Aging Spiritually: Emptied and Filled
Philippians 2:1-8, 13
“. . . for it is God who is at work in you,
enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
—
One of the most difficult adjustments of the pandemic has been separation from other people, a necessary adjustment to reduce the spread of the virus. But this separation increased social isolation for many older people and reduced for all the experience of community. Even before we physically distanced ourselves, our social relationships were increasingly distant.
Individual interests are promoted while there is less emphasis on what is good for the community. Acting in self-interest rather than in the interests of others has been going on since the differences between Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-16). Have you ever wondered why people disagree so often?
It’s quite simple – we all see the world through our own perspective. Each of us has a different personality. We come from different families and backgrounds. We all have had different experiences in life that lead us to different perspectives on everything.
But, in the letter to the Philippians, Paul encouraged the congregation to unity, imploring them to “be of the same mind” (Phil. 2:2), and to “look . . . to the interests of others” (2:4). How do we get beyond our own individual perspective putting aside our own personal good for what is good for everyone?
Paul said the way to become community is to empty yourself in humility. Do nothing out of self-interest, or self-benefit. Regard others more than you regard yourself. Look to the interests of others, instead of your own interests. Let your actions be directed outwardly toward others. Let your attitude be humble, seeing the good in others, rather than insisting on what is good in you.
Paul offered the example of Jesus through the words of this first-century hymn,
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.
The Greek word translated as emptied in verse 7 is kenosis. It means self-emptying, humbly choosing to let go of your own ego-driven individual interests for the sake of others. Emptying ourselves to serve others is necessary, but there is more.
The twentieth century Christian mystic, Thomas Merton, wrote, “only You can at once empty me of all things and fill me with Yourself . . . that is when I will be what You have willed to make me from all eternity: not myself, but Love” (Entering the Silence, p. 49). Only God can empty our self-centeredness and fill us with Godself.
We become community when we are emptied of our self-centered individual interests and allow God to fill us with love for one another. This is our salvation, the transforming love of God working within us, as Paul writes in verse 13, “for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
So, as we begin to renew community with one another, let us empty ourselves of what divides us, allowing God to fill us with God’s love. Let us be a community in Christ, finding unity through that which is greater than our individual self-interest – the unifying love of God through Jesus.
Greg Smith
Legacy Ministry for Older Adults