Seeing the World Aright: “Out With the Old Mindset In With the New”
http://academiachurch.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/seeing-the-world-aright-out-with-the-old-mindset-in-with-the-new/
There have been many
great (and many not so great ones, but impactful nevertheless) human minds
throughout history. And no doubt, they all viewed the world
they occupied very differently. In fact, when you study one of them long
enough, you can, in a sense, imagine how they might view a current
situation or problem; and perhaps, with much probability imagine how they might
attempt to solve it. We often see this, for example, in modern political discourse when our constitutional founders are evoked in
order to hypothetically engage current issues. We hear things like, ‘James Madison,’
or ‘George Washington would think this of this situation and he might say this
about it and give this answer’ (I’m being intentionally vague here).
Another example is
musicologist Barry Cooper, a scholar of all things Beethoven. As everyone
knows, the great German composer Ludwig
van Beethoven is most famous for his 9 symphonies, but
as rumor has it, and as some desperate fragments may suggest, Beethoven had set
in motion a 10th prior to his death. However, Cooper who has lived and
breathed Beethoven, took the existing fragments and was able, as if ‘putting on
the mind’ of Beethoven, to assemble a complete symphonic movement (what was
playing when you came in), now known as the controversial Symphony No. 10. Cooper
states, “The prospect of hearing a Beethoven work that has been absent for
over 200 years should be of much interest to anyone who loves his music, even
if my reconstruction may differ slightly from what the composer wrote.”
But what if Beethoven could
posthumously extend his mind to others? What if from beyond the grave he
could allow us to participate in his unparalleled musical genius so that we too
could make beautiful symphonies, sonatas, and concertos? Well, I’m not sure,
but a world filled to the brim with marvelous music would probably be a good
place start. And though it is fun to imagine such tantalizing scenarios with
various historical figures, there is One historic Person, in fact, whose mind is truly
available, Christ’s.
In fact, we are summoned to put on
the mind of Christ.
Read Philippians 2:1-11
If I were to borrow from the previous
analogy vss. 1-4 would be symphony No. 10 (the reconstruction in the present
for Paul) and vss. 5-11 would the previous 9 symphonies (the in-hand symphonies
of Beethoven that serve as the pattern for the reconstruction). Paul, as
could the congregation at Philippi, could ‘put on the mind of Christ,’ because
they had the blueprint that informed them in the historical condescension,
incarnation, selfless obedience, and substitutionary sacrifice of the Messiah
on the cross as the original symphonic pattern. Max Anders adds:
Paul proceeds to give examples for the
Philippians to emulate. The first is Christ. He is the supreme example of
humility, love, and selflessness. Christ’s model brings to life Paul’s words.
As believers are united with Christ, we are to have the same attitude as
Christ, one of humility. Paul expresses the same thought in Ephesians 4:2: “Be
completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
All believers should share this humble, selfless mind-set of Christ.
Yes, but I believe, St.
Paul is also saying much more. In fact, if we look closer, Paul’s request is to
“to let this mind be in you” (passive); now, if we give this the full
force that it deserves, Paul is saying that, Christ’s actual mindset
(presumably through union in the Spirit) is trying its best to have its way
with us according to the pattern that Christ himself has already laid down.
It’s as if Beethoven could so unite himself to your own way of thinking
that you could view the world as Beethoven indeed did.
Now for his symphonic pattern Paul reaches
for the dense poem in vss. 5-11 for the humble and loving mindset of Christ.
Jesus, who, in some profound sense, existed before his human birth as “equal
with God,” but didn’t [as God] see this divine reality as a thing to exploit
for his own benefit, but understood his own divine self-reality as
necessitating the incarnation and humbling crucifixion (now, this is a super
huge point!) to the benefit of others. In other words, when Jesus was the
pre-incarnate Son of God he didn’t understand his being God in terms of a self-benefiting
reality, but one that required a humble incarnation and crucifixion! N.T.
Wright adds:
Let’s clear one misunderstanding out of the
way in case it still confuses anybody. In verse 7 Paul says that Jesus ‘emptied
himself’. People have sometimes thought that this means that Jesus, having been
divine up to that point, somehow stopped being divine when he became human, and
then went back to being divine again. This is, in fact, completely untrue to
what Paul has in mind. The point of verse 6 is that Jesus was indeed already
equal with God; somehow Paul is saying that Jesus already existed even before
he became a human being (verse 7). But the decision to become human, and to go
all the way along the road of obedience, obedience to the divine plan of
salvation, yes, all the way to the cross—this decision was not a decision to
stop being divine. It was a decision about what it really meant to be divine.
You see, through the Spirit, the humble and
other-sacrifice of Jesus will so assimilate itself in the mind of the believer
that she/he would begin to see God, the world, and others as he did. Being
human, indeed as it is to be God himself, would not entail serving self,
minding to one’s own affairs only, gaining power over others, or lavishing
things upon one’s self, but instead, “Do[ing] nothing from selfish ambition or
conceit, but in humility count[ing] others more significant than yourselves.
[And] letting each of you look not only to his or her own interests, but also
to the interests of others” (vss. 3-4, ESV).
Thus, it will no longer do to view the
world and our place and purpose within it with an old mindset that is bent back
upon itself. This, because, we are now summoned to so immerse ourselves in the
previous symphony of Christ’s incarnation, life, death, and resurrection that
we begin to see the world and our intentions within it as he did. And so,
through our own personal Christ-pattern symphonies the world can indeed hear
and see the wonderful and kenotic music of Christ once again. To quote the
great scholar Andrew Lampe:
To understand this term kenosis is
fundamentally critical to understanding God’s nature. Understanding this nature
of God is crucial in understanding our relationship with God. For example,
kenosis utterly rejects the traditions and churches that are militaristic,
tyrannical, hyper-nationalistic, or display a form of demagoguery that is
attributed to the senior pastor… Kenosis at the very heart of it accepts
churches that are loving, freedom-based, and display a strong element of
self-sacrifice. From the senior “leadership” on down to us communion giving
peons. We should be imitating God’s example displayed through His love for creation
and namely that of humanity by always working to improve the welfare of others
even at the cost of our own welfare. This is one of the ultimate ways to be
that light on the hill for the rest of the secular world. We’re judged as
hypocrites, tormentors, liars, and firebrands, etc… And if we were to imitate
God’s kenotic nature, can you imagine the incredible things we would be able to
accomplish? We would truly be an extension of God.
Therefore, let this mind be in you.
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