"Finally my brothers and sisters, Rejoice in the Lord"
Rejoice! There is another way.
On Sunday mornings, we’ve been weaving our way through Philippians and this past week I preached from the beginning of chapter three. I won’t give you my whole sermon here,1 but I want to say a few words about the opening line in chapter 3, verse 1 — Finally my brothers and sisters, Rejoice in the Lord.
What a time to be reading this aloud to a congregation! What a time to be asking them to rejoice.
Paul writes the book of Philippians from prison awaiting a trial and sitting in the unknown of what will happen to his life and ministry. He doesn’t know if he’ll be released, tortured, or killed. He doesn’t know if the people can withstand the persecution they’re experiencing or if false teachers (as he calls them2) will send the Church into chaos. There are so many unknowns.
Amidst this, Paul says these (somewhat annoying) words: Finally my brothers and sisters, Rejoice in the Lord. This is the 5th time in the book of Philippians that Paul encourages the people to rejoice in the Lord. What?! Now??
Rejoice in the Lord is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot, and for me it has lost some of its meaning. And so last week as I prepared to teach, I asked myself — what does it even mean to rejoice in the Lord?
In the fall during a sermon, I mentioned that I am having a sort of reclaiming of the word Lord. I’ve been viewing it not as a word of hierarchy and empire. I long ago rejected the idea that “lording” over someone is the way of Christ. Instead, I’ve been reckoning with the idea that if Jesus is Lord, then nobody else is. If Jesus is Lord, then Cesar was not. This is something that did not end with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now we can say, If Jesus is Lord — kings, emperors, and presidents, are not.
Said another way — if Jesus is Lord, then a particular denomination, or the American government, or capitalism, or racism — is not! Jesus is Lord.
Jesus in his kindness and gentleness to all people, including children, those with disabilities, women who were seen as property, and people shoved to the margins – literally to the outskirts of town. That is who is Lord.
And so for me, that is where I find any energy to rejoice. I can rejoice in the Lord because Jesus turned the word Lord upside down.
This isn’t shallow a proclamation of joy, ignoring all that is going on in our world and our cities. It is not ignoring the hate toward Queer siblings or the fact that children of immigrants are being kept home from school out of fear of deportation. It is not pretending that billionaires are making decisions for us that are not theirs to make.
This is rejoicing that Jesus Christ, God with us, came to earth to show us that another way is possible.
with you in the overwhelm and the rejoicing,
holly
P.S. During Lent I’ll be exploring the question: What is mind to do?3 — I hope you’ll join me as we dig in a little further into how the stories of Jesus teach us that another way is possible.
A few Actionable Steps and Inspiring Reads
Diana Butler Bass writes about the intersection of faith and politics. She’s knowledgable, inspiring, and practical! I found her lecture, How Did We Get Here? The Bigger Picture particularly helpful in framing our historical context and the beginnings of a path forward.
I recently heard about the app 5 calls, and have found it really helpful in organizing myself before I call my reps!
I found this essay from Kat Armas inspiring!
New week I’ll be hosting — Preparing for Renewal: A Lenten Mini-Retreat. It will be a spacious time to prayerfully consider how you would like to enter the season of Lent. Through guided prayer, reflection, and conversation we’ll prepare to engage in the coming weeks leading up to Easter. Join me on February 27th (730-9pm CT) or February 28th (12:30-2 pm CT) for this mini-retreat! The cost is $15. If cost is a barrier, please reach out to me directly for a $10 off coupon.
at least not today :)
He also refers to these false teachers as dogs! lol. (Phil. 3:2)