Last week, a friend of mine who lives in central London posted some advice on his Twitter account: If you see someone in London looking confused at a map, offer to help them. It is, he suggested, not rocket science, but basic etiquette with being a host city for the Olympics.
Not rocket science. It seems so obvious. And yet it needs to be said, because it’s not a very London way to live. London is very much a city in which it’s each man and woman for himself. Sadly, such basic etiquette does need to be said.
I’m going to hold out to us this morning an alternative approach to life. To do that, I’m going to introduce us to three people who embody that different approach, one of whom did so for our benefit.
Timothy
So, first, let me introduce you to Timothy. When Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians, he was in prison in Rome, and he had Timothy with him. He’s looking for someone to send to the Philippians, to find out how they’re doing, to encourage them in their faith, and to bring back a report to Paul.
Timothy seems like just the man. That’s because, of all the people who are available to send from Rome, Timothy is unique. Only he is as concerned for the Philippians’ welfare as he is. Every other Christian that Paul could have sent looks after their own interests first, and then Jesus comes after that. Timothy is different. The needs of Jesus Christ, and the needs of other Christians, come above his own needs. Every time.
And Paul is not making this assessment of Timothy’s character hastily. Timothy doesn’t just “seem to be a good egg”. As he says in verse 22, the Philippians themselves know his proven worth. He’s proven that this is his character again and again. How? He’s served alongside Paul, serving the gospel. Paul’s relationship with Timothy was like a father to a son – Paul was the one who first taught Timothy about Jesus and led him to Jesus. And Timothy didn’t use that privileged start to serve Paul. Not at all. He literally became a slave, serving alongside Paul, working for the spread of the gospel, working for the good of other people. He set aside his rights, so that he could do what benefits Jesus, and what benefits others who need to hear about Jesus.
And so after years of this, Paul is absolutely confident: There is nobody like Timothy. Only he puts the spread of the Christian gospel and the needs of the Christian churches above his own interests in the way that he does.
So he wants to send Timothy to Philippi. He can’t do so quite yet. He doesn’t tell us why not – perhaps his trial in Rome is coming to a head and he needs Timothy to help him prepare his defence. Perhaps there’s some pastoral situation requiring Timothy’s help. He doesn’t say. But he does tell the Philippians that Timothy will be along very shortly, and that hopefully he himself won’t be too far behind.
There’s Timothy. He’s one person who embodies this alternative lifestyle. There’s nothing “everyone for himself” about Timothy.
Epaphroditus
The other person I’d like you to meet is Epaphroditus. He’s got a slightly unusual name, so I’d guess he was called Phroddy to his friends.
Paul was going to send Phroddy back to the Philippians to carry this letter to them. The thing is, he’s only just arrived with Paul. In chapter 4 we’ll learn that the Philippians had just put together a very generous financial gift for Paul. Phroddy is one of the Philippians himself, and he was the one they chose to carry the gift.
But he’s done much more than just deliver the gift. Paul calls him a brother – he has a special affection for Phroddy. He’s a fellow-worker – in the short time he’s been in Rome, they’ve worked together for the gospel. And he’s a fellow-soldier – they’ve been through some hardships together.
It would seem that the Philippians intended Phroddy to be part of their gift to Paul. Here’s some money, and here’s a colleague. He was to stay as long as he would be useful to Paul, and from what Paul writes he would be extremely useful.
But something went wrong. Probably on the way to Rome, although it’s hard to be sure, Phroddy had fallen ill. Wind of this had got back to Philippi, and they were deeply worried. News of their anxiety had reached Phroddy in Rome, and he was in agony because he knew they were so worried.
In fact, things were worse than they’d realised. He’d been so ill, he was at death’s door. Literally, he was ill unto death. Carrying this gift to Rome nearly cost him his life. It was only God’s kindness that meant he had recovered.
So Paul decided it was best to send him back again. In passing, that makes Paul another example of someone who didn’t just put his own needs first. Phroddy would have been a great support to him, but that was not what mattered. The needs of the Philippian Christians came above his own. So he sends Phroddy back.
And yet what an example Phroddy is to the Philippians. By taking their gift to Rome, he was part of Paul’s great mission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Yet playing that part nearly cost him his life. Yet he was glad to do it. The work of Christ mattered more to him than his own well-being.
Jesus
What attractive people. Wouldn’t you want to be like Timothy and Phroddy? That’s exactly what Paul wants the Philippians to feel.
There’s a reason why this is so attractive. Timothy and Phroddy were being like Jesus. A few months back we looked at the most famous verses of Philippians: chapter 2, verses 4 to 11. Let me read them for us again.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus was the ultimate person, like Timothy, who didn’t only look to his own interests but to the interests of others. He was the ultimate example of someone who put his service of others above his own life. The phrase “obedient to the point of death” is the same phrase to describe Phroddy’s illness: He was ill to the point of death.
And Jesus did those things for you and for me. He didn’t use his tremendous power and authority for his own benefit. He gave up the comfort of heaven. He lived a human life. He died on the cross – to bear my sins and your sins on his own back. He did it for us.
And if that is what Jesus did for us, Paul argues in this chapter, is it too much to ask that we show the same kind of attitude to other people?
Which is exactly what Timothy and Phroddy had one. They took this seriously. They lived like Jesus. They put the needs of other Christians and the spread of the gospel above their own needs. Just like Jesus did before them.
About once a month I have the privilege of taking assemblies in the village school. It’s a joy to do, and the children in Kemsing school are so well behaved. But sometimes I watch the teacher at the end try to get everyone to sit up and to sit still. “Sit up straight everyone,” says the teacher. Almost every child does. A few still don’t get it, so the teacher says: Look at Robbie here – he’s got a nice straight back.
