Children ask us all the important
questions. My daughter Mary for example asked me “What percent of people are
happy in their work?” I told her I had no idea but would guess that less than
half the population are happy, enjoy what they are doing and feel their lives
have meaning and purpose. Most people seem to just drift through life without
ever really thinking about where they are going. If you do not have a goal, any
road will take you there. This is why one of author Stephen Covey’s “Seven
habits of successful people” is being proactive. Being proactive means consciously deciding on a goal and then focussing
your actions on achieving that goal.
1.
Paul is urging the Phillipians to focus on the right goal
Paul had chosen the goal of being the
perfect rabbi. He had achieved this – and more. He was highly educated,
faultless in keeping the Law of Moses and a respected member of the ruling
Jewish Council. He believed that right doctrine, right behaviour and good works
would put him in a right relationship with God and give him an eternal life of
joy.
- But Paul
was not really happy – he was a very angry person
- Like many
good Anglicans he eventually had a personal experience of the Risen Jesus
and became a serious Christian
- I had a
similar experience when I thought I was a very successful Librarian at the
top of my profession – Director of a large library, leading the change to
computerization and President of the Library Association of Alberta
- My Board
terminated my employment and I realized I had not been living in reality –
I had deceived myself
- Forced to
re-think my goal in life, read the Bible, experienced Jesus through the
Holy Spirit and healing – found identity, joy
- Many
baptized Anglicans have shared similar experiences with me - experiencing Jesus,
becoming a serious Christian, joy
- See this
with people who goes through Cursillo / Alpha
2.
New Goal of Paul was to know Christ and be like Him
Personal experience, often in a praise
and worship or prayer time, is the key to really “getting it”. In spite of
being a lifelong Anglican I had not really “got it”.
- We just do
not “see the new thing” that God promised Isaiah
- New thing =
new way to get rid of the sin, guilt and shame that pollutes our lives, robs
our destiny of joy of ‘life in Christ’
- Paul tells
us he gave up his old way of dependence on learning, good behaviour and
doing good works
- Nobody could
never be good enough to overcome human weakness – needed grace – undeserved forgiveness
- Jesus created a new way to
forgiveness, holiness and an eternal relationship of joy with God on the
Cross
- Jesus was
the model of self-sacrificial, forgiving love
3.
Jesus answers Judas with a stunning rebuke – leave her alone
Mary was the opposite of Paul –
uneducated, poor and not powerful. But Mary was a woman. Women have intuition.
They know what is going on emotionally. She was the smartest one in the room.
She had spent many hours listening and talking to Jesus. She had figured out who Jesus was and that He was warning
them of His coming death. Her response of love is a stunning example to us all:
- She does
not say a word
- She pours $
40,000 worth of perfume on Jesus feet and humbles herself by wiping them
with her hair
- Her goal
was to love God in the form of Jesus with no holding back, no self-reliance
- It was the
opposite of the response of Judas who, like the others, did not “get it”
- They were
stuck in the old, failed goal of trying to earn God’s love and forgiveness
through giving money to the poor
- A better goal is to help the poor
gain the hope of a new life of love, forgiveness and joy in relationship
with Jesus
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