August 20, 2006

Philippians 4:1-7

“Rejoice!”

Rev. Melissa D. Ramos

Two Sundays ago, I was on vacation in California. I went to church with my parents and my brother Bo. Orcutt Presbyterian is the church I grew up in and it was great to have a Sunday off. I got up at 7 am instead of arriving at the church at 7 am. I had the chance to just sit and enjoy worship without any responsibility for anything. I was glad to see how well the church is doing, just observing things and enjoying God’s Presence in the worship service.

But on the other hand, there was this other part of me that was uncomfortable just sitting in the service and not leading in anything. Normally when I’m on vacation, I enjoy my Sunday off when other pastors are leading and I’m worshipping with the rest of the congregation. But on this Sunday, I was sitting in the pew thinking to myself, “Is this what it’s going to be like from now on?” Once September comes I’m not going to be a pastor at Covenant anymore, and I’ll just be in the pew on Sundays.

As I was enjoying worship in the pew, I found myself observing the service and thinking, “That’s not how we do it at Covenant. If Rob and I were leading worship, we would have done that differently.” And, of course, in my own mind, differently meant “better.”

And it was a communion Sunday. I think it’s been almost two years, anyway, it’s been a long time since I received communion in the pew without leading it somehow. And I have to be honest. It was hard for me. Because this time that Francisco and I have spent at Covenant has really shaped me and molded me in important ways. All of you have shaped me and allowed me to grow into my own pastoral identity. And I’m so glad for that. What a great and amazing gift you’ve given to me. This is a wonderful church to learn and grow in, and I’m so grateful to God for all of you.

And this change, this move, for Francisco and I is hard on many different levels, even though we are excited about moving to California. Change is hard. With every change we experience a loss, on some level. Change brings about new anxieties, new fears, an emotional toll. But change is part of life, and part of God’s blessing to us.

The beginning of chapter four of the book of Philippians addresses this. Paul is writing to the church at Philippi from prison. Paul has been put in prison in many different cities, and each time the possibility is real for him that he’ll be martyred for his faith. He never knows how it’s going to turn out. So in this chapter of his letter to the Philippians, Paul is writing some farewell notes.

Paul is pretty sure that he won’t be back as the pastor of the Philippian church, and in his letter he is missing them. And I can relate to that. As I give my last sermon at Covenant today – I’ll be here next Sunday, but this is my last time preaching – I can relate to Paul’s words to his congregation, to his people, as I think about all of you, because you are my people.

And as Paul writes, as he and the congregation struggle with change, with trials and worries and anxieties about what’s coming ahead, Paul writes to encourage them and himself. And the thing Paul really wants to leave with his congregation is the exhortation to rejoice. He writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” And this is a good word to all of us today as well.

If you take a look at your Bibles again, Paul starts out chapter four using words that convey a strong sense of warmth and friendship. He writes, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown…” This is family language, friendship language from Paul to his church, while he is away in prison. Paul misses them; he’s homesick for them.

And I find these appropriate words for me in this time because I know that as much as I look forward to starting my Ph.D. Program at Fuller Seminary, as much as I look forward to studying crazy ancient languages, as much as I’m looking forward to this change, I know that I am going to be homesick for all of you. Francisco and I are going to miss you something terrible.

I love that here in west Wichita I run into Covenant people wherever I go. I love the fact that when I go to Dillon’s, two out of five times I see somebody from Covenant. Often it’s Dale Warlick. Just last week Francisco and I were at Target, and we saw Carl and Lashelle Varner across the store, and we waved. You are my people.

But, just like Paul was missing his family of faith at Philippi, I’m going to be homesick for you. Francisco and I don’t have family in Wichita, and so since we’ve moved here, you guys have been our family. It’s been such a privilege to be part of your lives for these almost three years we’ve been in Wichita. As Paul writes to his people, “You are my joy and my crown.”

Francisco and I have struggled with struggled with Kansas weather: ice storms, hail damage, 109 degrees and 45% humidity, the wind. But all of you are the reason that we’ve stayed. All of you are the reason why we’re here. “You are my joy and my crown.”

Especially our youth at the church. The youth at the church have been my joy in our time here in Wichita. You know, I would have my days, when it was 8 degrees outside, and I could hardly get my car door open because the wind was blowing so hard outside, and I was having a rough week for some reason or another. I would every once in a while wonder to myself, “What are we doing in Kansas?” But after Wednesday night at youth group, I could say to myself, “If for nothing else, this is why we are in Kansas.” Seeing God at work in the lives of our young people, our junior high and our senior high, it is its own reward. The youth in the church, “You are my joy and my crown.” But I know that it’s not me who is at work in your lives, it’s God.

As Paul writes the farewell chapter of his letter to the Philippian church, he has some words of advice and encouragement, especially for times of change and struggle. He writes, “Stand firm in the Lord I this way, beloved.” In a world full of upheaval and change, in our lives that are full of uncertainty and anxieties, Paul encourages us to “stand firm in the Lord.”

