Sermon for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost
Just Thinking About the Roman Empire
By The Rev. Christie Webb -
How often do you think about the Roman Empire?
People are asking this question of the males in their lives and being flabbergasted at the answer has gone viral on the internet. If you search #RomanEmpire you can see the frenzy. Some men share that they think about the Roman Empire daily, or maybe more than once a day. Why? Because of the aqueduct, or concrete, or any of the numerous advances.
So how often do you think about the Roman Empire? Raise your hand if it is once a month. Once a week. Once a day. Raise your hand if it is multiple times a day.
If you were to ask me how often I think about the Roman Empire, well it wouldn’t always be very many times in a day, week or month. But this week, if you asked me, it would be 5-10 times a day. Why? Well because of our text from the second chapter of Phillipians in our second reading. This passage is at the heart of Paul’s letter to the Phillipians and it was written to the church of Phillipi as it was struggling to live in the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, specifically the Roman Emperor, is the silent foil behind this hymn to Jesus from the first century church.
Phillipi was a Roman colony, and as such, the Imperial Cult would have been practiced in its city walls. The Imperial Cult was the cult of the emperor, in which devotion was given to the emperor as well as his family and predecessors. This veneration of the emperor had a unifying effect on the territories under Roman control and touched all aspects of the culture: religious, political, civic, recreation and architecture. Temples dedicated to the emperor were erected in most cities. In them there were ceremonies that honored the emperor as an immortal spirit, or a guardian deity. They would offer sacrifices, burn incense, have special meals and so on. As Rome was thought of as “the gods’ choice to rule the world,” “The emperor was the divinely appointed and empowered patron, protector, father and epitome of Rome and its power.” The pressure to exhibit veneration to the Emperor would have been strong in Philippi, and yet to bow to the Emperor would have been counter to the Christian faith. Paul’s letter to the Phillipians is written to help them make the choice to stand against empire, to follow Christ and Christ’s ways instead.
The hymn we have in our second reading is central to that encouragement to stand strong in the face of the Empire.
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited.“Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”
The Roman Emperor, though human, the same as all others, exalts himself above slaves and all others. He has slaves, instead of becoming a slave. He does not empty himself, but instead, builds himself up, storing the riches and honor and prestige that the imperial cult bestows on him. But Christ, though God, doesn’t take advantage of this to uplift himself or boast. Instead, Christ becomes human, and comes to serve, emptying himself.
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.”
Christ is an example of humility, as opposed to the emperor who encourages and delights in things that feed his pride, claiming for himself a God-like persona. The emperor lives a pattern of a self-centered, self-aggrandizing rule, while Christ lives “a pattern of non-self-centered, self-giving obedience.” The emperor, requires obedience to his decrees, sometimes killing people for their disobedience. Christ’s example is that of absolute selflessness, so much so that dying for the other is part of the obedience.
And because of that, God highly exalts Christ, not the Emperor. It is Christ whose name is above every name. It is at the name of Jesus that every knee should bend, and every tongue confess as Lord, not the Emperor. Paul’s words to the Phillipians paint a different path forward, a different way of being in the world, a way of following Christ, not the Emperor, of living following Christ’s example.
So you see, I think of the Roman Empire a lot. I think of Empire itself a lot, its ways of power, prestige, its values of money and wealth above all other things. I think of Empire, and how it contrasts with Jesus way of love, humility, gentle service, selflessness.
I think of these things because though we don’t live under Roman Rule, the world still operates by the same values. Consider what people think of as success in today’s society. Money and wealth. Fame. Today people seek power, power over, not the power that love brings. There are even some who would strive for the rest of the world to bow to them, lift them up in prestige beyond what they deserve, maybe even see them as god-like. These are the ways of the world. But these are not the ways of those who follow Jesus.
When I was in seminary, I had a moment of awakening in a course that was studying this letter to the Philippians. As I read it, and could compare and contrast the ways of the Empire versus the way of Jesus as outlined in the hymn here, I realized that I could let the ways of the Empire go. I want to lay them down, turn from them, live a different way of life. I do not want everyone to know my name. I do not want fame. I do not want to have wealth beyond measure, just enough to eat and live. I do not want people to bow to me. Instead, I want to serve. I want to be known by the name of Jesus Christ. I want to live the example of Jesus, to empty myself in service to my neighbor. I want God to be at work in me to change my mind, turn my thoughts away from the ways of the world, away from the ways of empire. I want to live in love.
So, yes I think about the Roman Empire, but only as a way to guide me in what not to be.
I wonder which way you are striving for in your life. I wonder where you see the ways of Empire at work in your life. I wonder how God is calling you to turn from those ways to live the way of Jesus, to follow the example of selfless humble love. I wonder what a difference that would make in our lives, in this congregation, in this community. I wonder. And I pray God be at work in us, let the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
The Rev. Christie Webb
Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Sermon for:
September 30 & October 1, 2023
