Sunday Homily - September 27, 2020 - The Mind of Christ

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32

Psalm 25:1-8

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

I.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones,

 but your words will never hurt me."

Anyone heard this little statement before?

Whether it be the cartoon that I watched as a kid

 or that one person on the playground in 3rd grade,

  or even the transference of that idea into adulthood,

   it is amazing how long that this phrase stuck with me personally.

And, interestingly enough,

 this phrase has a fascinating origin

  if you dive a little deeper.

A few sources,

 such as the Cambridge Dictionary and Gary Martin's entry on the Phrase Finder,

  the original saying is said to have appeared in The Christian Recorder,

   with is an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) publication

    in 1862,

     but that entry in The Christian Recorder remarks that it is an "old adage"

      suggesting an earlier origin. 

[c.f. Martin, Gary. "The Phrase Finder". phrases.org.uk]

But, the phrase also has taken on some level of proverbial import,

 as it sometimes is enshrined as one of those proverbs

  that are just simply self-evident.

And its use usually follows along the line of reasoning

 that verbal criticism or abuse

  doesn't have any power over someone

   like physical dangers, 

    such as getting hit with a rock

     or whacked with a stick.

But,

 the more that I think about that phrase,

  I really wonder:

   is this statement ever really true?

Have you had someone in your life whose words about you or against you

 really has done lasting damage?

  Even if you haven't been hit with a rock or struck with a club,

   have you ever had someone who has said something against you

    that FELT like getting hit with one of those things?

Or, have you met someone else

 who uses language like bullets,

  firing them at others

   and leaving a wake of broken relationships in their wake?

Do you know that one person on social media,

 who floods your newsfeed with all kinds of word soup,

  who spreads fear,

   misinformation,

    conceited or prideful content,

     or openly bullies others that disagree with them

      over anything, big or small?

Are our words really harmless?

 Or do they have more power than we sometimes think about?

II.

If words weren't powerful,

 it doesn't make much sense to be disciples of Jesus Christ,

   who is someone we refer to as the Word Made Flesh.

If words didn't do stuff,

 the Genesis creation accounts wouldn't be super helpful,

  because God's created all that we see

   by God's Word. 

If words weren't life changing,

 it doesn't make too much sense for Jesus

  to say that it isn't what we eat that makes us unclean,

   but rather what comes out of our hearts and mouths,

    "murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander"

     that makes us unclean.

      [c.f. Matthew 15]

In fact, 

 in St. Paul's letter to the Philippians this morning,

  we are commanded to be careful to focus our minds

   on things that build up,

    not things that tear others down. 

Whether it be the things we do

 or the words we speak,

  St. Paul by the Holy Spirit

   exhorts us to have the centrally important thing

    that should be absolutely determinative of our Christian life:

We are to have the mind of Christ.

And if we are to have the mind of Christ,

 what then should change?

Well, according to St. Paul,

 here's how we are to live:

"If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

III.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones,
 but words will never hurt me,"

  is not really how the world works, is it?

Our words that we speak to people

 have a lot more power than you can possibly imagine.

And as Christians,

 we are called not just to be careful in our actions,

  but to think carefully about every single word that proceeds from our mouth

   and to test them to see

    if what we say

     demonstrates that we desire the mind of Christ. 

If we are to have the mind of Christ,

 to "walk in love as Christ loved us,"

  our speech is an essential part of our discipleship.

Be wary of how you use your words,

 as if you have the mind of Christ,

  they should not be made ugly by fear and conceit,

   but rather be avenues for God's love to be made known.

When you are tempted to post that one thing on social media

 that might not be the most compassionate, sympathetic, or loving,

  repent, refrain, and let it pass.

   As another perhaps more true proverb spoken by my grandma goes,

    "If ya can't say something nice,

     don't say anything at all."

But also when you see others that are struggling or downtrodden,

 your compassionate, sympathetic, and loving words

  can, and usually do,

   change someone's life!

I can point to several teachers in my life

 who by their encouragement and kindness

  very literally influenced life changing decisions that I've personally made.

   And I know I'm not the only one that this has happened to.

As followers of Jesus Christ,

 pray and ask God for the kind and gracious words that we need

  to continue to spread the Word of the Lord. 

So that when others look at the way we work and the word that we speak,

 they will know that we have the mind of Christ,

  who loves us and gave himself for us.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.