Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

–Philippians 3.17-21 (NIV)

Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

–John 12.25-26 (NIV)

Yesterday we saw that Paul roundly condemned all our proud efforts at self-help and self-righteousness. His glory was in the cross of Christ, not himself, because he had a realistic attitude about the human condition and the holy love of God as manifested in the cross of Christ.

In today’s short passage from Philippians, Paul packs a lot of theology in a few verses. He reminds us that God’s gift to us in Christ should always manifest itself in obedience. Not the kind of grudging obedience that we are sometimes forced to offer, but rather a joyful obedience, the kind that flows from the relief we feel over not having the burden of trying to prove ourselves righteous in the eyes of God, something that is quite impossible for us to accomplish on our own. Our Lord reminds us as much in today’s Gospel passage. Lip service won’t cut it if we want to be his disciples. Only joyful obedience will.

When we are freed from the onus of trying to restore our broken relationship with God through a program of self-help, we can focus properly on obeying and serving our Lord with glad and thankful hearts for his wondrous gift of love and grace offered to us on the cross. We remember Paul’s words earlier in Philippians in which he tells us how Jesus came into his glory. It was through humble obedience to his Father’s will. Likewise with us.

And being found in appearance as a human being,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2.8-10).

Moreover, when Paul talks about being a citizen of heaven in today’s lesson, he is not advocating some other-worldliness or private spirituality in which we withdraw from the affairs of this world. Quite the contrary. As he reminds us at the end of today’s lesson, we are awaiting our new resurrection bodies, which will be part of God’s New Creation and of which Jesus’ resurrection body is the first-fruits.

Faith in the resurrection of the body reminds us tacitly of the gift of forgiveness and restoration of our broken relationship with God won for us by Jesus dying on the cross. It reminds us in powerful ways that God’s creation matters and that those who want to follow Jesus must imitate him in his loving service to others so that he can use us as agents in which to bring about his New Creation. This means we deny ourselves, take up our cross each day, and follow Jesus in his work. We are to reject the idols of self-aggrandizement, of money, power, and security, or any other idols that get in the way of our relationship with  God in Christ. Instead we follow our crucified Lord, obediently listening for his voice so that we know our marching orders and then carry them out as faithfully as we can.

During Holy Week this week, think on these things. As you gaze on the crucified One with contrition and thanksgiving, does God’s great love for you evoke a desire to obey him with joy and thanksgiving? How are you following your crucified Lord?