Grace Congregational UCC

“To Know and To Know”
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8

March 25, 2007 - Kim M. Henning

In what has got to be one of the most phenomenal prayers in the Bible, Paul prays, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul’s prayer is that he really wants to know Jesus. There is a big difference between believing in Christ and knowing Christ. You and I believe in Christ. That is what the Apostles’ Creed teaches us. We believe he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe he was born of the Virgin Mary. We believe he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. We believe, we believe...

But Paul does not say, ‘I want to believe Christ.’ Paul takes his faith deeper when he says, “I want to know Christ.” That is huge. Paul gets right to the heart he’s here: he wants to know Christ. Paul does not agitate him with the provability of the claims that Jesus made of himself: he wants to know Christ. Paul does not want second hand information—I want to know Christ, he prays.

This is phenomenal. Paul wants a relationship with Christ. You see---Paul had earlier put together a resume that was nearly impeccable. I mean, Paul’s life is nearly perfectly put together, right from the moment of birth. He writes: “I was circumcised on the eighth day. (Good parents) I am a citizen of Israel (Patriotism!). My mother is a Hebrew. My father is Hebrew (he was a purebred.) I am from the Tribe of Benjamin. I was a Pharisee. I’ve been passionate. And yet, Paul says, “That’s all rubbish. I treat it as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ, my Lord.” Relationship.

About a month ago, I needed to make a delivery in Fond du Lac late one afternoon. I thought to myself, “I’m going to Fond du Lac. I’ll be there around supper. Why not pick-up my nieces who live near Kiel? I’ll get to spend 3 or 4 hours with them.....we can eat supper together. I picked them up.

What intrigued me—as we were driving----is that between my two nieces, they must have asked 30 or more questions. How did you know that you wanted to be a minister? Did you work in the cheese factory? Where did you go to school after high school? What did you do in seminary? Was it hard? Did you read a lot? What is the hardest part of being a minister? It was incredible coming from two nine-year-olds. They wanted to know. I was like, ‘you’re forty years older than us, you live in a different community.....build a bridge, we want to know you.’

Paul said, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.”

Paul knows that we live in a Good Friday world. It is a world of heinous crimes and terrible loneliness, it is a Good Friday world where illegal and dangerous drugs are the substance of choice—just to cope because the pain of being human is too much.

Emile Durkheim has written a classic book on suicide, entitled, Suicide, and she raises the question of why suicide rates have risen so sharply in modern, relatively affluent, industrial societies. His theory is that we live disconnected lives, we don’t live in relationship to others. He says that there is a profound sense of loneliness when we feel that we are nothing more to this world than expendable producers or expendable consumers. And when we’re not producing or consuming, we have this sense of vanity.

Albert Einstein said, “It is strange to be known so universally and yet be so lonely.”

Paul prays, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.”

Resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is when Rome’s crucifixion did not have the final word. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is when powerful government with power to kill did not have the final word. Every time a government goes to war, we make a statement against the resurrection power of God for life, for community, for reconciliation.

It is interesting that Paul should pray for ‘power.’ It is as if Paul knows that the spirit inside him–is not adequate. It is as if Paul knows all too well, that the human being is just vessel of flesh and blood and things like a liver, a spleen, arteries and a colon.

Paul takes a dive into this relationship with God, praying for resurrection power.

Paul wants to know Jesus Christ. Interesting to any relationship is how far do we want that relationship to grow? How much of a relationship do we want? How much do you want to know?

I recently officiated at the funeral of an unchurched person—the family asked if I would lead a service of worship as they grieved the death of their loved one. Of course, I said, ‘yes.’ But I’d like to meet with you. I did.

Along the way.....(the person who died was in their 80's), I asked questions like, “Did your father believe in God?” “I think so. We never talked about that.” “Why did your father choose to become a (talked about his vocation)?” “I don’t know. We never talked about that?” “What causes was your father committed to?” “We never talked about that.” (It wasn’t quite that obvious......but you get the point.)

Paul, in that incredible prayer that he speaks to the church says, “I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection.” But Paul doesn’t stop there. That would have been an easy place to stop. I want to begin, I want to end with resurrection. I want only ‘feel good.’ I want only ‘the energy stuff.’ Paul could have stopped there. But he doesn’t, because Paul wants a deeper relationship than that.

Paul, not only says, “I want to know the power of his resurrection” but goes on (without even a comma) to say, “and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul knows that if he wants a relationship with Christ....it’s not only ‘good stuff.’ A relationship with Christ, must include a willingness to ‘enter into his suffering.’

Suffering, for Paul, is not punishment. Suffering is part of the relationship. Suffering, for Paul, does not illustrate a distance from God. Suffering is what we willingly enter because Christ embraced suffering on the cross and Christ embraced the suffering of others. Paul understands that if we take on Christ....if we really want to know Christ..... if we really want to grow...if we really want to be ‘at one’ in hope of a resurrection from the dead, we must also necessarily take on those causes for which Christ suffered, for which Christ wept, for which Christ bled, for which Christ poured out his life.

Early yesterday morning, five vehicles of adults left our parking lot for an eleven hundred mile journey to Biloxi, Mississippi. It grieved me to not be with them. We have five vehicles of adults who care for those who are suffering from the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina. Some are giving up vacation time to respond to suffering. Everyone is giving up personal comforts to respond to suffering. They have all made personal sacrifices because of their regard for where Christ would be: among the suffering, the hurting, the hopeless.

I wept as they left our parking lot yesterday, because every time—every time, we have taken a group into the Appalachian Mountains and last September when we went to Biloxi, there are always ‘God moments’ that simply grow this relationship with God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit deeper. If there isn’t sacrifice in the relationship—the relationship probably wouldn’t endure the test of time. If there isn’t some degree of suffering or pain in the relationship----the relationship probably is in ‘word only.’ If it doesn’t cost me something, there’s a good chance that this relationship of faith is little more than puppy love.

Paul prayed this prayer: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by become like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection of the dead.”

Paul prayed that prayer for himself, and he wrote to the church in Philippi. Do you think there were any there who made this prayer—their own?

Stay with me, just a bit further. Paul prayed that prayer....and this morning it’s written to us. Are there any here who might make this prayer—their own?