Gentleness Is Next To Godliness

Philippians 4:1-9

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.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. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

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Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is home to a unique room that is said to be one of the quietest places on earth. It's so quiet that once the door behind you closes, they measure sound using negative decibels. This type of room, known as an anechoic chamber, allows some people to hear their heartbeat, their lungs breath in and out, and their stomach growl. If you were looking for a place to meditate in silence, then this would be the place for you. Comparatively, an echo chamber, with sound bouncing all around, does not lend itself to contemplation and instead often causes agitation and frustration. Today, both in scripture and our present reality, we find ourselves in an echo chamber of our own design. Within this bubble, we discover that the gentleness and godliness of our better angels struggle to compete with the boisterous clanging of our self-inflicted cultural divides. 

Bouncing off the walls of this echo chamber, we hear voices that amplify our feelings of mistrust and fear. As we draw nearer to the date, which should celebrate our ability to participate in democracy, the echo chamber seems to draw out the worst in us. Reverberating throughout, we hear, "us versus them, insiders and outsiders, the left and the right, the elephant and the donkey, socialists, and capitalists," all words we use to describe our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. And if we find that the spirit of gentleness, which calls for listening, reconciliation, and restoration, peeks it's head out; it all too often feels like that spirit of healing is beaten back by partisan bludgeoning on both sides. Whether we know it or not, we will wake up on November 4th and find that we can't avoid the things we've said or done. Gentleness is next to godliness. It's not a weakness, but a strength that many of us are too weak to master. It requires the ability to reach deep within ourselves and connect with something raw, something real, that allows us to embrace the heart and mind of God. 

Not utilizing this gift, this strength found in gentleness, will lead to an undoing of our relationships and communities. It's what Paul feared would happen in his letter to the church in Philippi if Syntyche and Euodia were not able to make amends. We aren't given any context as to what conflict occurred (perhaps there was no conflict), but we know that it was important enough that Paul felt a need to throw his own opinion into the ring to bring about some sort of resolution. Of course, Paul gives his account as the only one that matters, but I'm sure if we asked Syntyche and Euodia, they might have a different point of view to offer. In his pleading to these two women in the church of Philippi, there is something we should note, which is key to our understanding of gentleness being a virtue that we need in our present time.

Paul encourages them to "be of the same mind in the Lord." In Greek, we would say that Paul is telling Syntyche and Euodia to "think the [same] thing," but what does it mean to be of the same mind or think the same thing? Before you think that Paul is telling them that they need to be in lockstep with one another, the truth is that Paul hints at what he means when he states that both have struggled for the sake of the gospel. Syntyche and Euodia both struggled. The two of them had something in common, which was their shared work in the church and aiming to build up their community. Multiple times throughout this passage, Paul uses Greek grammar to hit this point home. In this commonality, Paul is celebrating their work and creates an environment that welcomes this sense of togetherness. It's no wonder then that Paul celebrates gentleness and rejoices in the coming together of Syntyche and Euodia as they strive to embody the teachings of Christ.

When we realize how much of our shared mission includes overcoming hurdles, the walls of the echo chamber begin to crumble, and the gentleness and godliness of our better angels emerge and have room to spread their wings. It's not that a cacophony of voices is a bad thing; it's only when those voices elevate our inner demons instead of our better angels that a multitude of voices is not a good thing. We know that fear and uncertainty are powerful forces. They are what drove the ancient Israelites to demand a golden calf when Moses did not descend from the mountain, and it is what pushed those in the early church to disagree and argue like we do today. To be gentle, to do what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy is what binds and holds us together. Our interconnectedness requires fineness. And as I mentioned earlier, it requires a spiritual and emotional muscle that is stronger than anger and hate, that being our ability to be gentle. 

You might think that I'm off base when it comes to talking about gentleness being next to godliness. So here's something to consider. Do you know those egg drop competitions that you'd have in school? How would you design one if asked today? Would you make a rigid structure that tries to absorb the energy of the fall? You'd be on the right track, but would be missing something critical. You see, if you make the structure too rigid, it's going to transfer all that energy of the fall into the egg and crack it. To be successful, you counter-intuitively massage some weak spots or "crumple zones'' so that the contraption as a whole can gently caress the egg as it falls and hits the ground. Just as Syntyche and Euodia shared in their common struggle, we too find that if we bear one another's load, then we will be conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the Christian life. It gives us a reason to rejoice, knowing that in our differences, we can find a way forward together.

"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." May our gentleness be known to everyone. Let it be known to everyone! Because the more we expand our capacity to empathize and love, we'll be able to wake up the day after a contentious election, debate, fight, quarrel, and know that we can still look one another in the eyes and see the image of God. You should know that I love all of you, knowing full well there are issues we most likely don't see eye to eye on. But I have faith that if we talked, if we listened, if we conversed with open hearts that were tender and gentle, we could still walk away being friends. Don't take this opportunity for granted. Let us go out filled with the peace of our Lord that gently guides us and calls us into a deep sense of community and a relationship with God and our neighbors. Gentleness is next to godliness. Amen.