In search of a faith-full life…

September 27, 2026 Scriptures: Philippians 2:1-13

If one were to pull the teachings of Jesus straight from the gospels, they would find that they portray our faith as both radical and active. As a way of life and a pattern for living that calls for its adherents to lay down their lives in pursuit of a more just, more compassionate, and more loving way to treat and relate to all of our brothers and sisters. A way of conducting one’s life which, if ever truly lived out, would surely give many who are currently in power and authority pause and deep concern. And that is simply because ‘radical loving’ or radically following the teachings of this man from Nazareth, is fully opposed to the ways of the world, fully contrary to ways of living and being that are more often grounded in comfort, wealth, or power. So, one may ask…if it is so easy to see all that is wrong in the world today, why is it so hard to feel like you can make any kind of significant difference? What can one person really do in light of this seeming disconnect between the words of Jesus, and how so many Christians actually practice their faith? Well, I think a good place to start is to actually read closely all of the instructions that are laced all throughout the gospels, as well as often in the writings of the Apostle Paul. In doing so we will find what it truly means to be radically in love with our God, to be fully trusting, fully at peace, and fully equipped to carry forth the message, that love, and not the ways of the world, are where we need to be, where we need to go, and where we need to encourage others to go along with us. Because our God is calling us all to another, better place. Our God is calling us to a place of peaceful coexistence around a common table, so that the future of all humanity might be secured and enriched beyond measure. Today’s scripture passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippians tells us that there is another way…there is a better way for us all to live together…a way that leads to the fulfillment of what we profess is God’s will and desire. A way that truly offers the possibility of living into that ‘Kingdom among us’ of which Jesus spoke. Paul starts out by calling us to a place of visible unity. Not to a faith that is kept to one’s self, not solely to an individual relationship with God, but rather an upfront, out there, visible witness of the faith we profess. He says 2 we are to be of one mind and of one heart…to have one love, to have one purpose. He says that in all humility, we are to regard others as better than ourselves. He follows that by telling us that each of us must look out, not solely for our own, or for those of our own little group, but for the interests and needs of others within the community. In short, Paul starts out pretty much commanding us to have a very visible faith in close imitation of the love and servant lifestyle of our Lord Jesus. He says we are to be humble followers of our Lord and not to be conceited or proud…that we, like Jesus, are to fully empty ourselves in the pursuit of being a servant unto others…much as he was…and more so, to be obedient to a lifestyle of self-giving and compassion, even unto the point of suffering or persecution…always trusting in the grace of our God to sustain and deliver us. As true followers of the faith we are called to walk in compassionate witness even into places of darkness or despair, trusting fully in the Lord’s guidance and protection there. Implying that unless and until someone chooses to fully and truly walk the same path Jesus called us to walk, that the salvation of all humanity simply cannot come to be. Someone needs to believe…someone needs to follow the gospel call wherever it may lead, if 3 peace is ever to have a chance. And it is not hard to imagine that the human ‘story’ itself may not last long, if it only ever recounts tales of greater strength and power…if our story, our common history only ever speaks of faiths and factions bitterly warring against each other…if we fail finally to find a just and holy way to live peaceably together. Thankfully, there is another word of hope and promise offered at the end of today’s passage. A word actually that echoes the discussion we had this past Thursday night at bible study. And that is the truth that faith is first of all a choice…perhaps only a whispered or timid one, but it is a choice. After which the Lord takes up the pursuit, enabling that ‘yes’, or even ‘maybe’ to become a steady journey towards a deeper and deeper relationship with our Lord. A relationship that finds and gains strength and conviction through practice, yielding increasingly clearer vision, until we know, that we know, that we know…that God is real, that God is near, and that God’s amazing and unconditional love is there for all humanity…yes, all of humanity! For here, at the end of today’s passage Paul makes the astounding claim that not only are we called to be 4 makers of peace as well as pursuers of justice and grace, but that this calling is one which we enter into as partners with our Lord. It is not something we answer blindly or alone…it is not a journey we must first somehow discern, and then travel all by ourselves. Rather, it is a call that requires only our initial willingness, in order for God’s will to begin to find fulfillment in and through our lives and our actions. Amazingly, Paul also tells us that, ‘it is God who is at work within you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.’ It is God, Paul says, who is already at work within you, making you able not only to do the work that pleases God…but also somehow making you want to do it…somehow making God’s will the most important thing of all for you…somehow aligning the desires of our own heart with those of our God…making it so that what we want the most, is the same as what our Lord desires from us. Isn’t this a most incredible promise! Paul is saying that God so wants us to know how to live into his hopes and dreams, that the Spirit within us is waiting only on us wanting to do so. God’s Spirit is at work, seeking to guide our hearts into a place of unison with the heart and mind 5 of God…working to fashion us into the handiwork of grace by which, and for which we were originally created. So Paul leads us to see that faith itself, is something we must want…it is something we need to seek out. It is a way of living we choose to follow in order to respond to that call to love that is already deep within our soul. And the ‘best’ of news, is that it is not something we have to do all on our own…rather, it is something we join in with as a willing participant in this greatest of adventures…literally requiring only a willingness to let the Spirit have a voice that loud enough, or clear enough within us, to allow us to hear it over the usual noise and busy-ness of daily life. Our willingness once offered and set in motion allows us to follow the Spirit into each new day…and to become the grace of God to all we meet. In the end, faith is not just something we have, although it fully is that…but rather it is something which enables us to walk throughout the world as vital and necessary messengers of God’s love…it is something that we do. As hands, that reach out to hold and to comfort…as ears, that truly listen and hear the cries and call of those oppressed and abused…as eyes, that see through to the truth or the falsehood behind hurtful 6 words…and, as a voice, that calls for an unflagging commitment to peace and justice for all God’s people, resting not until righteous change begins to occur through the work and impulses of the Spirit of God. There is one true God…and one table to which all of humanity is called…let us then fully surrender our hearts and minds over to the Holy Spirit, to the one who stands ready to make us both ‘faith-full’, and ‘faith-filled’. For it is then that we will come to know, that we know just who it is that is at work within us, ‘both to work and to will for God’s good pleasure’! …amen 7