Don't You Know who I am?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
March 11th 2007

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Philippians 3:4b-14; Isaiah 43:16-21
“Don’t You Know Who I Am?”

During the time I was a student at Columbia Theological Seminary, I was assigned to work in the schools bookstore for my work-study. There were often days that I thought to myself: “Are they really paying me to work here?” The only problem with the job was that my love of reading was no where close to my student’s budget. As a result, one of the best lessons I learned in seminary came from working in the bookstore. The lesson I learned: personal restraint.
Even though working in the bookstore was the furthest thing from hard labor, there were times when I actually dreaded going to work. The sense of dread arose each time the school would host a continuing education event or conference. During these events there always seemed to be one pastor or one author who would visit the bookstore and make a grand entrance. After demanding some extraordinary service the same question would almost always arise: “Don’t you know who I am?”
Most of the time, those of us on staff did know these rather self-important people. After all, each one of them had a reputation as a nationally known preacher, author, or even a large donor to the seminary. However, despite knowing exactly who they were, we had a standard response. It went something like this: “No, but is there something I may help you with?” It was our attempt to help these folks with the discipline of humility.
Now that I look back upon those many encounters I believe our response should have been: “Oh course I know who you are. You are a child of God.” It would have been a much more loving way of seeking to disarm the sense of entitlement and arrogance. However, they are not the only folks who are in need of these reminders. A lesson in humility is one that many of us need from time to time. The reality is that all of us get so caught up in the trappings of our world, the privileges and pedigrees, which in reality are of so little importance compared with living faithfully.
This is clearly at work in Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. When we pick up his letter, Paul is repeating an argument common in his letters. The argument focused on this question: Is it is necessary to follow Jewish religious custom in order to be a follower of Jesus?” While it seems almost silly to us, a case could really be made for that very thing. After all, Jesus was Jewish and followed Jewish custom and laws. No where in his life did Jesus say he came to form a new religion. So, those who argued that one had to follow Jewish custom had a rather strong case. That is why Paul never argues that the practices should be abandoned all together by everyone. Paul simply preaches that those who are not Jewish to begin with, are not obligated to do so in order to follow Jesus. For Paul, religious customs and rituals are not what following Jesus is all about.
Eugene Peterson is a Presbyterian pastor, and an author, who is most well known for his translation of the Bible called The Message. In the last year I have become more familiar with that translation and believe he does a good job of exposing the essence of our morning reading from Philippians. The essence of Paul’s argument is simple. He is Jewish by birth, circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the elite tribe of Benjamin, and has been an adherent to the law. When it comes to religious credentials, Paul’s are most impressive. However, compared with the gift of knowing Jesus, he considers all his credentials and pedigree dog dung. Peterson’s translation is far closer to the Greek here than almost all other translations. Paul really is that blunt.
Paul is not writing a treatise against Jewish customs and traditions. Instead, Paul is challenging anything which keeps people from faithfully following Jesus. In this passage, the enduring message from Paul has everything to do with privilege, identity, religious rituals, and customs. By focusing on these enduring messages, we can move beyond historical curiosity to the important concerns of discipleship.
To make this interpretive decision on this passage then, should lead us to answer questions like: What are the privileges and identities to which we cling? Where are the places in our lives where we feel superior to other people? Is it: Net worth, educational background (where you went to high school), political affiliation, religious belief, race, gender, or even sexuality? Whatever it is which causes us to feel superior over others may just be the exact thing Paul would consider dog dung when connected with knowing Christ. If each one of us will take the time to stop and reflect on these questions, I am sure one of these will hit close to home. Whatever it is, whatever we are clinging to, Paul would tell us to give it up because it is getting in the way of our faithfulness to Jesus Christ.
That is probably easier said than done. After all, some of these identities and privileges are seen as good and even natural in our culture. But the good news is that God will not give up on us. We can still grow and change. The God who can make a way in the midst of our wilderness places and who has brought down the mighty armies of the world is the same God who took Saul, a privileged religious zealot who persecuted Christians and turned him into Paul, a follower of Jesus who would bear this message to the Gentile world. This is the same God who is able to do a new thing in us, and through us, and yes even, despite us.
Just as this is true for each one of us individually, it is true for us as a community of faith. I believe that we are just beginning to glimpse the new thing which God has in store for this community. As we seek to understand this new thing God is doing here at Westminster one thing is clear, the importance of all our work and ministry, our customs and practices must be gauged through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It means that all our hopes those which lead us to a new day and even those hopes with long for the past must be seen as worthless whenever they become an impediment to faithful living. We must all be willing to, in the words of Paul, “give up that inferior stuff so that we will know Christ more personally.”
The journey of faith is one where we seek to live as faithfully as we know how in a rather chaotic world. So much seems to change every time we turn around. Our natural human reaction, in the midst of chaos, is to cling to that which is most familiar. Because of this we can often end up giving the unimportant stuff way too much of our energy and time. The good news is that we not the first people to live in such times. The bible is full of witnesses, just like Paul who are calling us to always remember to cling only to the truly important stuff. And if all else fails, just remember the answer to the question: “Don’t you know who I am?” will always be: “Of course, you are a child of God.” Amen.