Sermon: “Think about These Things”
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

It is a pleasure to be with you once again here at St. Thomas. Annie and I have many fond memories of our involvement with this community of faith - including living in the rectory when we first arrived in Knoxville and enjoying the fruits of your wonderful bazaars through the years! Indeed, it is good to be back here once again.

It is safe to say that as St. Paul traveled about, among the various churches that he served, he had his favorites himself. It is equally certain, though, that the church in Corinth would not qualify in that way. After his greeting in a letter to them, he wrote, "I appeal to you … that there be no divisions among you … For it has been reported to me … that there are quarrels among you" (I Cor 1:10-11). Then, to another church - this one in Galatia - St. Paul wrote, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel" (Gal 1:6). Neither of these was a favorite of St. Paul, surely.

However, quite a contrast exists in the opening of his Letter to the Philippians, a later portion of which we read as our Second Lesson today. St. Paul wrote lovingly to them, "I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:3-6). What wonderful, affirming words indeed!

Philippi was the site of the first Christian church on European soil founded by St. Paul - his first love, in that sense. One commentator called this letter from St. Paul to the church in Philippi "the effusion of the heart to a Church he loved" (Muller, The Epistles of Paul to the Philippians and to Philemon, p 21).

Therefore, while St. Paul's intention in writing his letters to various churches is sometimes to exhort and, at other times, to correct, in his Letter to the Philippians, he intends to support them in what they are doing already. On balance, St. Paul is pleased with the life, witness and ministry of the church in Philippi, and he wants to support the members of that community in a similar direction for the future. Such an awareness for us is an important context to appreciate, as we read the lesson today.

In terms of support, then, St. Paul uses wording that all of us probably need to hear more often than we do. Indeed - in what we hear and in what we say - most of us spend too little time focusing attention on what St. Paul encourages and too much time doing precisely the opposite. Therefore, for emphasis, let me read a portion of our lesson again this morning.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (4:4-8).

By contrast, we are prone to despair and to worry. We often focus on what is false, dishonorable, unjust and uncommendable - particularly in terms of the thoughts and actions of others. In fact, we sometimes even relish the discovery of such negative attributes in public figures or in our acquaintances or in our own family members.

It certainly is true that we most often find that which we expect. Put another way, "If you look hard enough for something, you will find it." Thus, the psychologists tell us - and we know from experience - that if we anticipate bad things, we probably will discover them. If we are predisposed toward negative experiences, we probably will have them.

On the other hand, however, St. Paul writes to this favorite church of his, encouraging a kind of predisposition toward expecting good things. That is, he lists quite a number of positive attributes, and then he writes, "Think about these things."

In conclusion, then, let me add my words of encouragement to those of St. Paul's - words of encouragement directed to myself as well as to you, I might add. As I told someone just this week, "I'd much rather you be naïve than cynical. It's a lot more Christian." So, let's anticipate occasions for joy. Let's try to worry less. Let's be predisposed toward what is true and just and commendable and excellent and worthy of praise. If we look for them, we might just find those things - in ourselves and in the people we meet every single day.

Copyright © 2005 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee