The Power Of Slavery
Sermon
Around the end of the nineteenth century, a book appeared on the
life on Jesus. Nothing surprising about that, you may think, but this was the
first time that anyone had written a life of Jesus outside the gospels. It was
like a starter's flag, for after that, numerous books were published on the
life of Jesus.
All the books were different, and it became apparent that they all reflected the author's own perception of Jesus. It also became apparent that each author's perception of Jesus very much mirrored himself and his own characteristics and philosophy.
It does often seem as though Jesus is made in our image. Perhaps we all tend to home in on those characteristics of Jesus that we personally value, and conveniently forget the rest. Thus the Victorians focused on "gentle Jesus, meek and mild", especially when teaching children, while those involved in Liberation Theology in Latin America recognise a revolutionary figure who overturned many of the accepted practices of his day.
Jesus has become somewhat chameleon-like, changing his colours according to whoever is expounding him. And that, of course, means that all of us inevitably distort pictures of Jesus and of God.
One such distortion is seeing Jesus only as a servant, and therefore in trying to follow him by becoming totally subservient and and allowing others to do exactly as they please, refusing to stand up to them even when it's clear they're doing something wrong. This is perhaps a particular temptation for those who feel more comfortable in a servant role than in a leadership role. In their attempts to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, they may embrace the servant role but refuse to move out of their comfort zone by taking on any responsibility for leadership or even for their own well-being.
Another distortion is pretending to serve, while actually wielding considerable power. This is perhaps a variation on those who prefer to be perpetual servants, for it seems to be followed by people who genuinely feel powerless but nonetheless want to get their own way, and who therefore often revert to manipulation to gain their own ends.
Jesus had immense power, and he wasn't afraid to use it. He had the power to heal, and much of his ministry was spent in healing. He had the power to teach, and he taught the people at every opportunity. But he also had immense personal authority, and he wasn't afraid to use that authority. So he rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday on a donkey, thus making sure he fulfilled the prophesy in Zechariah 9:9 which related to the promised Messiah. He also rode into Jerusalem from the Bethphage, so fulfilling another prophecy about the Messiah from Zechariah 14:4, which promised that the Lord would come from a hill east of Jerusalem (usually identified as being the Mount of Olives) to rescue Jerusalem from enemy nations.
Although to modern thought riding on a donkey might constitute the appearance of a servant, to the ancient mind there probably wasn't much sign of the servant in that Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. It was much more of an open challenge to the religious authorities (and even to the Romans) than an act of servanthood. And it was recognised as such by the people, for they all cheered him on waving palm branches, the national symbol of freedom.
Yet in the early Christian hymn which St. Paul quotes in today's reading from Philippians, the emphasis isn't on triumphal entries or on the authority of a Messiah, but is on servanthood or slavery. Although Jesus was divine - God within humanity - he never attempted to make capital out of that divinity. In St. Paul's words, Jesus didn't snatch at equality with God because he didn't regard equality with God as something to be exploited.
On the contrary, Jesus was very clearly God's servant. He was happy to be in such a subservient role to God that he was God's slave, obeying God without question even when that obedience led to his own death on a cross. But paradoxically, it was that very obedience that gave Jesus his immense power.
By being fully immersed in God, and God in him, Jesus' divinity became increasingly apparent, as John points out in his gospel by his "signs of glory". And those signs of glory are manifest by various miracles, like changing water into wine, and raising Lazarus from death after four days in the tomb. Miracles are evidence of God's power, which was so clearly and convincingly shown in Jesus.
The more we Christians are able to take on a genuine servant role by completely and totally obeying Jesus, the more we too experience God's power in our lives. Many Christians today have an unexpected experience of God which is unlike anything they've ever experienced before. Throughout the ages, there have been Christians who have described this experience as ecstasy, and it's accompanied by unexpected power.
Jesus promised his disciples that they would be able to do what he did, and from the accounts of the early Church in Acts, this promise was fulfilled. But it didn't stop in the first couple of centuries of Christianity; it has continued ever since. Those who obey and follow Jesus discover immense power which is manifest in different ways.
Some find that the power transforms their own personality so that they're able to do far more than they ever dreamed possible. Some have complete personality changes so that they move from being, for instance, violent criminals, to being warm, loving and gentle family people. Some receive gifts of healing. Some speak in tongues, or receive the gift of prophecy. For some the power is less dramatic, but is there nonetheless and is manifest in answers to prayer, in a gradually maturing spirituality, and in a real closeness to God.
It can be quite unnerving to realise that God's power becomes apparent only when we humans give up our own control over our lives. In fact, the more we're able to give up control, the more God is able to work in us. But giving up control is a scary thing to do, so most of us fall far short of Jesus in the power we receive from God.
The early Christian hymn quoted in today's reading from Philippians concludes with one of the earliest forms of Christian creed, "Jesus is Lord" (cf 1Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:9.) But even though the hymn is about Jesus and praises him, it still ends with a doxology to God the Father. Just as Jesus always focused on God the Father, so in their liturgy the earliest Christian Church saw Jesus as part of the Godhead.
If we really want to experience God's power to the full, then we have to follow the example of the early church by doing what Jesus did. We must forget ideas of being God's servant and begin to think in terms of being his slave. Slaves have no rights whatsoever. They aren't paid in any way for their work, and expect no payment. They exist only to serve their master and to obey his every whim without question. And the best slaves do all this gladly, with a willing heart.
