Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)
Read Philippians 2:5-11 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, Verse 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, Verse 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, Verse 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross. Verse 9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, Verse 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, Verse 11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Devotion
This so called Christ hymn dramatically tells the story of Jesus. In the first half, Jesus forsakes his godly prerogatives and takes on the frail form of humanity. That act of humility quickly turns to humiliation as the world takes advantage of Jesus' humanity, insulting, beating and crucifying him. In his obedience, Jesus willingly takes on the sufferings so powerfully portrayed in Isaiah 50 and Psalm 31. Precisely because of that obedience, God exalts Jesus, lifting him out of his humiliation and giving him the name above every other. In a wonderful act of love, Christ came to earth to share in our human sufferings, and we, by God's grace, now get to share in Christ's exaltation.
But we daily live in the middle of this hymn. While it helps us to see that we have already been exalted with Christ, our lives don't always fully reflect that fact. So like Isaiah and the psalmist, we wait in hope, hope that one day our sufferings will disappear and we will come to dwell fully with Christ in exaltation.
Prayer
God of humiliation, God of exaltation, we dwell with your Christ in his sufferings just as he dwells with us in ours. Sustain within us the hope that one day, our sufferings will cease and we will live with you in everlasting exaltation. Amen.