There is no past to the future

Philippians 3:1-4  (NIV)

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

 

I don’t know about you --- but I am tired.

          Pandemic fatigue

Half the time I want to believe that things are getting better

          And in some ways they are

                    Schools are opening up

But then I do my daily check of the number of COVID cases in Indiana and I am brought back to reality

          We have had the worse week since this pandemic started in number of new cases

          And hospitalizations are starting to rise

The good news is we are doing a little better here in Marion County than the rest of the state

And now the air is turning colder and the sky is getting darker and we are finally getting a little rain.

We will probably be spending more and more time indoors --- and according to the scientists --- we all know what that might mean.

For me, the most sobering news was the suggestion that we need to re-think our thanksgiving plans

          That --- more than anything else really got to me.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I have been able to run outside

but the start of the fall allergy season has chased me to my treadmill.

We all want to get back to NORMAL, but in this letter to the Philippians, Paul is reminding us that there is no Future to the Past.

          We will never go back the way things were.

And when I make a statement like that, I feel a sense of loss

          “What do you mean we can’t get back to the old normal?”

                    But we have all done this before.

Our world changed radically after September 11, 2001

I can read a book or watch a movie and can tell if it was written before or after that date

Our world changed --- and we adapted

And we will do the same again

The question that Paul is asking us however --- is what kind of world will we help to create?

Paul is clearly writing this letter at a time of transition

Both Christianity and Judaism are striking out into new territory (often at the same time) --- The are reaching out to the gentiles

          And Paul is trying to offer a better way

And for Paul --- there is no future to the past

He uses some interesting language --- and in this he gives a warning and an affirmation

          “Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh”

Dogs?

          Evildoers?

                    Mutilators of the flesh?

Who the heck is Paul talking about?

Some scholars suggest he is talking about Judaism --- or maybe gentiles who are following Judaism

Morna Hooker in her commentary writes:

“It is important to note that Paul’s bitter attack here is not on Judaism per se.  His argument in v.4-11 suggests that he probably had in mind a group of Christian Jews who disagreed with him about the terms on which one could belong to the people of God and were insisting that Gentile Christians become Jewish proselytes.”

For Paul --- there is no future to the past

He then gives his great credentials as not only a Jew --- but as an extremely righteous one.

(CEB)

I was circumcised on the eighth day.

I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin.

I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews.

With respect to observing the Law, I’m a Pharisee.

With respect to devotion to the faith, I harassed the church.

With respect to righteousness under the Law, I’m blameless.

This is nothing new from Paul --- he often flaunts his credentials.

But it is what he tells us next that is important.

Paul wants us to leave the past behind

The truth is we like to live in the past

Last Wednesday was the official start of practice in college basketball.

The start of basketball is almost a national holiday

--- hope for better things to come

          When you walk into Assembly Hall at IU what is the first thing you see?

                    5 huge banners --- celebrating the past --- and rightfully so

But our obsession with the past is not limited to our sports programs

          We often talk about “the good ole days”

                    As if life was --- better – easier --- more holy --- in some mythical past

We even fall into that trap at Meridian Street as we celebrate 200 years by remembering the “glory days” when Dick Lancaster filled the pulpit

The past brings us warm feelings

          The past makes us feel good

But the past is not real ---

and Paul wants to remind us that there is no future to the past

A year or so ago I heard an interesting story on NPR about the landfill on Nantucket Island

The story began:

The landfill is one of three hubs on which life on Nantucket rotates around--the post office and the grocery store the two others. Stay long enough at any of the three and you are sure to run into everyone you know, including maybe some you are trying to avoid.

What makes the dump so interesting is that they have a swap shop there called: “Take it or Leave it”.

The story goes on:

There’s something about the dump, and the take it or leave it swap shack in particular, that brings the Nantucketers out in droves. The shack is even shingled, resembling a small cottage, but the difference between this house and all the others is that one wall has been replaced by an electric garage door, to allow a front-end loader to clean it out weekly.

Just the kind of place many of us like to go and scour through for the perfect treasure.

It reminded me of going to Arizona and choosing what to bring back for my parents to wade through and what to leave behind.

Paul tells us that we must leave parts of our past behind

Paul writes according to the translation known as “The Message”

The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.

I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.

Paul is suggesting that the way forward is through jettisoning parts of our past and replacing them with the Christ.

I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.

We often call this spiritual transformation

Moving Christ from the fringes of our lives and into the center

The “Take It Or Leave It” shop reminds me of this journey Paul describes.

Faith is like looking through all those books, dishes, and toys trying to discover what hidden treasure God has in store for us.

It’s like standing at that table, digging through those piles of shirts, jeans, sweaters, and jackets.

It’s like digging deeper, throwing things aside, looking for what God has in store for us.

You never know what you might find there, do you?

The journey we’re on means leaving behind the old and discovering the new.

That is the invitation that Paul is offering to us.

Paul writes: (the Message)

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. . . . I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. . . .

Stick with me, friends. . . . There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. . . . All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. . . .

But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! . . . .

My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the very best for you. You make me feel such joy, fill me with such pride. Don’t waver. Stay on track, steady in God.

Paul wants us to know that: There is no past to the future

May God give us the strength to let go of what needs to be let go of ---- and to embrace --- to live --- the love of Christ.