Community Church Sermons

Year A

October 9, 2011

Pentecost 17

“Rejoice!” is a Verb!

Philippians 4:1-9

Rev. Martin C. Singley, III

Senior Pastor

LISTEN IN!

Carefully inscribed in the historical record of the old First Congregational Church is an account of a scandal. A deacon – in conversation with one of the church members – detected the smell of liquor on the member’s breath. And so at church the next Sunday – at some point between the opening hymn and the benediction – the accusation was made public. The person was named and called out for this dastardly behavior. Something like a trial was convened right there in the church service. The deacon brought the charges. The member was given the opportunity to mount a defense. But that day, the member simply confessed. Yes, he had been sipping the devil’s brew. He promised to repent and never take a drink again. He asked forgiveness. The congregation granted the request. Then they all sang, “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and everybody went off to brunch at the Yacht Club.

Back in the day, you never knew WHAT you were going to get when you showed up for worship at the old First Congregational Church!

How would YOU like to be publicly called out for some questionable behavior? How do you think it would feel if you were sitting here on a Sunday morning, enjoying the beautiful music, drinking in an inspiring message, when all of a sudden the preacher called out YOUR name?

Well, that’s exactly what happened one Sabbath long ago when the church in the city of Philippi gathered for worship.

The early Christian churches were small – maybe 15 or 20 people in all. They met in homes, and their services were simple, usually consisting just of singing a Psalm or two, and praying, and testifying to how the Lord was at work in and through their lives. Then the leader would read from the Hebrew Scriptures and teach about how the promises made in Old Testament times were fulfilled in the coming of Jesus.

Once in a while – like on this day - there would be a special treat when the church gathered for worship. The apostle Paul had sent a letter, and the leader would read it to the gathering. It was like a letter and a sermon all rolled up into one.

And what a beautiful, uplifting sermon it was! “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you…”

Philippians has been called the “joy letter” because the word “joy” is used no fewer than 16 times. The apostle is literally overflowing with joy for these dear Christians in Philippi.

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord...my beloved.”

But then, out of the blue…

“EUODIA!” That was one of the women in the church. “AND SYNTYCHE!” That was another woman in the church.

“EUODIA AND SYNTYCHE…STOP IT!”

Oh my! This sounds like the sort of thing that used to happen at the old First Congregational Church!

Now we don’t know all the details, but this is what we do know: Euodia and Syntyche had some sort of feud going on. They didn’t like each other. They argued. They fought. They fumed against each other.

And word had come to Paul – way up in Rome where he was in prison – about how these two women were not getting along. And so there – smack dab in the middle of this beautiful letter overflowing with joy – Paul CALLS THEM OUT!

“EUODIA! SYNTYCHE! STOP IT!”

And Paul assigns the leader of the church – believed to be a woman named Lydia – the task of helping these women learn to get along.

Churches, you know, are full of conflict. People don’t all the time see eye-to-eye. People sometimes hurt each other. There are lots of Euodia’s and Syntyche’s in the church even today. And they are not just women. Men are just as likely to come to church carrying a load of anger and negativity.

And the conflict that is brought into the worshiping community includes much more than just personal grievances. Some people bear the weight of inner conflict – a bad self-image, an experience of loss, a problem that won’t go away. A pastor and teacher I highly respect says there is a broken heart sitting in almost every pew. I think he’s right.

So why do you think Paul called out Euodia and Syntyche? Why do you think he felt it important to speak directly to the conflict between these two women?

Well, Paul well understood the destructive potential of conflict – whether located between two people, or even buried deep within your heart. Life itself overflows with conflict, hurt, sadness and tragedy and so often what we do with them is to let them fester and begin to eat away at us and our relationships.

Paul calls out Euodia and Syntyche because he loves them and is saddened by what their conflict is doing to their relationship with each other, to their families, to the church community – and to their own health and well-being.

You can either let your problems and conflicts eat away at you and destroy you, or you can find a better way that in time will overcome these challenges.

And so, right after he diagnosis the problem, Paul writes these women a prescription that will help them find healing. Do you remember what the very next words out of his mouth are?

“Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I will say, Rejoice!”

Now this is not the same as saying, “Don’t worry, be happy!” That was a wonderful song, but terrible advice. You can’t overcome your problems and conflicts by pretending they don’t exist.

Paul does not say, “Be joyful and everything will be fine”

What he says is, “Rejoice in the Lord.”

Re-joice in the Lord!

May I be so bold as to suggest that to re-joice in the Lord is to RE-CONNECT TO THE JOY OF THE LORD. If you’re caught up in a tornado of conflict, anger, sadness, despair, or whatever is tearing you down, the antidote is to RE-CONNECT TO THE GOODNESS AND JOY OF JESUS.

I was driving back to the church one day from visiting at one of the hospitals. It was around Christmas time. I have satellite radio in my car so I tuned in to the band where I have pre-programmed all the news and talk channels. On Channel 1 the host was railing against a certain group of people he said were ruining America. I found myself agreeing and cheering him on. A commercial came on so I switched to Channel 2. The host there was railing against the host I had just been listening to and talking about how he and all his followers were ruining America. I found myself agreeing with him, too! So I cheered him on! Then I flipped over to Channel 3. The host on that channel was going on and on with all that’s wrong with EVERYBODY and how America is going down the drain!

Well, by then, I was churning inside, infuriated with all that’s wrong with the world and its people! My blood pressure was sky high and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest! Another commercial came on so I went to flip back to the first channel and – by accident – my finger hit the button that turned on the FM band instead. It was tuned to 88.3 which at that time was playing all Christmas music, all the time.

I listened to the songs about Jesus’ birth. And there was something about that music that kept me from going back to newstalk. I listened all the way back into Tellico Village and by the time I arrived at the church, my blood pressure was down, my heart was beating normally, and I was at peace.

RE-JOICE IN THE LORD!

You see, the Christian life offers you something so much better than focusing on how BAD everybody and everything is. The Christian life offers us JESUS, and taking hold of how good GOD is – and applying the goodness of the Lord to our relationships and to our problems! Euodia and Syntyche were missing the point! No matter how hard they huffed and puffed against each other they would never change each other! No matter how hard they obsessed about the PROBLEM, that obsession would only make it worse! And it would destroy their health, their families, their church, and their individual well-being.

So here’s Paul’s prescription for dealing with the conflicts and problems you face:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I say, Rejoice!”

Take hold of Jesus. Let Jesus take hold of you. Superimpose the Lord over that brokenness.

And Paul tells Euodia and Syntyche – and all of us – some simple ways to do that. First, be gentle with other people. Second, know that the Lord is right there with you – alive and present to help. Third, give your worries over to God in prayer. Tell God what’s going on with you, and ask God to guide you. And fourth, remember how good God has been to you all your life, and give thanks. The Lord has brought you all the way through life’s trials and tribulations and he will not abandon you now.

When you RE-JOICE IN THE LORD, the Bible says that the peace of God will come to you and guard your heart and mind.

Now some of you may be thinking, “That’s a rather strange sermon for Stewardship Sunday when we make our financial pledges for next year. He didn’t even mention the word ‘money’ once!”

Of course not.

Because, dear friends, what we are all doing today is not really about money – not about finances – not about budgets.

It is about RE-JOICING IN THE LORD! And our willingness and ability to put the Lord into the very center of the pledges we make today will determine what the outcome will be.

So as you fill out your pledge card, rejoice in the Lord! Take hold of Jesus. Let Jesus take hold of you

And when you go home today to the world and relationships in which you live, rejoice in the Lord.

And again, I will say, “Rejoice!”