September 27, 2026 Text: Philippians 2:1-4, 14-18
Dear Friends in Christ,
One of the things debated in our society is the idea of citizenship. Who is a citizen? What rights does a citizen have? Who should vote etc. We are not going to jump into that quicksand pit, but we are going to talk about Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
Ancient Roman citizenship was a big deal. Most people that lived in the empire were not Roman citizens. Philippi was a retirement colony for honorable citizens, mostly military veterans. They were proud of their service, proud of their status, proud of their citizenship. Paul takes this idea of pride in citizenship but adds a twist. It is nice to be a citizen of the Roman empire, but remember you are a citizen of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your first loyalty is not to the empire but to Christ who redeemed you, forgave you and now lives with you. You are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. It is not your status that matters, it is your humility and living for Christ. How are we doing on that front? Let’s talk about it today.
“ARE YOU CROSS EYED?”
Being cross-eyed usually affects young children and can go cause one or both eyes to go inward or outward. It is usually cured by glasses, therapy and sometimes surgery. The cross eyed we are dealing with is the cross of Christ. Is it the lens through which we see the world and the people in it?
C.S. Lewis said, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought the most of the next.” Verse 4 of our text, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others…” How about that. Do others really fit big in your life? Are you cross eyed? You have got to be cross eyed if you are genuinely going to care for others.
Oh, we love Jesus to pieces, and we sing our little hearts out about serving Him…but when it gets right down to the issue of who is going to get ahead of who… well, Jesus gets the back seat all too often. As somebody well perceived: “One-half of our problems come from wanting our own way. The other half from getting it!”
We have a ministry to each other. As the text says we live in “a crooked and twisted generation.” Oh boy, do we. Christ calls us to “shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.” If you took away everything begun by Christians in the world – schools, hospitals, orphanages, care centers, the courts, charities – where would our world be? Even much of our language can be attributed to God’s Word. So many are blind to this. The cross is nowhere in their line of vision. This is why we are cross eyed. Through the Holy Spirit working in us we help others to have a sight line to Jesus.
How might this look? Sacrificial love. Jesus was cross eyed. His entire life his focus was on His obedience to the cross. There was the greatest sacrifice of love and forgiveness
the world has ever seen. We exhibit that with others. We love when it is hard to do. We forgive when it might feel wrong.
Encourage. Jesus did this. He brought Good News. He told people to go and sin no more. As the Book of Hebrews says we encourage one another. We encourage one another in our good deeds and love, and we encourage one another to be in worship where Word and Sacrament strengthen us to be cross eyed.
Christians who have been Christians for a long time set the pace for newer Christians. If newer Christians see that Bible Study isn’t all that important to the older Christians, well, that makes a statement. Remember, cross eyed.
We were blind, but now we see. Jesus did that. We call it amazing grace. His precious blood saved us. His resurrection gave us a home, a citizenship. Is the vision clear? Cross eyed for Jesus.
Amen.