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Friends United Meeting |
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January/February 1999
The Self-Emptying of Christ
By T. Canby Jones
The self-emptying of Christ is powerfully described in Philippians 2:5-11. Every time that passage comes to mind my spirit sings with joy. The passage reads in part in the Revised Standard Version:
"Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Memories of Greek and Russian Orthodox churches and their "self-emptying of Christ" devotional tradition then flood into my mind. Saints in that Christian tradition seek to emulate in their lives, the kenosis, or self-emptying of Christ.
Such self-emptying is the process by which Jesus' Upside Down Kingdom is built. Hebrews 5:8 tells us that that kingdom is built through obedience both by Jesus and by those who obey him. The scripture reads: "Son though he was he learned obedience in the school of suffering and, once perfected, became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." (New English Bible). Isn't it astonishing that Jesus, the Living Word of God, co-agent with God the Father in the creation of all things, had to learn obedience through suffering! Do we, can we, learn obedience through suffering?
Equally inspiring is Colossians 1:15-17, (RSV), which affirms that all things are held together by Him. The passage states that: "He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation: for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth....He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." These are some of the attributes of which Christ emptied himself by becoming obedient unto death.
As a "culturally deprived" Quaker I love to visit Orthodox churches and to study all the images, pictures and symbols. In one of them I looked forty feet up into the dome of the church and saw a picture of Jesus looking down at me with his hand raised in blessing. Around him were the words written in Greek, "Christ, the ruler of all things!" Ruler of all nations, persons and things?! Upside down! How could one who learned obedience in the school of suffering and die on the cross for our collective sins be the ruler of all things? Incredible! Inspiring!
To think that Jesus, who was co-creator with the Father before the world began, "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant" is hard for my small mind to grasp!
This tradition of "giving it all up," especially the renunciation of everything within us that leads to self-esteem or self-pridethe total emptying of self is the key concept of the profoundly moving passage from Philippians chapter two.
Nevertheless, God in his mercy graciously bestows the gift of self-emptying on some persons. And once "self" and "pride of life" have been "washed" or "burned" away, then comes the glory! In Second Timothy we read, "The saying is true: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he yet remains faithfulfor he cannot deny himself." (2 Tim. 2:11-13). (RSV).
We are therefore called to learn obedience through suffering. We are called to die with him and thus to live with him. Emptied of self we shall share his reign with him and exalt his name to the glory of God the Father.
Hallelujah! Philippians 2:5-11! Whew, what a Scripture!
T. Canby Jones, teacher, peace advocate and preacher, has retired
from the religion department of Wilmington College which he headed for
many years.
Copyright (c) 1999 Friends United Meeting
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