The first thing Paul says about standing firm in Christ is in verse 2: have a look with me. The first thing Paul says about standing firm in our faith is about disagreements in the church. Paul writes, “ I urge Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

So when Paul is telling his church how to stand firm in the Lord, how to face the change and trials of life, the first thing he tells them is that they’ve got to stick together. Paul knows that there are disagreements that crop up between different ones of us in the church, and between family members. Paul even writes to two specific women – he urges Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Paul encourages these women to resolve their differences and to remember that theyare both called to serve and imitate Christ. And earlier on in chapter 2 of Philippians, Paul uses the same words that he writes to these two women. Paul says to the two women: “be of the same mind,” and in chapter two, verse 5, Paul writes, “Let the same mind be in you, that was in Christ Jesus, who emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”

Paul reminds these two women, and all of us, that our disagreements can seem petty or irrelevant when we keep in mind the sacrifice and humility of Jesus. Paul reminds us that to stand firm in the Lord is to lead a Christian life that isn’t about us, about our rights and privileges, but about service to others and respecting the dignity of others.

Paul writes not only to these two women, but to the whole church, as he says in verse 3, “help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel.” Paul encourages us to remember that to stand firm in the Lord, to stick together, means we need to help each other out, especially in our common work of the gospel.

And as I am about to step down as associate pastor at Covenant, I really want to encourage all of you to help out the church staff in whatever way you can. Whenever any one of us on staff is gone it creates a lot more work for everybody else.

And sometimes it takes multiple people to cover what one person had been doing. I know what it’s like when Rob is on vacation or study leave, and it’s not easy going. So I’ll have to work out my own guilt about leaving, but I encourage all of you to help out, to make yourself available for the church staff. Pray for Rob and for the staff, try to encourage them rather than criticize.

So Paul writes to the church at Philippi that they are called to “stand firm in the Lord.” The first way that they can do that is by sticking together, helping each other out. And the second way, Paul says, is to rejoice.

Look at verse four: Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul knows that rejoicing is not the easiest thing for us to do. On occasions of celebration, accomplishments, or receiving a great blessing, we’re good at rejoicing. One of the things I love about Covenant is that this is a fun church; I think we’re good at rejoicing. But Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” At all times, on all occasions, and that kind of rejoicing is hard to do.

Now Paul isn’t writing about being happy all the time. If we walked around feeling elated all the time, that would be exhausting. And Paul isn’t writing about trying to be happy when something bad happens.

Paul isn’t glossing over the struggles or the pain we feel sometimes in life. Paul is in prison. He’s been beaten and flogged and been hungry. Paul knows how hard life can be sometimes. In fact, Paul is probably writing to himself as much as to the Philppians when he calls them to rejoice.

So Paul writes two times, repeating himself to emphasize the point even more, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, Rejoice!” Paul isn’t rejoicing in the fact that he’s in prison. He’s not happy about that. But Paul does tell us what we can rejoice in. He says, “The Lord is near.”

And that’s what we really need to hear when we’re facing a change or a trial or a time of anxiety. The Lord is near. God is with us, even if we feel like God is far off. The Scripture promises to us, “The Lord is near.”

So as Francisco and I worry and pray for him to find a job in southern California, we take comfort and confidence that the Lord is near. If we’re worried about the church or what’s going to happen with youth ministry here at Covenant in this time of staff transition, we can take comfort and confidence that the Lord is near.

It’s going to be hard for me to say goodbye to all of you. And I know that all of you will have a hard time saying goodbye to Francisco, even if you’re not going to miss me. But in the pain of that separation, we are called to rejoice, because the Lord is near. Whatever trial or suffering we face, the Lord is near. And so we can take comfort and be confident.

But how does it happen that in our everyday life, in our walk with the Lord, that we can rejoice in the midst of disturbing news of violence and war and terrorism, in our worries about our own life, our families, our jobs, our health? Paul again reminds us: “The Lord is near.” But he adds more, a practical tool for us as Christians.

Paul writes, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

This Scripture gives us a promise: The Lord is near. And then gives us an alternative to stewing in our worries, and that is to pray and to thank God.

And I want to give my own testimony in response to this word from Scripture. It works. The Scripture doesn’t say that when we pray all of our pressing circumstances will immediately be changed. That does sometimes happen when we pray, but not usually. Usually we have to walk through whatever we’re facing to the other side.

But when I ask God to encourage me, when I ask God to let me know that the Lord is with me, God has always answered that prayer. God has never failed to encourage me, not ever. God answers that prayer every time. Sometimes it takes a few days, even a month, but the promise is real: God is near.

And so we are called to rejoice in the God of all comfort and strength. This God who is near is overflowing with hope and with peace. God is eternal and unchanging. In God’s person there is no fear or worry, but joy and strength.

This God full of peace and hope meets us in the changes and the seasons of life. God invites us to receive his peace, his joy that we might share in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, and that peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Moment of silent prayer.

Today is a day to rejoice… Welcoming new members. Apostles Creed.