Philippians 2:5-8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death—

even death on a cross.

It seems that the early church was a singing church. Caring, loving, giving,striving

Paul admonishes his readers in Ephesus, “as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, sing and make melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5:19-20

I sure wish we had a hymnal from the first century, or a songbook that had all the new songs that were being written by inspired folks in the early church, But alas, we don’t. We don’t even have a book of Psalms in the New Testament.

You might think that we have no examples of the hymns and spiritual songs that were used by these early congregations as they met to worship.

But we do.

There are lyrics and portions of songs that have been incorporated in the New Testament writings. While we don’t have a hymn book, we get a glimpse of the songs that early believers of Jesus would use in their worship.

Scholars identify at least 11 places in the New Testament where songs and hymns are quoted. Apart from that, the book of Revelation contains a plethora of song sheets. The 11 places in the New Testament that are likely to be from the first century version of CCLI include Mary’s song of Adoration in Luke, the prologue in John, the love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13, the Christological masterpiece of Colossians 1 and the powerful passage we read today from Philippians 2.

“Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:6-11

That is some impressive songwriting. The lyrics tell the story of the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. The story begins in the way-out-there where God is God and God makes the decision to allow God’s unity to be somehow be disrupted so that God could show up as a human being. And as a human, experiencing life as a person, Christ, God in the flesh, lived in such a way that brought glory to the idea of a loving God and resulted in the sacrificial death of God in the flesh as an act of loving obedience to all God is. As a result of Christ’s action, the unity of God, and the unity of God and humanity cemented as Jesus Christ is understood and worshiped as Lord of all.

In the first century culture where the phrase, “Caesar is Lord” is the oft repeated mantra of the masses, the assertion that Jesus is Lord is a statement that reminds its hearers that Jesus is the ultimate King in a Kingdom where love, grace, kindness and inclusion are the law of the land.

Great stuff. And in the parsing of the creative words used to create this lyrical masterpiece is one particular verb that grabs our attention and forces us to understand the incarnation as the ultimate act of love and grace.

“He emptied himself.” Empty, what a strange verb. A perfectly fine noun but an odd verb. The greek word κενοω, means to empty, to negate, to lose power.

The verb isn’t used very often, in Greek or in English.

We say, its my turn to empty the trash,

Or we say, did you empty the dish washer

Or, I emptied my bank account,

When the bases are full and a batter hits a home run, we say he emptied the bases.

Can you think of other ways we use the verb empty?

It is not a oft used verb.

Another way we use the word empty is in meditation. We use the phrase “empty your mind,” as an encouragement to let go of thoughts and concerns that limit you in your desire for inner peace. It is said that as when we empty our minds, we allow ourselves to truly be present.

What is it that God is emptying and why?

The scripture just says “self.” Christ, the word, who was with God and who was God, emptied himself. Of what?

Of Divinity?

Of Divine privilege?

Of Divine Status?

Of power and authority?

The Message Bible tries to help as the passage is translated thusly,

“Christ Jesus had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human.”

Whatever the phrase, “emptied self,” means, the end result is that God was enfleshed and lived with us.

Perhaps the emptying was necessary so that God could be present, truly present, in our lives and in the messed up world into which God came.

If you remember from last weeks sermon, in John 1:14, “the Word became flesh,” the phrase literally means, “The Word pitched his tent among us.” In other words, the Word, who was with God and who was God, took up temporary residence on our block, to experience the life we live and to model a better way, a way of unconditional love and radical grace, to usher in a new Kingdom not based in political or financial power, but based in the empowering movement of God’s spirit in our midst.

The end result of the emptying, and the life lived and the death inflicted, is that that kingdom is a growing reality. As we treat others kindly, as we forgive, as we are merciful, as we partner with the dispossessed, as we do unto the least of these, as we practice generosity, as we care, as we include, as we go and do likewise, the kingdom grows.

And in the kingdom, the act of emptying seems to the beginning of a new and better understanding of God and a deeper connection to our neighbor.

Amen.