I Wanna Be Like…

Philippians 2: 1-13

 

 

          When he played, he was something to watch. There are the famous images of him taking off at the foul line and dunking the basketball before his feet ever touched the floor. They called him His Airness. In 1991, perhaps the most famous sports commercial of all time was coined. Gatorade signed arguably the best basketball player of all time to an ad campaign and before the year was out, everyone was singing “I wanna be like Mike.” You don’t even need to be a basketball fan to remember Michael Jordan and those famous commercials. We all wanted to be like Mike. He was that good! There were many other great sports stars, but there was only one Michael Jordan.

          There have been other men and women in history who inspired us to think great thoughts, motivated us to dream big dreams. I watched the video biographies of the Roosevelts last week on PBS and was again enraptured by the energy of Teddy, the vision of FDR, the humanity of Eleanor. They were some of the best this country ever produced. They did magnificent things in magnificent times and we all watched with awe at their achievements.

          There have been other men and women who also did great things, but were not thought of as great or famous until late in life or even at death. There was Mandella of South Africa, 29 years in prison, or Gandhi of India, whose fasting and hunger strikes made him a pioneer in passive resistance, or Theresa of Calcutta, India, a Catholic nun who fed the hungry. These men and women came to their fame mostly by their modeling of humility.

          There is another slogan which caught on fairly well for a time. We still see it around. It’s called “WWJD” or What Would Jesus Do? Started as a grassroots movement by a Christian youth group from Michigan in the 1990’s, it caught on through the sale of bracelets with the initials on it. The bracelets honored the model of yet another man who showed us the face of humility…humility and obedience. He was, and is, the most powerful figure in world history. In fact, he authored it… history, that is. His name was Jesus and we call him Lord.

          Americans like heroes. We like our heroes big. We like our heroes strong. We like them good looking and successful and full of themselves. Look at the heroes we pick. Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, people bigger than life. Was Jesus like that? Well, he did many miracles and mighty acts. Was Jesus bigger than life in his actions? Well, he walked on water and calmed the sea. Yes, that is pretty high cotton, but did he act the part? What kind of example did Jesus set for us?

          Paul, writing to the church he had started in Philippi, was worried about their spiritual progress. He knew full well that the church would be tempted by many forces in the world and that the option of staying still was not really viable. The church must grow spiritually or wither. Paul knew the importance of unity and harmony, and he had the example of Jesus to illustrate it. Paul wanted the church in Philippi to be like Jesus.

          What does it mean to be like Jesus? Count others more significant than yourself, said Paul. Look to the interests of others. Do these things in humility.  Wanna be like Jesus? Put others first.

          Paul tells us that Jesus was in the form of God. What did he mean? He meant what it sounds like, that Jesus was divine. Try to imagine what it might be like to be divine and to voluntarily take on the form of man. Movies of various kinds, from those about God to those about angels, have tried to capture this idea on film. It’s hard to grasp. Imagine if you will, what comes to mind when you think of heaven—that sort of eternal indemnity from pain and sorrow and want—that forever happy, invulnerable sort of nature. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to picture the way it will be. I do think that whatever it is, I would never want to go back.

          Imagine giving that up on purpose. That’s what Jesus did when he took on the form of man. He didn’t stop being God; God is never not God. He did not empty himself of his deity. But he did lay aside any manner of existence that was equal to God.  He layered up this humanity on a level with you and me.  He put on the clothes and skin of mankind and walked on the same stones that we did. He had the bruises to prove it. Yes, he performed miracles and mighty acts, but always under the direction of the Father and the Spirit. The Scriptures remind us of this. For example, John’s gospel finds Jesus saying to the Pharisees: “I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.”

          He who was in the form of God took on the form of a servant. It wasn’t enough for Jesus to become human. He went much farther. Paul tells the Philippian church that Jesus humbled himself. How? He became obedient. He who was God became obedient. He became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. This was no ordinary death, but no matter how much we describe the pain, torture and humiliation of the cross, we cannot do the description justice, for it omits the very act for which Christ’s coming was directed, that of taking on the sin of mankind in substitution for you and me. He shouldered that for us as well on that cross.

          On the night of his arrest, Jesus had a final meal with his followers. He took a towel and a basin filled with water…and he washed the feet of his friends. Can you think of anything more humble? The Son of God got down on his knees and bathed the feet of each and every man. He not only took the form of a man; he took the form of a servant.

          We live in a culture which craves superheroes, but they cannot provide what we really need. There is a story about Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight boxing champion. He was aboard a jet ready to take off. The flight attendant noticed his seatbelt was not fastened. When she asked him to buckle up, Ali said “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.”  The flight attendant responded: “Superman don’t need no airplane.”

         The church does not need superheroes.  In fact, if you want to be of value to yourself and your church, that is the last thing you want. The church needs spirit-formed leadership which takes its cue from how it will serve. Jesus was the Son of God. He sits on the right hand of God today. He will come to judge every one of us. He is Kurios…Lord. He is the most exalted of all, and his tools are a towel and a basin. His credentials are obedient servant.

       What are yours? Do you wanna be like Jesus? God on earth could take any form he wanted. He chose to take the form of a servant obedient to the will of his heavenly father. 

           How do you come to your life? Are you ambitious for a corner office? An expensive car? What are the earmarks of your life? How would people describe you? Would they say you are successful? Talented? Smart? Would they say you are humble?

          As they were about to finally enter the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the desert, the people of Israel stood and listened to their leader Joshua, and this is what he said to them. “Choose this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” [Joshua 24: 16]. Who will you and your house serve? Will you follow the ways of the world, or will you be like Jesus?