Every November, the city of Richmond, Virginia, hosts a marathon. For 26.2 miles, runners pace themselves down Monument Avenue, across the James River, and tour the city in a street race. This is my story of that race. I didn’t run it (clearly – remember, I’m not a runner!), but my seminary campus was along the race route, and each year members of our community would volunteer at the closest water station, or just meet up to enjoy fellowship as we watched those running pass by. During my third year, we had a specific objective – one of our classmates was running. Signs were made, and various friends were positioned along the entire race route to cheer her on. We waited eagerly next to campus, close to the paced out time, excitedly scanning the runners for our friend. After a little while, someone caught sight of her and began to yell. The first thing I saw was Faith’s smile.
She shifted her run to come closer to the side where her cheering section had gathered, and ran victoriously by our campus receiving all the high fives and love she could. Another classmate, Lindy, joined her at the corner and ran a mile or so with her to give her a final boost to make it to the finish line. In class the next week, we celebrated with her again as she wore her medal to one of the classes we shared. She noted, eyes beaming, how much it meant to her to see those familiar faces along the race path, especially in those later miles when she thought her body might give out.
It helps, you see, to have a cheering section that reminds us to “keep going!” in our pursuits. A little encouragement can go a long way to help lift our spirits, remind us of our abilities, and get that extra boost to carry us forward. In many ways, Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one large cheering section for the early church. Throughout the letter, he encourages them to live their faith in the best ways possible. A large part of this is a call to unity with each other, that they might find strength in numbers and in working together. He also continues to emphasize the great gift of faith and power of Christ’s presence among them when this happens. In this final chapter he delivers a wonderful punctuation point with instructions on how they are to continue.
Verse four is one of the most well-known verses in Scripture and is often among those favorites we list. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!” For Paul, this is an important mark of the life of faith – a constant and persistent celebration of God in the lives of believers. You might even imagine the popular tune by Bobby McFerrin playing in the background, “Don’t worry . . . . be happy!,” particularly when reading the next verses. Such a conclusion is upbeat and uplifting, and it gives us all those warm and fuzzy feelings. It seems to check all the boxes for what encouragement should be.
For most of us, we hear these verses in fairly relaxed circumstances. It’s a crisp fall day and we are comfortable here in our pews, looking forward to a delicious picnic outside after worship. We might describe our metaphorical level of exertion as that of a leisurely stroll. For Paul and the Philippians, though, the context might have been a bit more taxing. We know from other places in this letter that the Philippians were enduring some sort of external persecution, and likely some internal turmoil and disunity. And Paul? He was writing this letter from prison. So it’s fair to say that both the reader and writer here were under some amount of stress. Perhaps the race equivalent of, say, mile 23 of the marathon. And here, the words of encouragement are even more important, and the instruction for continual joy even more challenging.
Paul is encouraging himself and his readers to remember joy continuously, because of what they know to be true in Jesus Christ. As Nathan Eddy notes:
Joy is a discipline of perception, not an emotion dependent on circumstances
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- Again, he calls for a reorientation to the world that perceives everything in light of the good news of Jesus Christ. And in this light of good news, joy can be found. This isn’t a fleeting or flimsy joy – it is the result of a deep abiding faith in the strength of God. It is an orientation of the spirit that hopes for a better future, and indeed trusts that future to God’s hands and seeks to become a coworker in it.
The role of joy in faith is not just celebratory – it is provocative and subversive. JOY is persistent, and seeks to overturn those threatening situations, vain desires, and selfish ambition and replace them with a peace that guards hearts and minds. What better place for it to begin than in difficult times, where it is needed the most. Eddy goes on to say that:
Joy always takes root amid adversity; there is no other soil for it to grow in .
By taking on a perspective of joy, the Philippians will join God in delighting for the good that is happening in the world, and will be motivated to keep pursuing it. Above all else, joy has the ability to keep things going.
This week, I had the incredible blessing of attending a conference at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur that connected the creative work of improve comedy to the context of serving in ministry and the need for adaptive leadership. It was eye-opening, and very fun. As we began, we gathered in a circle for some introductions, and the leaders used joy to build the energy in the group and foster a sense of connection and momentum for us that would launch us into our time together. After each person completed a prompt, the entire group would raise hands and exclaim, “that’s awesome!” It didn’t matter what was said. Some of the things shared were good, like a comment about someone seeing friends in town. Others were not quite that way, such as when someone shared that they had just quit their job and weren’t sure what came next. Admittedly, it was a bit weird to say “that’s awesome!” to some of them, but after a few times it started to make sense. We were honoring the brave space in which they had shared, and the refrain became an expression of support and encouragement. Laughter broke some of the tension and community was created. All with a little bit of shared joy, a precursor to what was to come.
A large part of improv comedy involves keeping the energy going. The adage “Yes, And” is a hallmark to this practice. It reminds the actors that what is spoken by others is offered as a gift. The job of others on stage is to attentively listen and receive it as that gift, encouraging each other and building upon what others have offered. The simplest way to do this? Start your response with “Yes, And . . .” It’s amazing the energy this can generate. It pushes the story forward, even to unexpected places.
When we’d forget, the energy would suddenly fall. A negative block of an idea would feel like the rug was pulled out from under us or a door was slammed in our face. But as the week progressed, we got better at doing it. We began to work together in pretty profound ways as a team. “Yes, And” became a way we helped inspire each other to “keep going.” One of our leaders even challenged us to step into open space before we knew what we were going to say, trusting that we could keep it going. And on those times when we failed? We knew we had the joy of “That’s awesome!” or a slow motion 1980s style group high five that would break any sense of failure apart with joy. No matter what comes, Paul, writes, keep going. If things are difficult, just put one foot in front of the other.
“Yes, And” is permission to “keep going,” and should be the line on all of our lips with each other as we encourage one another in faith and ministry. Last week in our text from Philippians 3, Paul urged us to “press on” and keep our eyes on the prize of the heavenly call. This week, just one chapter later, he continues this message with the encouragement to keep on doing what we have learned and received. Keep going. It’s simple advice that moves us into the future, and helps us live into the joy we carry or need to discover. “Press On, Keep Going” is what is carrying us through this Stewardship season as we reflect and make commitments to one another here in ministry. As a congregation, we are cheering each other on, and pointing each other towards greater goals of discipleship with each of these pledge cards. We are reminded that we are in this together, each of us doing what God calls us to do, trusting that the Spirit will knit us together in powerful ways. This is a day of celebration! We will rejoice together here in this space for worship, and continue in a time of fellowship at noon. There is much to be celebrated about what God has done, yes, AND today we also celebrate what we hope God will do in us, through us, and maybe in spite of us, in the year that is to come. Even if you are not a member of our congregation, I invite you to take a few moments and jot a note, perhaps on a scrap of paper, that is your offering to God today for how you will engage in ministry in your own ways, and then bring that paper forward with you as an inspirational sign, lifting it to God, the ultimate encourager.
Keep going, friends, in faith in the one who runs alongside us and is always near us. Keep going, and rejoice along the way! May these cards and offerings be our “yes” to following Jesus Christ, and may we joyfully anticipate that God will keep them going, receiving them and saying “yes, and…”
~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
October 15, 2017
Quotes from Nathan Eddy, “Homiletical Perspective: Philippians 4:1-9,) Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 4, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.)
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