Don Friesen
A tagline is a tricky thing. It can trivialize a concept, or it can capture in a brief line the essence of an idea that would take longer to explain fully. Political campaigners are particularly fond of taglines or slogans. Sometimes, however, taglines can become punch lines. In 1957, for example, Harold Macmillan (1894-1986), who rose to high office as a protégé of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, campaigned on the slogan, "Never had it so good". The British Labour Party, in response, countered with "Never been had so good".
During September I've been trying to capture the essence of our Scripture readings from the New Testament epistles. The first week I suggested that our reading from Romans 14 (14:1-12) might be captured with the line, "No judgments, full accountability," while the next week's reading, from Philippians (1:21-30), might be captured with the line, "When in Philippi, do as the Romans do," suggesting that we don't necessarily take our cues from our immediate environment, and that as Christians our first citizenship and loyalty is in and to the kingdom of God.
Today's epistle reading is also from Philippians, where Paul encourages them to "be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." (Philippians 2:2) Other translations present variations of this: Be "like-minded, ...one in spirit and purpose." (NIV) "Agree with each other, ...be deep-spirited friends." (MSG) Be "of one harmonious mind and intention." (AMP) "Live in harmony.... Be united in what you think, as if you were only one person." (CEV)
Some Mind, Little Accord, and Two Woodpiles!
A pretty tall order, however you word it, because the Church is often an embarrassing expression of dis-unity. We can fight over the weirdest things. One church, for example, had a large wood stove in the centre of the sanctuary, and two groups that didn't get along with each other took turns stoking the fire and keeping it lit. One group, however, claimed that they were working harder than the other group to provide the wood, and as a result, the groups began to keep the wood in separate piles. Had the Apostle Paul foreseen such a thing, he may have described the Philippians as of relatively little accord, but being the same deranged mind!
Someone once quipped: "To dwell above with the saints we love, that will be glory. To dwell below with the saints we know, well that's a different story." Being "of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind" is no easy task. Our congregation is no exception. We're a transient congregation, and so we have been the beneficiaries of many visitors and newcomers over the years. Some look cross-eyed at this congregation because we're not sufficiently evangelical, or because we're not sufficiently clear on peace, or because we're soft on the separation of church and state, or because we're not sufficiently formal, or because we're not sufficiently in-for-mal! Some find us warm, some find us cold. Some look askance at us because we're deemed so tight-knit a group that you can't gain entry! Others look askance because we're considered so loose-knit a group that Jesus' words and wisdom fall straight through!
A congregation is like any other social organism, with dynamics that mitigate against full accord. In families, for example, sibling rivalry can drive you crazy. In one family two sisters spent the day fighting, and that evening, when they prepared for bed, they were still mad at each other. As was their custom, they knelt by the respective sides of their bed for prayer, and the eight-year-old prayed, "Dear God, bless Daddy and Mommy, and bless our cat and dog." Gently the mother prompted her, "Didn't you forget someone?" And glaring across the bed at her six-year-old sister, she added, "And, oh yes, dear God, bless my ex-sister!"
We would like to have the same love, be like-minded, and in full accord, but we often hurt each other. We have feelings. We have egos. We get angry. Sometimes I ask myself, "Why are there so many annoying people in the church?" Bear in mind, however, that when I feel that way I'm not thinking about any of you!
The Amazing Accord of the Philippian Congregation
If the New Testament book of Acts reads like a chronicle of the Early Church's activities, it also reads as a chronicle of conflict, both without and within. The first few chapters reveal remarkable concord, but by chapter 4 some of the apostles are called before the authorities because their public activities "annoyed" (4:2) some officials. In the very next chapter Ananias and Sapphira do a shady money deal, and soon thereafter the apostles are arrested for inciting unrest. (5:1-42) In the next two chapters Stephen is arrested and killed, and chapter 8 chronicles Saul's systematic persecution of the Early Church. While this is going on, the gospel is being preached in Samaria, yet another conflict in the making — building on centuries of animosity!
Jesus prayed: "I ask ... that they may all be one ...that they...become completely one" (John 17:21, 23), but as the chapters accumulate in Acts, the conflicts also accumulate. In Acts, chapter 15, a consensus is reached about church membership requirements, but some petty divisions and squabbles ensue. Paul and Barnabas part ways when Barnabas insists on taking John Mark with them. A "sharp contention" arose, says Luke (Acts 15:39, RSV), so Barnabas alone went off with John Mark, Paul went off with Silas, and the reporters followed the more colourful Paul, only to see him refused entry into several countries.
That's how Paul ended up in Philippi, where he befriended a circle of women at the river. One of them, Lydia, a wealthy businesswoman, adopted the Christian faith and established a church. No sooner had this church got started than Paul and Silas attracted the attention of a slave girl – a long story itself – but her presence "very much annoyed" Paul (Acts 16:18) and his response ended up angering the local Chamber of Commerce. (16:19)
The Philippian congregation is an interesting one. You've got a fledgling church, with a small membership, drawn from three different classes – Lydia, representing the upper, monied class; the slave-girl, representing the lower, indentured class; and a prison warden – a civil servant representing the middle class. A small circle of believers, and already you've got rich and poor. You've got a small group with next to no knowledge about faith and theology, and no corporate memory to inform them. You've already alienated the local business sector, which has the ear of the authorities, who are already biassed against you. This is the making of a successful congregation? Who are you going to elect as treasurer of the congregation? The civil servant who can't even keep prisoners in stocks, let alone keep a good set of books?
The Philippian congregation was an interesting one, unworkable in many respects, yet what emerged was a flourishing congregation. A flourishing and generous congregation. It's a congregation that by all rules of sociology and economics should have been stillborn! It should have been torn apart by all of its latent and not-so-latent conflicts, yet it survived. Not only survived, intact, but flourished! A congregation to which Paul was pleased to write, "I thank...God for you every time I think of you; and every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel from the very first day until now." (Philippians 1:3-5, TEV)
If Jesus prayed for the unity of his followers, Paul echoed his prayer, enjoining the Philippian congregation, "Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel...." (Philippians 1:27)
Toward Completion
Paul felt good about the Philippian congregation, and so he asked them to complete the joy he took in them. "Make my joy complete" (Philippians 2:2), he urges. Sounds like Clint Eastwood's "Make my day," but less menacing. Paul writes, "If ...there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, (then) make my joy complete...." (2:1-2), as if all of those positive experiences have filled Paul's cup of joy to just below the brim. To fill his cup of joy completely to the top, all you need to do is strive a little harder to "be of the same mind, ...same love, ... (and) in full accord...." You're almost there! "I am confident," he writes, "that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion...." (Philippians 1:6)
The assumption is that this congregation has already experienced "comfort from (Christ's) love" and "fellowship with the Spirit" and "tenderness". (NIV) Paul knows they're an example of the "persuasive incentive there is in love". He has witnessed in their life together "depth of affection" (AMP), "kindness" (TEV), and "warmth". (NJER) Their hearts have been stirred (NEB) by Christ's "reassuring" (PHL) and wondrous love, and their congregational experience and testimony has brought Paul great joy! Now complete it, he encourages.
The tagline or motto, "Same Mind, Same Love, Full Accord" is an appropriate one for any congregation. Be assured, Paul tells us, "for God is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13, RSV/NRSV)
Quotations of Scripture are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.