- Exodus 16:2-15 and Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 •
- Jonah 3:10-4:11 and Psalm 145:1-8 •
- Philippians 1:21-30 •
- Matthew 20:1-16
This week’s Epistle includes the most beautiful passage in all of Paul’s letters – his theologically deep and poetically compelling affirmation of the incarnation of God in Jesus, a unity of human and divine made possible by Christ's perfect obedience. The climax of this magnificent hymn looks to a time when ‘every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’.
There follows, however, an instruction to the Philippians that seems to conflict both with the Lordship of Christ, and with Paul’s well known insistence on faith before works -- ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling’ Surely the Good News is that, since Christ saves us, we are relieved of the burden of working out our salvation for ourselves? Paul, of course, does not mean to deny this, and so he immediately adds to his instruction this essential qualification – ‘it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure’. But doesn’t this just compound the problem? Is it God at work, or is it us?
The Gospel throws some light on this issue. In another vineyard parable two sons react differently to their father. One appears to be rebellious, while ultimately doing as he is requested. The other appears to be dutiful, but does his own thing. Jesus asks his hearers to decide which of the two sons is the obedient one. It’s a rhetorical question. The answer is obvious. The ‘rebel’ is obedient because, in the end, he decides to act as his father instructs. Both decision and instruction have key parts to play.
So it is with us. It would be difficult to improve on Paul’s opening advice ‘Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus’. True discipleship means being of one mind with Jesus. But a crucial part of the sentence is the very first word -- ‘Let’.
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