Jesus was God's slave even when it led to his death on a cross. But God's power was more manifest through that death than at any other time. If we really want to experience the power of slavery, we also need to take up our cross and follow him. Then we too will discover resurrection in all its amazing power.
All the books were different, and it became apparent that they all reflected the author's own perception of Jesus. It also became apparent that each author's perception of Jesus very much mirrored himself and his own characteristics and philosophy.
It does often seem as though Jesus is made in our image. Perhaps we all tend to home in on those characteristics of Jesus that we personally value, and conveniently forget the rest. Thus the Victorians focused on "gentle Jesus, meek and mild", especially when teaching children, while those involved in Liberation Theology in Latin America recognise a revolutionary figure who overturned many of the accepted practices of his day.
Jesus has become somewhat chameleon-like, changing his colours according to whoever is expounding him. And that, of course, means that all of us inevitably distort pictures of Jesus and of God.
One such distortion is seeing Jesus only as a servant, and therefore in trying to follow him by becoming totally subservient and and allowing others to do exactly as they please, refusing to stand up to them even when it's clear they're doing something wrong. This is perhaps a particular temptation for those who feel more comfortable in a servant role than in a leadership role. In their attempts to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, they may embrace the servant role but refuse to move out of their comfort zone by taking on any responsibility for leadership or even for their own well-being.
Another distortion is pretending to serve, while actually wielding considerable power. This is perhaps a variation on those who prefer to be perpetual servants, for it seems to be followed by people who genuinely feel powerless but nonetheless want to get their own way, and who therefore often revert to manipulation to gain their own ends.
Jesus had immense power, and he wasn't afraid to use it. He had the power to heal, and much of his ministry was spent in healing. He had the power to teach, and he taught the people at every opportunity. But he also had immense personal authority, and he wasn't afraid to use that authority. So he rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday on a donkey, thus making sure he fulfilled the prophesy in Zechariah 9:9 which related to the promised Messiah. He also rode into Jerusalem from the Bethphage, so fulfilling another prophecy about the Messiah from Zechariah 14:4, which promised that the Lord would come from a hill east of Jerusalem (usually identified as being the Mount of Olives) to rescue Jerusalem from enemy nations.
Although to modern thought riding on a donkey might constitute the appearance of a servant, to the ancient mind there probably wasn't much sign of the servant in that Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. It was much more of an open challenge to the religious authorities (and even to the Romans) than an act of servanthood. And it was recognised as such by the people, for they all cheered him on waving palm branches, the national symbol of freedom.
Yet in the early Christian hymn which St. Paul quotes in today's reading from Philippians, the emphasis isn't on triumphal entries or on the authority of a Messiah, but is on servanthood or slavery. Although Jesus was divine - God within humanity - he never attempted to make capital out of that divinity. In St. Paul's words, Jesus didn't snatch at equality with God because he didn't regard equality with God as something to be exploited.
On the contrary, Jesus was very clearly God's servant. He was happy to be in such a subservient role to God that he was God's slave, obeying God without question even when that obedience led to his own death on a cross. But paradoxically, it was that very obedience that gave Jesus his immense power.
By being fully immersed in God, and God in him, Jesus' divinity became increasingly apparent, as John points out in his gospel by his "signs of glory". And those signs of glory are manifest by various miracles, like changing water into wine, and raising Lazarus from death after four days in the tomb. Miracles are evidence of God's power, which was so clearly and convincingly shown in Jesus.
The more we Christians are able to take on a genuine servant role by completely and totally obeying Jesus, the more we too experience God's power in our lives. Many Christians today have an unexpected experience of God which is unlike anything they've ever experienced before. Throughout the ages, there have been Christians who have described this experience as ecstasy, and it's accompanied by unexpected power.
Jesus promised his disciples that they would be able to do what he did, and from the accounts of the early Church in Acts, this promise was fulfilled. But it didn't stop in the first couple of centuries of Christianity; it has continued ever since. Those who obey and follow Jesus discover immense power which is manifest in different ways.
Some find that the power transforms their own personality so that they're able to do far more than they ever dreamed possible. Some have complete personality changes so that they move from being, for instance, violent criminals, to being warm, loving and gentle family people. Some receive gifts of healing. Some speak in tongues, or receive the gift of prophecy. For some the power is less dramatic, but is there nonetheless and is manifest in answers to prayer, in a gradually maturing spirituality, and in a real closeness to God.
It can be quite unnerving to realise that God's power becomes apparent only when we humans give up our own control over our lives. In fact, the more we're able to give up control, the more God is able to work in us. But giving up control is a scary thing to do, so most of us fall far short of Jesus in the power we receive from God.
The early Christian hymn quoted in today's reading from Philippians concludes with one of the earliest forms of Christian creed, "Jesus is Lord" (cf 1Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:9.) But even though the hymn is about Jesus and praises him, it still ends with a doxology to God the Father. Just as Jesus always focused on God the Father, so in their liturgy the earliest Christian Church saw Jesus as part of the Godhead.
If we really want to experience God's power to the full, then we have to follow the example of the early church by doing what Jesus did. We must forget ideas of being God's servant and begin to think in terms of being his slave. Slaves have no rights whatsoever. They aren't paid in any way for their work, and expect no payment. They exist only to serve their master and to obey his every whim without question. And the best slaves do all this gladly, with a willing heart.
Jesus was God's slave even when it led to his death on a cross. But God's power was more manifest through that death than at any other time. If we really want to experience the power of slavery, we also need to take up our cross and follow him. Then we too will discover resurrection in all its amazing power.
