Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost

“Connected and Connecting in the

Family of God”

Philippians 1:21-30

Margaret I. Manning

Brutal cold, total darkness, aching thirst, gnawing hunger, constant danger, utter desolation; this was the everyday reality for Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew. On December 5, 1914, Shackleton and 27 men sailed from South Georgia Island on the Southern Ocean aboard a wooden vessel named the Endurance with a burning goal: to be the first to cross the Antarctic Continent. Forty-five days after their departure, disaster struck. Ice trapped the Endurance—and froze the expedition. For nearly two years, Shackleton and his crew were stranded on the icy sea. When Endurance finally went down, crushed by the severe ice, they found a way to make camp on an ice floe. When their rations ran low, they developed a taste for penguin. In the face of unspeakable hardship and suffering, the men maintained remarkable good cheer. Ultimately, Shackleton and his crew triumphed. On August 30, 1916, after a hazardous rescue mission in a frail lifeboat, every man was saved.

This was not the case for the Artic expedition by the Karluk. Just one year before Shackleton set out for the South Pole, another expeditionary group set out for the North Pole, led by Vilhjalmur Steffanson. Like the Endurance, solid, pack ice beset the Karluk. But unlike the crew of the Endurance, they did not maintain good cheer. Instead, the crew of the Karluk was transformed into a band of self-interested, disparate individuals. They turned to subtle and not so subtle ways of undermining and separating themselves from one another: Lying, cheating, and stealing became commonplace behaviors. As a result, all 11 members of this expedition died in the Arctic wasteland. [1]

Stories like these of the Endurance and the Karluk powerfully illustrate alternative responses to suffering and adversity. And in our day, we see these alternative responses repeated in the wake of the Katrina catastrophe. One the one hand, we have seen and been a part of people banding together, and connecting to one another in order to alleviate suffering. We’ve heard of heroic acts of generosity and teamwork to assist the victims of the hurricane after its devastating effects, and also we’ve heard of those who, in the midst of their own suffering, put their lives on the line in order to help others. On the other hand, we’ve recoiled in horror as violence, looting, and mayhem also emerged as a response to this catastrophe. Just like the men on the Karluk, we saw individuals who acting in their own self-interest and for their own self-preservation, lied and cheated and stole in response to their suffering – their human connection to one another undermined by selfish actions of every kind.

Now, we certainly don’t need to look back in history, or look to the Gulf States to know that this negative response to suffering is more common than we’d care to admit. We simply need to look in our own hearts to know it’s true. In the face of suffering, rather than rushing to help others, rather than putting others’ needs before our own and remaining connected with one another in a unified front, our first inclination is often towards an ‘every person’ for himself or herself. Tempted by a siege mentality which encourages the hording of resources and placing our own interests, security and safety above that of another or the community, we too might succumb to selfish and self-centered acts. And as we examine our hearts this morning, the question before all of us is, in the face of suffering, do we connect, or do we disconnect?

In our passage for this morning, we get an intimate glimpse into the Apostle Paul’s personal struggle with his own response to suffering. In the midst of his own suffering, he writes to encourage the Christian community at Philippi, who are also experiencing suffering and adversity as a result of their faith. Paul knows that as adversity grows, the young Philippian church might be tempted to abandon their connection to one another. So, throughout this letter, Paul consistently reminds them that they are to maintain their unity and their bond in Christ. Paul even affirms that connecting through suffering is a hallmark of the Christian faith, for as we connect with one another in our suffering, we are also uniquely connected with Christ. Indeed, suffering together is an essential part of what it means to belong to the family of God.

Now Paul has a deep sense of family connection with the Philippian congregation, for it was in Philippi where Paul first suffered under Roman power and oppression.[2] Luke, who traveled with Paul on many of his journeys, provides the only account of Paul’s suffering at Philippi in the book of Acts. As Paul began the Christian mission in Philippi, he and Silas are beaten and thrown into prison (for the first time of many) as a result of their preaching.[3]

Paul’s suffering didn’t end in Philippi, of course. He writes to them now from inside a prison. And like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, his suffering so intense that he also wrestles with wanting to die – he writes, “I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart this life and be with Christ…yet, to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for you.” Paul’s response in the face of his suffering is a very human one –we can understand how he would struggle with wanting to alleviate his own suffering. And I think we can understand how the desire to escape suffering (in this case through death) would tempt him to abandon his ministry and his connection to his fellow Christians. Yet, Paul resists and tells the Philippians not only that it is more necessary for them that he remain – even in the midst of suffering- but, also that through their suffering, they are uniquely connected together. He reminds them, “it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.” In the face of suffering, Paul reminds them, they are connected to one another, and through suffering uniquely connected to Christ, who also suffered. Indeed, the Christian community, Paul will later tell them is included in the ‘fellowship of Christ’s suffering’ – they are, to use Paul’s redundant expression, ‘fellow sharers’ in Christ’s suffering.[4] This unique connection in and through suffering is one of the distinctive marks of Christian community, and indeed of what it means to be a Christian.

