“Bragging rights?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, April 3, 2022
Philippians 3:4b-14 (Forward, p. 64) CEV p. 1230
On occasion, the apostle Paul gets downright ridiculous. One such occasion is evidenced in today’s portion from his letter to the church in Philippi. Apparently, some believers in that church are making a big thing of the fact that they have been circumcised. Apparently, they have succumbed to the pressure tactics of certain Christians of a Jewish extraction, those of the belief that one must first become fully Jewish and practice all its rites and laws in order to be a ‘proper’ Christian. But, as Paul points out, to do so is also to submit to the impossible burden of then trying to obey all the myriad of commands within Judaism. Paul himself had tried to do so, and found it not only trying and enslaving, but also impossible. So, to Paul, this is nothing to brag about.
Paul then launches into his own version of ‘bragging rights’, and really, it is quite impressive. What can he boast about? Well, there’s his ancestry, his upbringing, his training and subsequent practice, his ‘party’ affiliation within Judaism, his incredible zeal for the faith, and, of course, his strict and absolute adherence to the Law of Moses. All of this, he says, could provide reason, grounds, for bragging or boasting.
But, however, he chooses not to. In fact, he counts all this as but garbage, as refuse. What he once considered valuable he now counts as worthless. No, he now says that ‘nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Indeed, he says, “I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ, and to know that I belong to him” (verses 8-9a).
And why is this? Paul’s answer here, short as it is, is not at all exclusive, but one reason is that he now knows that he is fully accepted by God—and found acceptable—simply because of his faith in Christ. He could never make himself acceptable to God through his own efforts or works, through his obedience to the Law of Moses, but God has now achieved it in him. Gone then is all the striving, all the burden of trying to ‘make it’ on his own. Gone is the endless struggle to measure up, by his own efforts, to what God expects of us. To Paul, this is truly what is worth bragging or boasting about, and so it is with all of us as well. Amen.
Forward notes: “More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (verse 8).
“I own an antique print from the 1840s. The image is of two puffins. They have been hand-coloured. Their beaks are beautiful and vibrant oranges, yellows, and blues. I value my puffins greatly.
“I value them because looking at them brings me pleasure. But if I am honest, I mostly value them because the world has told me to do so—particularly antique dealers and collectors.
“A major factor that affects value is condition. Does the print have stains and markings caused by mishandling or improper storage? Is it torn, ripped, or missing pieces?
“It’s a good analogy for how I assess my own self-worth. But Christ and God turn this worldly model upside down. My stains and imperfections do not determine my value. My value is determined by the perfect beauty and vibrancy of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s love.”
Moving Forward: “Write a love note from Jesus to you and post it in a prominent spot so you can be reminded of how God values you.”
