Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, June 1, 2014

"We Can Work It Out" - Sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

We Can Work It Out
Easter 7 – Narrative Lectionary 4
June 1, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Philippians 1.27-2.13

In December of 1965, the Beatles released what would become the sixth and last in a string of #1 singles in a row on the American charts. It would also the 11th #1 for them in less than two years. The “Fab Four” spent an unheard of 11 hours of studio time on the song and, when it came time to decide which song to release as an “A-side” single, Lennon argued strongly for “Day Tripper.” The group decided to market both songs as “A-side,” the first “double A-side” in recorded history. But the other song quickly out-played “Day Tripper,” reaching #1 on the music charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

If you have paid attention to the sermon title, you already know what the song is: “We Can Work It Out.” Interestingly, the song was a collaboration between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who I don’t think got along very well. McCartney wrote the beginning and ending, the more optimistic verses saying, “We can work it out.” He then passed it off to Lennon for finishing, with Lennon writing the more impatient bridge, “Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend.” (On a side-note, George Harrison is credited with the suggestion that then of the bridge have a waltz-like tempo.)


Well, this not just a shout-out to the 50th anniversary of the British Invasion of the Beatles in America. Rather, I thought of the song as I worked with the text from Philippians, especially verses 12-13, where Paul invites us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, as the NRSV puts it. (We read Peterson’s The Message version today because I think it’s more accessible and understandable.) Now, to our highly sensitized Lutheran ears this smacks of works righteousness or earning our salvation. However, we know that this is Paul writing, so we know that there has to more to “working it out” than meets the eye.

Paul writes to a church he founded and deeply cares for, a church whose unity is being threatened, both from without and from within. So, in telling them to live a life as a “credit to the Message of Christ,” he is reminding them of the new reality in which they stand, a reality of God’s love poured out through Jesus Christ. This is hard to see because of an unfortunate translate (in both versions). The “if” at the beginning of chapter 2 should be translated “since” or “because.” Since God has done these things or because of what has been done, therefore your lives are to be different. Then, at the end of the passage, Paul also reminds then that what God has already done isn’t the end. God continues to work deep within them, helping them to live out the faith given to them.

In between, through the use of the so-called “Christ Hymn,” Paul reminds them of two things: the basis for their life together and the character of it. They are to think of themselves in the same way as Jesus did when he emptied himself for them. Thinking as Jesus did doesn’t necessarily mean dying as he did and it doesn’t mean thinking alike. It doesn’t even mean we all believe the same; it means we share a concern for the common good. Christianity never has been and never will be a “one-size-fits-all” religion. Rather, it’s a way of life.

A small illustration: as I was working with a group of confirmation students and their parents a several years ago, I reminded the youth that we did not wear robes our Saturday evening services and to dress with that in mind. One of the moms immediately asked me if I have a dress code. She almost got me. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to say to them, “I expect you to bring your best selves to church, whatever that is for you.”

It is telling that the English word “you” can be either singular or plural, but I’ll bet that most of us assume it is singular when we read the Bible. However, most of the time, it is plural. Here, Paul is telling the Philippians to work out their salvation together, not individually. This is not adherence to a set of rules, but living out a shared vision of self-sacrifice for others. It is what we’ve tried to capture in our mission statement: “Through God’s abundant love, we live and work to serve others.” This is not superficial advice like “play nice,” but rather it’s a way of being and doing. We are to work out together what God has worked into us, and just as importantly, continues to work out in, with, and through us.

The Beatles certainly weren’t Christian, yet “We Can Work It Out” and the process in which it was written shows us what thinking of ourselves in the same way as Jesus and working out salvation might look like. McCartney and Lennon had different styles and attitudes, even different approaches to the song. Yet, they were able to work together their common vision for making music. Theirs wasn’t a collaboration that would hold, as we well know, for their particular unity wasn’t enough.

Our life together at Grace is going well right now and it will continue to do so, not because we all think alike, but because we have a common vision. It will continue only if we remind ourselves of what God has done in us and pay attention to what God wants to do with and through us, that we might “live and work to serve others.” We can indeed, with God’s help and guidance, “work it out.” Amen.

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