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

August 22, 2016–Devotions from Rio Olympics
Boxing

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Boxing is one of the Olympic sports with a long history in Olympic competitions. There have been many boxers who used their success in the Olympics to launch themselves on to long boxing careers: boxers like Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Wladimir Klitschko, Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinx, Leon Spinks, and Lennox Lewis. Olympic boxing is great to watch because it often is fast, spirited, exciting…..and short. There are only so many rounds, less than five I believe, and many of these matches never get to the third round. I find it interesting that Paul would use this sport to talk about his faith. Boxing was popular in the Greek arena of sport. These boxers did not wear big gloves like they do today. Instead they wore what looks like a large glove, and around their knuckles they wore a metal piece called a “Caestus” that would inflict extremely dangerous wounds.

When we realize that Paul experienced his own injuries throughout his ministry travels, and somewhere along the line experienced some sort of “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7), it is no wonder that Paul would use the image of a “boxer beating the air” as a counter-image to his ministry – to hit the air is not to have a chance to inflict any injury. Paul instead knew that to fight through the suffering now, to “fight the good fight and finish the race”, meant to persevere to the end – to live the life of faith no matter the punishment, the set backs, the conflicts and the pressures.

My friends, G-d is not asking us, nor is there any reason to inflict punishment on ourselves for our faith. But, there are ways to deny our allegiance with culture now and put Christ first. When we do this, we are not boxing as if beating the air, we are truly embracing the idea of living the Christ-like life. We have no idea how many rounds G-d may give us in this life, so let us all persevere to the end, for the end may be sooner than we imagine.

Pastor Dave