Given at First Congregational Church of San Francisco
Sunday, April 1, 2001
Rev. Wilfried Glabach
minister@sanfranciscoucc.org
 

Do you write a diary? Is there anybody who writes a diary here? When I came to USA I started to write a diary.  Do you take time to write things down that are important in your life? Which things you want to keep, to forget, to forgive or to dispel? What do you want to repeat? What do you want to do again?

My favorite books are biographies. I enjoy reading how other people live, what they have thought, which experiences they have made. How would be the biography of my / of our lives?  Would it be a bestseller or non-seller? Which title would it have? Which title would you give your own biography? Which persons would you mention in this book? Or do you think, “My life is not interesting enough … to read … to tell. “

How was your life until now? Only work, up and down, a journey, a walk, or with the words of Paul “ a race?” How would you describe your life?

For eight months, I now have lived in the United States. People I meet ask me about my life, where I am from, what I have done. "Why are you here, Wilfried?"

The same happened in the place I left behind. People asked me in my congregation, in my school and in my conference, "Why and where do you go? Why do you sell your personnel things, car, furniture, books, clothes, and kitchenware?" 

I had a nice church (2 years older than this congregation from 1847), a new fellowship hall was growing, I was successful – my work was appreciated. I was the assistant to our conference minister. But I decided to start something new without knowing if it will work for me. I was not longer content with my status quo and so I tried a new chapter in my life. 

And now I am standing here, the third time in this congregation and hopefully a few times more in the next months. And personally I am again an April fool trick. I started my ministry in Germany also on Aril 1st and again in the USA after 17 years.

You can imagine this day is a special day for me to look back on what I have done. And I invite you to look back, too…

And I ask you also, are you fairly content with your life, the way it is? Is your job good enough? Are the hour’s OK? Or would you like more time for yourself, your partner, and your family? Are you happy with the material aspects of your life? Are you happy with your friends, your family? How about your spiritual life where are you now? Do you feel pretty good enough about showing-up for worship most Sundays? Is that enough? Are you content with this congregation as your spiritual home? Are you happy with the decisions and the way of transition?  Are you content with your prayer life? Your biblical knowledge, the formation of your character? Or at least content enough that you are not going to do much to change it? 

I don’t know if we are satisfied with where and how we are. If we don’t know the answer it is good to see on the apostle Paul. Today we hear a part from the letter to the Philippians who lived in the north of Greece. Paul is looking back. He is braking with the past and he describes his vocation. It is hard to understand and to translate it into our life. 

But let us try it.

Paul was not content with his spiritual condition. This man who was perhaps the greatest preacher, church founder and letter writer of the early church was not content with his spiritual life. He had been one of the most religious, strict, fanatical Jews of his days. He had credentials and trophies to impress anyone. But that did not give him satisfaction. All counted nothing in Paul’s mind. Certificates, accomplishments, public recognition, all worth nothing. In fact he uses some particularly earthy language to describe his earlier triumphs. Where our translations of verse 8 say, all those things are “rubbish” the actual Greek word is “excrement.” All those trophies from the past are not worth anything.

Paul was Pharisee, and lived by the law. He was circumcised externally marked as one of the chose people of God. He didn’t just come by this life, he was born into it, born a Hebrew, and it was his birthright. He persecuted those who believed and followed Jesus, because he saw himself as righteous under the law, blameless. As far as Paul was concerned he had already won the race he was chose to do so. Paul was given what his birthright, and his following of the law promised him.

Let us think about if we proclaim righteousness because of our birthright, because of what we have or what we believe. You are, what you have done. Have you ever thought yourself better than another? I meet people that think they are better because they are smarter, healthier or possess more. 

All this confidence and righteous Paul counts as loss, because of Christ. His external circumcision is nothing to his internal circumcision, the circumcision of his heart. Paul learns that this identity, his true self come from being accepted by Christ, for who he is, not for what he does. His confidence in flesh kept Paul focused on himself. Christ changed his life. He cuts away the skin around our hearts. Paul presses onto reach the goal, not to win above others. He is like a marathon runner who continues to run the race even when it would seem the end will never come.

In Christ’s death and resurrection we were made God’s own. We should forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. It is a new focus as we run the race not about coming in first, but finishing the race. Fortunately we don’t do this alone. Christ is with us on our way, on our journey through life. 

I am glad that we can do our race, our journey together. I trust that with God’s guidance all our ways – the personal and the ways of this congregation will bring us to a good goal.

Amen.