Monday Devotional: April 7, 2025

Bible Reading: Philippians 2:5-11(NRSVUE)

⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, ⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, ⁸ he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” These daunting words begin the song found in Philippians 2, a song that does not glorify Jesus’ divinity or his superiority but rather the humility and humanity of the one Paul calls Lord.

We customarily think about Jesus’ divinity during the Easter season; we use words like triumphant and victorious, resurrected one. But these verses from the letter written to the church in Philippi invite us to pause for a moment and think about the Jesus who was mortal, who became like us, who walked upon the earth, and who ultimately knew the suffering and despair of death on the cross. He did not exploit his exalted relationship with God but emptied himself, becoming a servant to those around him.

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” What does that mean? It means we are called to resist contemporary expectations and to embody a different kind of community than we see and experience around us. In a world of greed, the accumulation of wealth, and staying on top are the primary goals; a world where trickery and scam, appearances, deception and illusion are the dynamics of everyday life, we are called to be different. This is not a call to be become celebrity or to hold a “me first” mentality. This is a call to release our arrogance and become servant… of all. This is a call to lose our lives.

How then do we allow God’s powerful weakness to work its way into ourselves and our community? What does a faith community look like when survival and celebrity are not its primary goals, when the congregation willingly loses itself for the sake of those in the community, those most vulnerable among it?

Prayer

God of expectation, we get drawn into and conform ourselves to the world around us. Give us the courage and wisdom to live our lives as followers of Jesus. Amen.

By Mary Donovan Turner, The Upper Room Disciplines 2016, page 101.

Bible Study

“Embracing Life” By Von W. Unruh

Unit 1: Beatitudes for Lent

Session Title: From Ritual to Righteousness
Focal Passage: Matthew 5:6; Matthew 15:1-20
Purpose Statement: To incorporate Jesus’ definition of righteousness into our conversation.

Questions:

• Have you ever bent the rules in your favor? Have you ever been tempted to put tradition ahead of God’s law?
• Do a personal inventory of what you say. What you say comes from your heart. What would you like to change about what you say?
• How will you live according to this teaching from Jesus? How will you seek to be morally upright in what you think, say, and do?

Zoom Session

Monday, April 7, 2025, from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

(For Zoom Link, send an email to [email protected])

In-Person Session

Wednesday, April 9, 2025, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, Conference Room, McGee Building.