Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
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,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, May 29, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Christ invites us to emulate his selflessness in obeying God.
The Christ Hymn (2:6-11) exalts Christ for emptying himself. It is a juxtaposition of loftiness and lowliness blending into a lifestyle worth emulating. Christ took the form of a slave and bound himself to obedience to God, even when obeying God led to his death.
From a very human standpoint, this is martyrdom at its purest. He did not die for his own glory. He did not die for infamy or attention. He did not die to make a point. He died because his love for people asked no less of him.
Some of us have it inside us to die for those we love. Few of us have it inside us to die for those whom we don’t know. Yet this unadulterated selflessness is what Christ modeled—what Christ asks us to emulate.
It is not practical to place upon ourselves the expectation that we find a cause to die for. But we can look inside ourselves to discover that which we would consider dying for, and then work to fulfill that mission in whatever ways we are able. Everyone believes in something outside of themselves. Everyone has the capacity to empty themselves—if only for a short time—so that the love of Christ might fill them through the work Christ has set out for them to do. Christ extends the invitation to empty ourselves so that we might be filled as we serve and obey.
