When the great St. David of Wales lay dying, he gathered his monastic community around him and spoke his final words of advice to them.  He said:

“Lords, brothers and sisters, be happy and keep your faith and your belief, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.”

The Little Things to which David referred were:

Respect, Lowliness, and being ‘At Home.’

Respect for God and each other; the practice of Humility in the face of God’s greatness and, Hospitality towards each other and, particularly, the stranger are all hallmarks of any Christian Community, whether it be monastic or ,as we are, parochial.

On his deathbed, David was concerned that all that he had taught about the Christian way of life should be preserved as the foundation for the community to go on growing and developing in the love of God.

It seems, too, that St. Paul has similar concerns in the portion of his letter to the Philippians that we have heard this morning.  Paul wrote his letter from prison, one of his many confinements as the plots of the Jewish leaders against him gathered momentum.  He may have been at Ephesus – on his way to Rome where he was to remain until his death. Wherever he was, he had a special concern for the Christians in Philippi and expressed the hope of revisiting the Church there but perhaps he realised this was a vain hope because his letter has the feel of a valedictory address. Like David on his deathbed, Paul was expressing his final wishes

The Christians at Philippi were very special to him for a number of reasons.  The first, obviously, was because he had founded the Church there and so it was dear to his heart.  Secondly, the establishment of a Christian Community in so Roman a city marked the beginning of the Church’s European mission. It had no Synagogue so it was a non-Jewish city. All those converted to Christ there were Gentiles.  Thirdly, it was a Church where partnership in ministry became a reality. Paul refers to the Christians there as co-workers. They shared with him in the proclamation and spread of the Gospel message.  And, fourthly, the leadership of the Church was in the hands of women. Unlike in some of his other writings, where women are given a subservient role to men, in Philippi, a group of women formed the Church at the beginning, as we read in Acts 16 where we are also told that a certain Lydia opened her heart to what Paul was saying and immediately she brought her entire family to Paul for Baptism. As the first Christian in Philippi, Lydia became Paul’s first co-worker and it seems, from the beginning of today’s lesson that it was women who shared some oversight or care of the Church.  Whilst we should perhaps not read too much into this, it was possible that this oversight –known as episkopoi from which we get our English word, episcopal – may not be too far removed from the role of bishop.  Those, today,  who use  Paul to argue against the giving of leadership and authority in the Church to women may be a little short-sighted. In Philippi, at least, their leadership role is clear and defined.  Maybe the Church of England can find some New Testament encouragement for what we are seeking to do!

Perhaps we can also take some comfort from the fact that in the exercise of this leadership there is some disagreement. We cannot always be in harmony of view and it seems, from this morning’s lesson, that Euodia and Syntyche are involved in just such a disagreement.  It is this which provides the catalyst for Paul’s valedictory remarks.  Paul offers the Philippian Christians some good advice which has a Universal application to any Christian community, including, of course, our own.

This advice can be summarised under the headings of:  unity in the face of disagreement;  having always joy in the Lord;  gentleness as a quality which commends us to others;  attentiveness to prayer which drives out anxiety;  and a trust in God from whom real peace of heart comes.

Unity is something naturally dear to Paul’s heart as it should be to all Christians.  Paul knows that disagreements between Christians are inevitable. After all, quite early in his ministry he was in disagreement with Peter about the mission to the non-Jews (Gentiles) and whether conversion should involve circumcision. Later Paul was to disagree strongly with Barnabas and eventually they parted company.  So, Paul was no stranger to the effects of disunity on the Church which is perhaps why he came down so strongly on the two women leaders at Philippi.  He appealed to the work they had done together, reminding the women of their loyal service as co-workers for the Gospel and he begged them to be of the same mind in the Lord. 

These words refers back to something he had written earlier in his letter. In Chapter 2 he said that his joy would be complete if we Christians had the same mind and the same love that was in Christ Jesus. We are to behave as Christ did and in a poem that is central to the entire Epistle to the Philippians, he spells out this mind of Christ – who though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… A slave who humbled himself, was obedient to his Father’s will by submitting to death on the cross.

