“Leaning Forward” (World Communion Sunday)

Philippians 3:4b-14

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

In 2010, Sheryl Sandberg wrote a book called Lean In that addresses the ways in which women hold themselves back from being successful simply because they are women and have come to believe the rhetoric that there are some things women can't do.  The book encourages women to change their attitudes, change the dialogue and "lean in" and do the unexpected, making it expected instead.

In this letter to the Philippians, Paul is following a similar line of thought, in a way. He is saying that the people of Philippi need not have humanly limitations forced upon themselves, but as people who believe in Christ Jesus, they are able to press on toward a heavenly goal.  He is encouraging them to lean forward toward what is (or can be) ahead for them as Christians. He is suggesting that any failures or limitations of the past are gone. That resurrection from the dead will come for them through a whole new way of leaning forward to the goal of following Christ.

What Paul is suggesting here is that our faith in Christ is the beginning of our resurrection story. That whatever we have fallen into that has separated us from Christ in the past can be a part of the dust of our past. And whatever we have to face in front of us will be worth the effort because we are now living as people clothed in new garments. As people who follow the Way of Jesus, who see the message of love and goodness he offers.

The wonderful thing about reading the words "Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal   . . ." this week is that it falls on World Communion Sunday. A Sunday in which we recognize the entire Christian community is gathered around the Table of Grace. That we are sharing the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the cup with our sisters and brothers around the globe. That we are actually, yes, all in this together. That there is nothing we can't handle if we give it to God and share it with one another.

So come to the Communion Table this week and lean forward. Lean into the love and grace of the Way of Christ.  And then lean forward into the world around you and share your story, your passion, your love of God with the world.

Comments? Email me or comment below.