August 23, 2016–Devotions from Rio Olympics
Trampoline

“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.” Philippians 2:5-11

Well, I will have to be honest with you, I needed to go onto my favorite search engine, “Google” to actually know what this event is about. I will say that I am impressed. I did not know the athletes could go that high and do the tricks that they do. Actually, I could only watch a few minutes because, like women on the balance beam, I do not want to see someone fall and break their back.

The text from Philippians above is known as the Kenosis Hymn – affectionately knows as the “Up Down Up” hymn. Why? In Philippians 2:5–11, Paul will explain that the way up is down. That’s right: Down is up, up is down. The way to be great is to go lower. The way up is down.

“Kenosis may sound counterintuitive (even self-defeating) to many ears because it is antithetical to the grain of our cultural ethos that glorifies material possession, self-assertion, and power. A kenotic attitude may look to contemporary competitive minds like being defeatist or servile. However, one should not take kenosis as a sign of weakness because it is actually a demonstration of inner spiritual strength. Kenosis is the paradoxical form of power that God uses in saving and bringing shalom (koinonia of all life) to the world. Kenosis tells that God is powerful enough to give up his own privilege in order to empower others. God’s kenotic love is therefore powerful, not powerless or sentimental. Paul preached that this kenotic power of God revealed on the cross is the true wisdom and salvific knowledge for the world (1 Cor 1:20). Because of its subversive nature, the idea of kenosis is very relevant to our common life.” (Hak Joon Lee, Kingdom and Kenosis: The Mind of Christ in Paul’s Ethics.)
How is the Kenosis Hymn relevant for our lives today? The last shall be first; take the lowest seat; put others first; and love without condition and without end – that is how. Just like the trampoline, where every down has a corresponding up – we put Christ first in our lives, and we lower ourselves to humble service, because through Jesus, G-d has already lifted us up to new life.

Pastor Dave