Whatever our disagreements in the detailed working out and witness to our faith, the common factor which brings unity is that we should not only proclaim Christ Crucified but also that, like the Crucified One, we should live in obedience and humility to God.   In so doing we will have unity.

We may, as a Church, disagree about many things but if that disagreement is rooted in love and if we treat each other in love, then we can live together joined in the common purpose of witness to Christ.

Perhaps St David’s first concern for his disciples that they should respect each other is important here because respect is about accepting others to be of infinite worth and precious in both God’s sight and ours. Listening to each other and valuing each other, even and especially when we disagree is part of loving as Christ loves.

In the Church today, quite often there is a lack of respect – a disdainful dismissal of people because they don’t share our views. This week, the new Archbishop of York, Dr. Sentamu, said that this was ‘Unchristian’ and added we should seek to live in Christ. He repeated some advice his mother had given him as a child:

never point the finger at anybody because when you do three other fingers are pointing back at you.

St. David’s second wish, that we should have lowliness, humility of heart, is echoed in the letter to the Philippians in a positive way.  We are to have Joy in the Lord and we are to be gentle.  We have much to be glad and joyful about in our Christian life and faith. One of the points of Worship is to express our joy in the Lord – to rejoice that He is God and that He loves us.  No matter how hard-pressed we might be, as individuals and as a Church whenever we think of God and what he means to us then joy follows for such Joy flows from knowing what God does for us.  And this is humbling – and I use that word not in the sense it is sometimes used – as being lowly and downtrodden – but as knowing ourselves to be loved with so great a love that it is awe-inspiring. At the heart of true humility is gratitude, thankfulness and that too is part of Worship.

Coupled with humility is gentleness.  Too much in the world and in the Church is aggressive. There is aggressiveness from the world where many are hostile to Christianity and there is aggressiveness within the Church where hostility is shown to any who don’t hold our particular slant on the Gospel.  Yet gentleness is the best way of showing the love of the Gospel and of challenging the aggressive. Paul elsewhere lists it as one of the Fruits of the Spirit.  In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says of himself that he is gentle and humble in heart and that is why, in him, we find rest for our souls.  'Be of the same mind in the Lord' says Paul. Only Christ’s way is the true way.

Undergirding all our Christian living is Prayer and it is prayer, supplication, thanksgiving that we will discover the peace of God – a peace which passes all understanding – because it rests deep in our hearts.  If we are attentive in prayer then we shall grow in trust of God. Trust of God means that we needn’t get ourselves worked up overmuch about what will happen because everything is in God’s hands.

Earlier this week I was at a Conference which spent a lot of energy in trying to decide what the Church will be like in 2020. They called it 20/20 vision but I began to wonder. Whilst it is important to plan ahead it is equally important to let God be God and allow Him to shape the Church according to His Will.  I have no idea what the Church here will be like in 2006 never mind 2020. I can only hope that if we practice the little things which St. Paul asked of the Philippians, we shall be a more united, joyful, gentle, humble, prayerful and trusting Church – a community who seeks only the mind of Christ rather than the mind of men and so reflect our Lord dazzlingly. 

At the end of today’s lesson Paul says that if we keep on doing the things we have learned and received and heard and seen – not only in Paul himself, but especially in Jesus – then God’s peace will be with us.  This is his goodbye message to the Philippians.  It reflects St. David’s goodbye message to his monks – do the little things that you have heard and seen me do. 

The final little thing that David says is important is to be at home – to each other, practicing real hospitality which opens our hearts to each other – but especially at home to God – who, as Jesus more than once reminded us – is where God longs to be – at home in our hearts.  When our hearts are open to Him, totally and completely, we shall know the mind and heart of Christ because it will be our own mind and our own heart.