Sunday, September 25, 2022
Sermon: “Gratitude and Grace”
Suzanne Malloy delivers the message "Gratitude and Grace" with music from the Music Team.
“A Letter Has Arrived”
Dear Summerland Community,
This fall our focus in worship will be Philippians. Let me give you some background.
Context
Last fall, I was in a study group that focused on the first century of Christian experience. Here are some facts that I had never really thought about before:
1. For the first 150 years or so, there were no “church” buildings. People met in homes around a meal – a common practice in Roman society.
2. It would be more than 300 years before the 27 books of the New Testament would be officially adopted, so there was no standard for what documents were to be accepted as reliable.
3. It would be 1400 years before the printing press was invented, so written documents were rare. Letters were hand-written by scribes, often using rolls of papyrus and were hand-carried and personally delivered. With 80-90% of people being illiterate, almost all knowledge depended on oral teaching and discussion.
4. There was not one “official statement of faith” until the Apostles Creed was adopted, around 390 A.D.
5. By the best available evidence, the early gatherings included people of all backgrounds: slave and free, male and female, Jewish and non-Jewish, rich and poor. This was unheard of at the time.
The Historical Setting
Thinking about all this, I began imagining what it would have been like to be part of one of the earliest communities. I thought of Philippi, as it was the first community established in Europe. Here’s what scholars agree on:
• As recounted in Acts 16, Paul first arrived there around 50 AD and founded the faith community. Lydia was the first convert and the person who first hosted Paul and his group. He came back at least one more time, but always had a special affection for this community.
• Some eight or ten years after his first visit, he wrote a letter to that congregation while he was in prison. When it arrived, it would have been read aloud. Early believers found it inspiring and invaluable, so they would have made copies and shared it with other house churches. In time it became known as “Paul’s Letter to the Philippians,” or simply “Philippians.”
• It’s unlikely he would have known as he wrote it that it would be included in the best-selling book of all time.
• Now, almost 2,000 years later, we still find it full of insight, wisdom, and inspiration.
• His guiding focus was his experience and understanding of knowing Jesus as the Risen Lord whose Spirit was alive in the world with the power to transform the lives of countless people.
Interpretation
As scholars often point out, reading one of the letters of the New Testament is like listening to one side of a phone conversation, which can involve imagining what the issues were that were being addressed. You’ll see what this means as we go along.
In a modern Presbyterian perspective, we want to be sensitive to the historical and cultural context in which each book in the Bible emerged, which may be different than our own. We are always looking for the spiritual truth that lies within a passage, rather than the surface meaning. For instance, in Leviticus the people were instructed to not eat pork or shellfish. Following this guidance, people would avoid illness.
In modern times, we know that pork can be safe to eat when sufficiently cooked, and shellfish is safe dependent on seasonal conditions. So, we are free to eat pork or shellfish if we wish, taking current understanding into account. God’s will for us to be healthy has not changed, but the specifics of how to do that has.
I want to be clear that I am not a New Testament scholar with a PhD in Greek or Biblical studies. I am a “teaching elder” -- a practicing pastor and preacher -- who is always learning new things, always seeking the fresh insights the Spirit may bring us and always welcoming the insights of others.
I think often of what Bart emphasized in his last sermons: the heart of the Gospel as Jesus taught us is to love God, love our neighbor, and know that by the “fruits” of our actions in the world our faith will be best known.
The Invitation
So, let’s embark on this journey together and see what we discover.
We’ve prepared a “letter” for everyone containing the text of the Philippians letter. We were unable to obtain enough papyrus and scribes to do each copy by hand, so we’ve resorted to using a copy machine and printing front and back on one piece of paper. But take a copy with you. Read it from time to time. Make notes on it if you wish. We will be scheduling a discussion time following one of our future services to share impressions.
I hope this adventure will be a memorable one for us all.
Steve
Philippians Series: Fall Schedule
September 11 Chapter 1: 1-11 “Love Much and Love Well”
September 18 Chapter 1: 15-26 “Paul’s Dilemma”
September 25 Suzanne Malloy, guest preacher: “Gratitude in Philippians 4”
October 2 Chapter 1: 27 – 2:4 “Always Seeking Unity”
October 9 Chapter 2: 5-11 “The Humility of Christ”
October 16 Chapter 2: 12-30 “Trusting the Right People”
October 23 Chapter 3: 1-11 “Paul’s Testimony”
October 30 Chapter 3: 12-21 “Pressing on To the Goal”
November 6 Chapter 4: 1-7 “Rejoicing Always”
November 13 Chapter 4: 8- 14 “Keeping Our Focus”
November 20 Chapter 4: 15-23 “Causes for Thanksgiving”