1: That our love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.

#2: That we may be able to discern what is best so that we remain pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

#3: That we may be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

All to the glory and praise of God. On reflection, not only is this a good prayer for Advent, but for every day of our lives. God grant it. Amen.