“The Good Work Has Begun!”

Scripture Text Philippians 1:3-11

Theologian Matthew Fox tells the story of a Catholic Sister in Chicago who worked with women in prison. She told the women she had funds which could either get them a good lawyer to review their cases and possibly get them out sooner; or she could bring in a welder to teach them welding so they could have a skill when they were released; or she could get a dancer and a painter to come teach them to dance and paint.
Ninety-five percent chose the dancer or painter. Why? Because they said it would be the first time in their lives they would have a chance to express themselves. The oppressed and imprisoned and dispossessed need more than money or food or freedom. They also need creativity and self-expression.
--from a tape on “Art, Spirituality and Social Justice” as quoted in Nena Bryans,
Full Circle: A Proposal to the Church for an Arts Ministry
(San Carlos, CA: Schuyler Institute for Worship and the Arts, 1988),30-31.

Isn’t that interesting? Of the 3 options, this is the last one that I thought they would choose. A legal advisor to get their sentence reduced, or possibly even overturned? Isn’t freedom the most tempting of the 3? But what about job training? Many people who are in prison are either unemployed at the time of their arrest, or else will never be able to return to their old jobs when they are released. Isn’t a marketable skill important in the rehabilitation process? But I would never have seen the arts as a desirable choice! It would seem that goodness and worth actually goes beyond human definition – it goes to a value that rises up above the things of earth.

Read Philippians 1:3-6

Good works aren’t defined by the human experience. Paul is telling us that it is the work of Christ that characterizes the best that is in us, and that it isn’t even ourselves who have conceptualized these “good works”. All good things are of God, and created by God, and begun by God, and none of it is of us – we are simply the messenger, the delivery service, if you will, for the good works of the LORD God Almighty.

It’s also interesting that Paul says “I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel”. Paul - that arrogant young man who had been appalled by the blasphemy that he saw in those first followers of Jesus. Paul - a staunch believer that Jews were good and every one else was worthless,. And this same Paul was now proclaiming joy in being partnered with both of these groups. His arrogance and self centeredness was gone. It was no longer about him – it was now about Jesus Christ! The church of today could learn a lot from this simple verse.

Read Philippians 1:7-8

And he isn’t simply working alongside the others in ministry – there is a genuine affection for his brothers and sisters. How did this huge change come to be? It was the “good work” of Jesus Christ that had filled him, and now was busting out all over! For Paul, it didn’t even matter if he was in prison, or being beaten, or making tents, or reaching out to the lost and hurting, or traveling some dusty road, or sharing his story about discovering Christ in his life
For him, it is all about preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. All too often, the Church of today gets lost in the innuendos and minutiae of denominational differences. We can’t work with the Catholics because they put too much emphasis on Mary. We can’t work with the Southern Baptists because they don’t give any value to women. We can’t work with the Presbyterians because they think that God has already decided who is going to be saved and who is to be condemned to hell. We can’t work with the Episcopalians because they ordained a gay bishop. Now in all honesty, I don’t see a lot of this attitude here, but believe me, it permeates the Church.
But what ever happened to Jesus? Have we, sometime during the last 2,000 years, drawn and quartered the Lord, with each of us taking a little bit of Him for our selves, claiming that we have gotten the best part? The denominational church of the 21st century has, somehow, moved humanity to the first position and Jesus to the 2nd. So much for the “good work” (singular!) that God has begun in us!

When will we begin to give God the credit for the things that we are able to do?
When will we give the headship of the church back to Christ?
When will we begin to long, and pray, for a unified church “with all the affection of Christ Jesus”?

Read Philippians 1:9-11

“That our love (our goodness – our good works) may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”
The good work that Christ has begun in each of us can only grow and blossom as we become more and more attuned to the workings of Christ. We study God’s word. We pray, not only for situations and people, but for ministry and personal direction. We strive to understand His ways. We give ourselves over to the leading and indwelling of His Spirit. And it is all with a joy filled heart and spirit – never out of obligation.

And even as we readily admit that our love of Christ is imperfect, that our understanding of His Ways and desires for us is insufficient, that even on our good days we miss His best; regardless of where we are, that “good work” has begun. And the whole deal began 2,000 years ago, in the womb of a teenage virgin. It began within one of us and has spread to all of us! And whether we are in one of our best days, or stumbling through a very dark day, Christ’s goodness can still shine through us if we let it.

During this Christmas season, will the best of Christ shine through each of us? Will we give the glory and praise of our lives to God? Will the “good work” that the Lord has begun in us be wasted, or will we “carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

It’s our choice. Which will it be? Will you choose a benefit of earth, or will you express yourself for Jesus?