"Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus."
(Phil 2:5)
With cities and streets turned into killing fields, it is time we confront life's great "either/or" decision. Either we adopt a radically different mindset, embrace a profound metanoia, literally the "new mind" of Christ; or we accept the inevitable consequences of our worldly mentality which is rooted in slavery to self and the relentless drive to impose one's will upon others.
"Though he was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped" (Phil 2:6). Grasping at equality with God is one way to define original sin. It also helps us see what the sin of idolatry looks like today: We set ourselves up as gods who have to power to decide when life begins and when life ends, whose lives are worthy to be lived and whose deserve to be eliminated.
"Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness..." (Phil 2:7) The Law of Love alone provides an antidote. It guarantees that we fulfill ourselves only by pouring ourselves out on behalf of others. To put on the mind of Christ means that we look at life through the eyes of those who are suffering and those who are powerless, rather than through the eyes of those who must dominate and enslave others in order to feel more free.
"And found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). The worldly mindset sees only "kill or be killed," and thus the cycles of violence swirl on. The "will to power" is not just a quaint tag line of nihilists and anarchists, but it also includes the justification of "preemptive" strikes against anyone we fear. Christian humility accepts the fact that death is swallowed up by the Cross of Christ. It knows that obedience to the will of the Father never includes the killing or the silencing or the shaming of another.
"Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name" (Phil 2:9). Whenever the name of my country comes first, or the name of my tribe, or the name of my political party or my cause--we can rest assured that slavery to self has a strong grip on us. The only antidote is to name the temptation for what it is, a spirit of self-absorbed worldliness, and then to cast it out in the name of Jesus.
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Phil 2:10). Whether people "take a knee" in the name of defending liberty and protesting racial injustices, or whether people protest the taking of a knee in the name of love of country, it must be done out of a pure intention to put God first, others second and self third. Otherwise, it will merely perpetuate the worldly cycles of division and hatred and--ultimately--death. Ongoing Christian conversion of heart and mind "takes a knee" at the name of Jesus precisely because he alone reveals the way to the Father, which is the path of humility and obedience.
"And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:11). We have seen the enemy, indeed, but we praise God that he has shown us the Way forward-- so that the cycles of worldly violence, domination and condemnation might be broken once and for all.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
DDS
