Brothers and sisters,
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and
our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Paul praises the virtues of letting our reasonableness
be known to everyone. This seems like an odd behavior to commend to Christians
right after exhorting us to rejoice in the Lord always. Chances are if you saw
someone who seemed to constantly be in a state of rejoicing; reasonable would
not be the first word you would use to describe the scene. I believe we can get
some insight into this type of joy measured by reasonableness that Paul is
referring to, by looking at the concepts of “new money” and “old money”.
To clarify
what I mean: according to the Urban Dictionary the expression “new money”
refers to Someone who is rich but does
not come from a weathly background or family history. Examples would be celebrities, or people who
won the lottery, or someone who invented a product that became a national or
international phenomenon. On the other hand “Old Money” refers to people who have managed their money
carefully over many generations and increased the value of their holdings by
careful financial management. It also says of “Old Money” They do not follow the popular fashion fads
and wear good quality clothing that has a timeless look. Everything about them
may be summed up in a few words GOOD TASTE and QUALITY.
So what
does this have to do with joy that is tempered by reasonableness? Well Paul is
sort of saying that when it comes to the riches we receive in Christ we should look
more like those who come from Old Money. You see something that separates Old Money
from New Money, in addition to having had wealth for a longer period of time is
that with those from New Money there can often be a tendency to want to show
others and themselves that they have money. It has been suggested that this
excess of demonstration comes from an uncertainty that they are not equally
accepted by those who have always had great wealth.
Consequently those from Old Money would likely consider such displays of
excess as being in pretty bad taste and not dignified; thus the assertion that
those from Old Money are considered to reflect good taste and quality. And so
with those from Old Money there is an ease and a carefree attitude. They don’t feel
the necessity to parade their wealth to convince themselves and others of their
worthiness.
When
people have a confidence of possessing something they have no need to convince
themselves and others with a lot of over-the-top assertions. They don’t need to
do anything to earn recognition and assurance. And so, reasonableness, as it is
used in Philippians refers to a quiet confidence of being God’s child who possesses
God’s riches and truth and lives in this confidence awaiting the promised
fulfillment.
And
because of what Christ Jesus has done for you, you have what Christ possesses.
What Christ possesses He possesses for you. And so chief among these possessions
is that you have a Savior in Christ Jesus Himself. Christ Jesus lived the
faithfulness and obedience that God demands of you, though you are incapable of
it. But in Christ Jesus that faithfulness is given to you as if you did
accomplish it. In Christ Jesus you have the forgiveness of sins. In Christ
Jesus taking your sins upon Himself for you, becoming sin on your behalf and
laying down His life for you, you have the atonement of your sins. In Christ
Jesus you have the righteousness in which you will be clothed on the day of the
Lord when you stand before God.
You also
have the Holy Spirit through whom you have the inspired scriptures that speak
the life-giving Gospel into your hearts. You have the Holy Spirit as your guide
and comforter. He empowers the Word of truth in you so it transforms you and
your lives. And you know yourselves to be God’s people and that your lives have
their achievement and meaning in being lived toward the fulfillment of Christ’s
promised return.
These are
great possessions indeed, but are you sure that you have them? If you look to
yourself then you will find only doubt. Within yourself is not where you will
find certainty. Your certainty is in Christ alone. In Christ Jesus you have the
unshakable confidence of possessing the riches of the children of God and you
are called to live in the confidence of possessing these riches. This is the reasonableness
that Paul speaks of.
Now don’t
confuse this with a lukewarm attitude. We see this same certainty in the one
leper who came back to Jesus after having been healed from leprosy in the
Gospel lesson. Luke writes Then one of
them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud
voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving
him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. There he is rejoicing in the Lord as Paul
commends to us. We don’t know why the nine other lepers did not return to Jesus
but we know that the one did. And we know that he did immediately upon seeing
that he had been healed. So in other words he is certain that Jesus is the One
who healed him. He is certain that there is something truly remarkable and
infinitely humbling about Jesus.
And we do
not really know why it is that the other nine lepers did not come back but we
do know that Jesus wondered why they did not return. Maybe the idea of simply
receiving the healing from Jesus in faith just seemed too simple for them.
Maybe they found themselves explaining
it away; believing that there had to be some sort of rational explanation; that
it couldn’t have been as simple as being healed by the healing touch of
Jesus.
In 2 Kings
Naaman was in need of healing and was told by the prophet Elisha to wash
himself in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed. But he resisted. He
thought it should perhaps be in a different river. He thought Elisha would call
on the name of the Lord and Naaman would be healed, perhaps in a grand display.
God delivered the healing that Naaman wanted but it didn’t come in the way
Naaman wanted or expected and so Naaman resisted. And perhaps that is what
happened with the nine lepers who did not return. Or perhaps they simply
figured what they had gotten what they needed from Jesus so there was no need
to go back.
Faith
is always simply receiving what God bestows to us through what He has done for
us. But the call to faith is not simply a call for immediate and instant
gratification. It is not just a call to go to Jesus when you need Him, but
otherwise leave Him alone. The call to faith is a call to be close to Jesus. It’s
a call to be daily renewed, strengthened and restored in Christ Jesus. It is a
call to be daily renewed in the reconciliation with God that comes only through
the forgiveness of your sins that comes in Christ Jesus.
Christ
Jesus has brought you close to Him by His healing and forgiveness and by laying
down His life for you and rising for your justification. He gives the full
richness of all of these gifts to you in Word and sacrament, what a shame when
instead you choose to go on with your business; by forgetting to worship, by
not reading scripture, by not making prayer a regular practice, by not
returning to Him even one dollar out of every ten that He blesses you with.
But still
the distance between you and Jesus is closed in the forgiveness of your sins
that He pours out to you in Word and sacrament. When you receive His
forgiveness in faith you receive the forgiveness of all of your sins; even the
sin of neglecting His promises to you. When you receive the promises of Christ
Jesus in faith you can be absolutely confident and joyful that He is with you
always. You can have that certainty that brings forth joy tempered by
reasonableness.
And this
certainty of the riches you have in Christ enables you to live a life truly in
thanksgiving through generous service to your neighbors. You don’t have to
strive for the recognition of your place in God’s Kingdom. All that is secure
in Christ Jesus and is beyond question. You are free to act as servants,
confident in Christ.
In
quietness and confidence you have been freed to serve your neighbors, for your
confidence and strength are in Christ. There is no need for over-the-top
displays or strutting. There is no need to constantly be looking for pity or
sympathy, you have reasonableness toward everyone; the reasonableness of those
who are confident in being God’s people for the sake of Christ. You have the
patience and generosity of those who live from God’s resources. You have the
cheerful acceptance of whatever Christ puts you through now because you know
the meaning and purpose.
In Christ
Jesus you have the eternal sonship. You have the victory because Christ’s resurrection
guarantees the victory of His brothers and sisters. When Christ returns He will
bring final fulfillment. But even now, Christ our Lord, is at hand.
Amen
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