Citizens of Heaven: Living the Way of the Cross of Christ

Philippians 3:17-4:1

I am distracted this morning by an article I read yesterday evening in Christianity Today. The article was about an "arch-conservative" Christian radio host that claimed that living out Christianity makes one conservative. Of course, I couldn't disagree more (and I question the wisdom of subscribing to this magazine). And along comes this morning's scripture to rouse these feelings all over again - or perhaps to flush them out, to daylight them.

"Brothers and Sisters, become co-imitators with me of Christ," Paul says. "For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ."

There is little agreement among scholars who Paul is referring to here, living as enemies of the cross. But it seems reasonable to me to assume that these are individuals within their faith community - other Christians... otherwise, what would be the point of saying they live outside of and in opposition to the example of Christ, they don't know or care about the way of Jesus. The critique only has teeth if it describes individuals who ought to know better.

Paul describes them a little: their end is destruction, their god is the belly, their glory is in their shame, their minds are set on earthly things.

Their end is destruction - this might not be an eschatalogical claim, that is, it might not be describing their fate or future consequence. It might be describing their goal, their intention, their modus operandi. Enemies of the way of the cross seek destruction in the world, not creation. They seek to destroy - with bombs, with words, with laws, with torture chambers, with executions.... A contrast to the way of the cross of Christ is destruction. Those who seek it are living as enemies of the cross of Christ.

This is one place where we see the clear significance of the cross - an instrument of brutal oppression, fear, torture, execution, condemnation, revenge... destruction. Through Jesus, this symbol of everything Jesus stood against becomes redeemed, and represents Jesus' resistance and victory over the forces of destruction. The way "of the cross" in Jesus reverses expectations, inverts worldviews, goes against the "normal" way of the world. There is the cross of the Empire - brutal, vengeful, destructive; and there is the cross of Christ - forgiving, loving, suffering, creative.

Their god is the belly - their ultimate concern is their own satisfaction, their own sustenance, their own appetite. Paul is contrasting this with Jesus in the wilderness, when tempted by bread Jesus responds that humanity cannot live by bread alone. Living as an enemy of the cross of Christ is living for bread alone - with no thought to the greater issues at stake. Shopping at Wal-Mart with no thought to the working conditions of those employed by that company; "supporting the troops" with no thought to the vast mechanism of militarism, consumption, exploitation, waste, violence and misallocation of resources necessary for American militarism; and so on. Thinking primarily of oneself, of one's own satisfaction or comfort (even, perhaps especially, under the guise of "helping" someone else) is living as an enemy of the cross - living life as an enemy to the idea of self-sacrifice for others, of equitable distribution of wealth and resources, of equal stake in life and prosperity of all people, especially the lowly, weak, disenfranchised, poor and the enemy.

Their glory is in their shame - when we parade our vices and weaknesses as if they were our virtues and strengths. We cannot embrace Jesus' vision of creative nonviolent resistance, and so we parade tanks and boots in front of adoring crowds and fanfare. We cannot embrace Jesus' vision of the abolition of poverty, and so we parade the super-rich along red carpets in front of crowds and flashbulbs, and even in grocery check-out lines. We cannot embrace Jesus' vision of homeless itinerant preaching, and so we build bigger and more expansive houses for smaller families and fewer people. The World and the Cross are inversions of each other. What is glorious in one is shameful in the other. What is essential in one is impossible in the other. What we called upon to do and be in one is forbidden and disgraced in the other. This is the stark dichotomy presented to us in Paul's distinction here.

Their minds are set on earthly things - surely Paul is not condemning "earthly" things like food, shelter and remunerative work for the poor, hungry and homeless; things like liberation to the captive, freedom to the oppressed. Paul here is speaking of the values of the World: wealth, prestige, influence, power, strength, comfort at the expense of others, and so on. When people's minds are set on earthly things, they are subjects of earthly powers, adherents to Worldly ideas, victims and citizens of earthly principalities. This, Paul contrasts with discipleship.

The true Christian citizenship (alternatively translated "commonwealth") is in heaven, and it is there we look for salvation. The word Paul uses is "Savior" (in Greek, Soter), which is a word also used to describe the Roman emperor and Roman gods. Paul is making a clear distinction here - you owe your allegiance to God through the person of Jesus, or you owe your allegiance to the state. You can't have it both ways. One or the other. One allegiance is inimical to the cross of Christ, the other is subject to it. The rule of Jesus in oneself is a political as well as spiritual condition. Disciples of Jesus do not look to the President for hope or truth or security - because the President can only offer the ways of the World (violence, greed, destruction). Disciples of Jesus look to the example of Jesus for hope, truth and security.

But the example of Jesus is one of abject humiliation, poverty, death, and even failure. Jesus was executed as a convicted criminal, his life and movement and ministry snuffed out after only a couple years. This is the cross of Christ! To stand up to the Powers of this world and risk being cut down for it. Who would choose that?!

No wonder conservatives see the only way to solve problems in the world as to out-brutalize the enemy, to kill more of them than they kill of us, to see "freedom" as the power to exploit as many people as possible with as little inconvenience to oneself as possible. But that is not the way of the cross of Christ. That is the way of the cross of the Empire. And it is to live as an enemy to the cross of Jesus.

We are convicted, however, that Jesus was not snuffed out that day. We are certain that his life and ministry and movement continued. We agree that he was killed - tortured and executed as an example to those who would follow him. But we further hold that he didn't stop there. The reign of God was not defeated. We were shown the way to victory over earthly powers. Creative, nonviolent, intent, persistent resistance, and the willingness to sacrifice oneself (rather than someone else).

I think we often misunderstand what happened at the cross. Jesus didn't end sacrifice by dying on the cross. He ended the practice of sacrificing others. He brought a new law - a vision of a new world (grounded in the prophetic tradition of the old), and a new sacrifice (grounded in the tradition of sacrifice, but transformed in the way Jesus transforms so much). We worry about our humiliation and troubles, but Paul reminds us of our conviction that our humiliation will be transformed to glory. Our way of thinking about ourselves and our actions (enmeshed as we are in the ideas and priorities and understandings of this World) will be transformed (to conform with the ideas and priorities and understandings of God as revealed in the example of Jesus). By declaring ourselves loyal to the example and rule of Jesus, we are already being remade and transformed - we are becoming citizens of that Greater Kingdom. If we would but stand firm.

I have never been so moved by Paul's writing.