Homily for Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Philippians 2:12-18
The Christian life requires we give up so much. Indeed, our Lord taught us this morning that it requires we give up everything (Luke 14:33). And yet we heard from the Apostle in his letter to the Philippians so much about being glad and rejoicing – so what is going on? Is this some sort of pseudo-Buddhism, in which we have to stand on our head and fool ourselves into believing that to have nothing is to actually have plenty, that water is dry, and one plus one equals purple?
Of course not! The first half of this process is correct, in that we do have to give up everything in order to become a follower of Jesus. But what follows is quite different. In giving up what we currently have, God replaces it with something vastly superior. It is not so much a “giving up” as it is “swapping out”. We are called to “swap out” a love for this world and all its trinkets in exchange for the love of God in Christ and our eternal enjoyment of him.
To enjoy Christ is to sit and think about him; to spend time with him in prayer; to learn more about him every day. This is why St Paul begins this passage with the instruction to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. He has just quoted the ancient hymn, about Christ emptying himself of self-interest in order to become incarnate as a man, die for our sins, rise from the grave, and be set above all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth as Lord of all. On top of that, it is Almighty God himself who is working in you, making you more like Christ bit by bit every day. Just stop to think about this for a moment – do you not have a sense of awe at the divine immensity of who God is, and what he is doing in you?
This is why St Paul is, in this letter, constantly talking about joy and rejoicing. Look at who Christ is; look at what he is doing in us; look at what he will do in the future, which could be at any moment. Be glad and rejoice, again, I say, rejoice! You have given up everything to follow Jesus; he has given you more than everything in return.
Let us try and catch a bit of the magic of the primitive Church. Let us cast our minds once again to the Lord Jesus, and enjoy the sensation of our hearts swelling at the thought of who he is and what he is doing for us. Let us continue to swap out the love of this world and its trinkets for the infinitely greater love of God in Christ, and let us talk to him, asking him to show us how he is working us, as he gives us new hearts that will and work for his good pleasure. And may we be a people of joy and rejoicing, presenting to God our faith as a sacrificial offering, pleasing in his sight.