That’s what Paul’s doing. In chapter 1 verse 27 he said that the church should be a place where we are united in holding out the gospel to those around us. That one task should be something around which the whole church should unite.
And then he says: Have a look at Jesus – he’s got a nice straight back. Be like him. And to really help us get it, he then says: Have a look at Timothy and Phroddy. They’ve got nice straight backs. Be like them.
An Appeal for Today
So that’s Paul’s appeal for us for today. He’s asking us to put our differences aside, and to unite around the great task of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ around Kemsing, around Woodlands, and as far as we are able to spread it. He’s asking us to put the needs of other Christians above our own. And he’s also asking us to honour those who do this at great cost to themselves.
He’s saying: Be like Timothy and Phroddy. And honour the Timothy-s and the Phroddy-s among you.
I want us to think about those two implications for a moment. Let’s think about what it looks like to honour people like this, and then let’s think about what it looks like to be like this ourselves.
Honour Such People
So we must honour people who serve Christ’s gospel and his people at great cost to themselves.
One charity that does a great job is the charity Help for Heroes. They remind the rest of us that those who serve abroad in our armed forces are heroes. Many of them come back injured, or find it hard to find other work. These men and women are our national heroes, and they deserve to be treated that way.
Indeed, we all have our personal heroes. Sporting heroes. Musicians. Actors. People we look up to. We’d like their autograph. We’d love to say we’ve met them. The opening ceremony was partly about honouring our national heroes – past and present.
There’s a test as to who your heroes are. It’s the name-dropping test. You know: I was at school with David Cameron’s brother’s cousin twice removed. No, I wasn’t. Not really. But if we’ve met one of our heroes, it’s hard to resist slipping that fact into conversation. So who are your heroes? Who would you be unable to tell other people that you’d met, if you had done?
Paul says that people who put gospel and church above themselves are our heroes. And they deserve to be treated that way.
People like Dick and Caroline Seed. Dick and Caroline are a couple we support as a church who have just finished working in Ghana. This last week, they flew to Nairobi, which is they’re next location. They’ll both be serving the African church helping to equip pastors theologically.
They’d never complain about their lot, but they’ve joyfully paid a big price to do what they do. They’ve had to move home every couple of years. They could have had secure jobs in this country, but instead permanently live with never quite enough money pledged for their support. And they’re grown-up children are in this country, so they see them only infrequently.
Well done them. We must honour such people – giving them money as we are able, praying for them, speaking of them often with great pride.
There are heroes at home too. There are some people in these two churches who do a lot. To be precise, though, there are people who do a lot because they put the needs of the gospel and the needs of other Christians above their own needs. These people aren’t driven by how they would like the world to be, but are driven by how they can most help others. They are driven by how they can best join in the endeavour to spread the good news of Jesus to those who don’t already know him.
It’s true that lots of people help with that endeavour. But most of us do so in a way and at a time that suits us. But there are a few who do more than just help. They do so by putting those concerns above their own. Those people deserve our honour, our help, our encouragement and we should tell others often how proud we are to know such people.
And then there are the heroes who work with the children in this church. On a Sunday we have our Sunday Special leaders and helpers. Soon we’ll have our crèche volunteers. Midweek we have Explorers and Wednesday Club. We have three different toddler groups across the two churches. Lots of people are helping with our holiday club in August.
These people give up a lot of time and effort to do what they do. It’s true that you can name bigger churches than ours with more organised, larger-scaled children’s work. But we have some very gifted individuals. But more importantly we have people who will put sharing the gospel with our children above their own wish to be in the main service on a certain week, above their wish to be able to take a Sunday off whenever they feel like it, and so on.
These people are heroes. They deserve our honour. I’m doing that now, but it’s something we can all do. Encourage them. Support them. Pray for them. What they do is a hard job, and discouragements come all by themselves. If we all committed to honour these people, to hold them in the highest regard, it would make an enormous difference.
That’s Paul’s first exhortation. When we meet people like Timothy and Phroddy, we must honour such people
Be Like Such People
But he also urges us to be like this ourselves.
I’ll just give us two examples.
Take coming to church. Why do you come to church? Many of us come to church because we get something out of it. Nothing wrong with that. But Paul’s challenge here is for what we can contribute to others to matter more to us than what we might stand to gain by coming.
So take the coffee time before or after the service. I do hope you stay for coffee, or come in time for it. If we’re coming to church more for the benefit of others who will be here than for ourselves, the coffee time is one of the most important parts of it all.
But who do you talk to at coffee? It’s easiest to talk to your friends. The people you find easy to talk to. How about trying to spend the time with those who could most benefit from being welcomed, from being encouraged, or from you getting to know them.
That’s coming to church. Another area of life in which we can be like Timothy, Phroddy and Jesus is in evangelism.
For most of us, the idea of sharing our faith with our friends is scary to say the least. We’re scared of all kinds of things: I might lose a good friend; they might think I’m foolish; I might be asked a question to which I don’t know the answer. All kinds of fears.
And yet Philippians 2 is all about putting the spread of the gospel above our own needs. That’s what Jesus did when he came to earth to die. That’s what Timothy did when he went to the Philippians full of concern for them. That’s what Phroddy did when he went to Rome with the Philippians’ gift, even though he fell so seriously ill.
So which matters more to us? The chance to spread the good news of Jesus by telling those we know and love? The chance for them to come to know him for themselves? Or making sure we avoid the scenarios we’re scared of?
Conclusion
If you see someone in London looking a bit lost and confused, please offer to help them. It’s not each person for himself or herself.
But more than that, when Jesus came to this earth, he put saving you, and getting to know you, above his own comfort and well-being. Can we be like him? Can we put helping others to know him, and serving his people, above our own comfort and well-being?