Philippians 3:4b-14                                       Peacemaking/World Communion Sunday

 A common locker room line is “Leave it all on the field. Leave it all on the
court.” That means, of course, don’t play half-hearted. Give it your all. In this
third chapter of Philippians when he challenges the church to press on against
hardship, suffering and loss, Paul says, give it all. Give it all because Christ has
given His all. Give it all because Christ is all you need. Hear now the Word of the Lord from Philippians 3.

 In his book, Dangerous Wonder, Michael Yaconelli, asks, “ What happened to radical Christianity that turned the world upside down? What happen to the category-smashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel that spread through the first century like wildfire and was consider (by those in power) dangerous? What happened to the kind of Christians whose hearts were on fire, who had no fear, who spoke the truth no matter the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable, who were willing to follow Jesus wherever He went? What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God?” (Living the Letters by the Navigators)

 If there’s one weakness that pervades American Christianity, it is that we have domesticated the faith. It no longer involves much sacrifice. We do not give it all. In fact, we divide ourselves into tiny pieces and give a little piece of ourselves to church, in the most detrimental act of moderation in our lives.  The lie we delude ourselves with is that it is relatively easy to be a Christian. Not much is expected. We can ignore the problems of the world, and be a selfish Christian. Sadly, Christians don’t seem much different than anyone else – no more loving or forgiving or generous or patient or kind. Most Christians are not any different from other decent, caring citizens because most Christians are not like Paul – sold out, completely devoted, transformed never to be the same again. Who wants to be part of that lot? No one. What’s the use?

 In fact, these days, being a Christian does not seem to require much change at all. It doesn’t even required active church participation. There are many people at home this morning, thinking that they are Christians. And who am I to question that? I don’t question that they believe in Jesus Christ. I certainly don’t question that Jesus Christ loves them completely – just as much as he loves you and me. But I do question whether one can have a living Christian faith, apart from active, involved participation in church. And not just any church but a church that expects something of them, a church that does not allow them to simply be a consumer of religious inspiration and program, but expects them to be contributors to the Christian way of life, people who suffer with Christ, people who sacrifice for the shalom of others in the world.

 No one would think of trying to be a basketball player without ever picking up the ball to dribble and shoot – to practice your skills and play the sport with others. If you were, at one time, a strong player, then perhaps it would take a long while for you to lose your skills. But if you are a mediocre player, like most people, then continual practice is essential to keeping your talent from being wasted away, your muscles from being underused.

 To be a Christian without practicing Christian disciplines of worship, prayer, Bible study, sacrificial giving is like trying to live a physical life without food and drink. Our bodies need nourishment. Our souls need nourishment too. Some Christians are starving from lack of spiritual nourishment. Will you invite them to Peace? Think of it as one hungry person telling another where to find bread. There is no more valuable gift you can give someone.

 Looking at our text, we see that Paul starts by telling us how wrapped up he was in his own accomplishments. He thought he was all that. He was the whole package. In terms of legalistic righteousness, he had it all: his race (Israel), religion (temple worship), the law, ritual and legal purity (Pharisaic traditions). But when he came to know Christ, he realized that all that image focus, all the success, all the striving for perfection in the law meant nothing, compared with knowing Christ. That word “knowing” means really knowing, in an intimate sort of way. Knowing Christ intimately is so valuable that everything else pales in comparison. In fact, he calls it rubbish, but the Greek word is stronger – more like cow dung. What Paul was trying to say is that all of his credentials are a bunch of worthless crap. (my children will tell you I don’t use that word often) All Paul’s gains are loss, are worthless by comparison to knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection.

 It is hard for us to appreciate the complete reversal that took place in Paul’s life. He was the most faithful of Jews. He was one who had spent his life abiding by the rules and regulations of his tradition, and then he claims that it is all of zero value because of the surpassing value of Jesus Christ.

 When I first married Richard, he was completing a medical internship and starting seminary. Many people questioned his decision to pursue ministry more intensely than medicine. All assumed that if one had a medical school education that it would be primary. Being a doctor was supreme – status and income much higher there than in ministry. But Richard felt called to use his medicine to complement a primary calling in ministry. And I am thankful that in ministry part of our job is to read and reflect on scripture, which feeds us the truth about what really matters – not wealth, not success. Not lifestyle, but the life of knowing and being known by Christ. And we have a long way to go in really making Christ first. There are so many competing idols, but the worst idol of our time is the idol of wealth.

 In some ways, we are all getting a reality check about wealth this autumn. I would venture to say that perhaps God is teaching us not to put our trust in wealth. Greed is being identified as the disastrous evil that it truly is. That’s a good thing. We might be in for some suffering, but that’s okay, if we take it as an opportunity to grow in faith, to be more focused on the goal of this life.

 It is hard to reach the goal, if we are constantly running in different directions.
We are distracted by many things.
We cannot press on toward the goal of the heavenly calling in Christ Jesus when
we are earthly bound by too many competing loyalties. We don’t stay on the straight and narrow path because we are pulled down many trails. We circle back
many times because we cannot let go of the past for trying to re-live it, undo it or something. God has forgiven us, but we have not forgiven ourselves or others. We go down the wrong paths, choosing to follow other gods. We run in place for fear of following Christ, though deep down in our hearts, we know that following him is the only way, sacrifice is the key to living.

 For that matter, giving everything away is the key to living. In stories of the survivors of the Nazi death camps, an attitude of “giving away all you have” was the one thing that distinguished the survivors from those who perished. If a prisoner was on the verge of starvation, but still had a crust of bread of scrap of potato that he could share with a comrade in suffering, he was psychologically and spiritually capable of surviving. One of the Treblinka survivors expressed it this way. “In our group we shared everything, and the moment one of the group ate something without sharing it, we knew it was the beginning of the end for him.”

 In the movie, Paradise Road, which Peace people viewed and discussed on Friday night, we saw how survivors of a prison camp learned to care for one another and to sing together despite the brutality of their situation. They sacrificed for one another out of love, and in so doing, they lived. There are people who need to know the love of Christ and you can show it to them by the way you sacrifice, by the way you press on toward the goal. You know the race you are on leads to sacrifice. You will be tired, sometimes breathless, sometimes struck down by disease or discouragement, sometimes not sure if you can bear to go on.

 But you cannot follow Christ without taking up your cross. You cannot put Christ first, without removing all your other first place priorities.

 So that’s the call, to lay it all down, call it loss, rubbish, useless, and run as fast as you can run after Jesus Christ, who is the lead runner, the One who finished the race, who lights our path, who gives us the strength to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint. There are many who start the NY marathon, but few who keep going when it is hard, when it requires great sacrifice. Will you press on to become a marathon runner for Christ, one who doesn’t stop, doesn’t look back, but keeps on keeping on pressing to the finish line?