So, when Paul goes on to exhort the Philippian church to live in a manner ‘worthy of the gospel of Christ’, to live in a way that identifies them as God’s family, he is exhorting them to live in a community that shares its suffering. He tells them to ‘stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, in no way alarmed by your opponents.’[5] Unity, maintained in the face of suffering, uniquely communicates the gospel of Jesus Christ - the good news that in and through suffering God’s kingdom is advanced. As we remain connected, as the church, as God’s family, in the face of suffering and adversity, we demonstrate the powerful reality of the gospel. Like the Philippian church, our challenge is to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the gospel.

Sometimes we see this principle lived out in the most unexpected places. The documentary movie, The March of the Penguins tells the amazing story of the Emperor penguin. This movie was filmed in the same Antarctica that Shackleton endured so many years ago. Indeed, I’d like to think that Shackleton may have learned a thing or two about unity from these remarkable creatures. Female Emperors gestate only one egg per year – they do not build a nest for that egg, but rather incubate it in the folds of their skin. For some reason, the Emperor penguin lays its single egg during the coldest time of the year, when temperatures drop to as low as -80° F and in winds that reach velocities of up to 112 miles per hour. Once the female produces the egg, she gives this egg to the male to protect and preserve it until she returns from gathering food in the warmer waters of the sea. She will be gone for nine weeks. It is in the face of this kind of adversity, that the male Emperors are entrusted to preserve this egg and must incubate and nurture this little life in the folds of their skin. They are unable to eat during this whole period and lose almost half of their body weight. In order to preserve this egg, and maintain their own body heat, the male emperors don’t try to fend for themselves, they huddle together in tight bunches for warmth and protection against the bitter winds and sub-zero temperatures. The entire flock moves as one, huddles as one, stays together as one unit in order to preserve these eggs. They strive together for one goal – to stay warm in order to produce offspring; and the bitter and brutal winter of Antarctica will not deter them from their goal.

You know, since coming to Tellico Village over a year ago, I’ve been so encouraged by the ways in which this family connects with one another strives together for the sake of the gospel. I’ve rarely made a hospital visit, nursing home visit, or home visit to someone who is alone. Folks from this church have either preceded me, or are present by the time I arrive. You connect with those who are suffering. We’ve reached out to those who were the victims of the tsunami, and the various hurricanes that have swept through the Southeast; we’ve connected to those in the community through the Friendship Kitchen, A.C.T. lunches, the Good Samaritan Center and Good Neighbor Shoppe – whenever a need is apparent, we bond together and act as one in order to meet that need. And I hope this sermon encourages you all to continue to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the gospel as we face various challenges and seek to meet needs all around us. For connecting together in the face of suffering uniquely identifies us as Christian brothers and sisters who belong to the family of God.

But, if the day comes and adversity comes against this church impacting us directly – with finances, with environmental disaster, with illness – whatever it might be, would we remain connected? If suffering besets us directly, as a community, will we continue to be concerned about each other first, or will we retreat into preserving our own safety, security, and abandon our unity, and our connection? Are we only a family in good times, or is our true family connection illuminated in the bad times? And what about all the more subtle, yet equally destructive ways we undermine our unity through gossip, petty criticism, and backbiting? Personal or corporate suffering often brings out the worst in us – but as Christian brothers and sisters, as a connected family of God it ought not be this way.

How did the Shackleton expedition survive in the midst of unbelievable adversity, you might be wondering, and why did the Karluk expedition fail? Shackleton’s team survived because they stuck together, remaining united and maintaining connection in, through, and even as a result of their suffering. The Karluk expedition failed because they disconnected from each other in the face of their suffering. Their motto was ‘every man for himself’ and they all died by themselves. On the other hand, the Shackleton expeditionary team had this motto: “we are one—we live or die together.” God forbid we ever face the kind of adversity they faced, or others have faced in the Gulf region. But, if we do, my prayer is that it will be said of us – no matter what we faced, we faced it together. Let us pray.

Lord, may Paul’s words to the Philippians be our challenge, our goal, our prayer that if ‘there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, we would be of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit and intent on one purpose.’ Help us Lord to do ‘nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than ourselves. And Lord, ‘help us not to just look out for our own interests, but also for the interests of others’, that we might reflect to the world our deep connection to one another because we are connected in Christ. In Jesus name, amen.

[1] All of the information on the expeditions of the Endurance and the Karluk was collected from various websites. Other information is taken from Caroline Alexander’s excellent book, The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

[2] Information on Philippians based on Fred Craddock’s commentary volume, Interpretation: Philippians. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1985.

[4] Philippians 3:10. But, also see Paul exhorting the Philippians to have Christ’s attitude within them concerning his humiliation and suffering in chapter 2:1-8.