July 25, 2011 – Philippians 2

6 – “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.” The footnotes give an interpretation of this that I think was interesting. This lines may refer to Christ not seeking to prop Himself up as a God while on Earth even though He could have. This is in direct opposition to the chose made by Adam in the Garden where when he wasn’t suppose to he tried to “grasp” equality with God. Christ over and over again, on the cross, being tempted by the devil, with the crowds around Him wanting to make Him a leader, could have seized that power and taken things in a new direction. He chooses not to in order to show us that this is not what God wants for us. He is an example of following God’s will and putting our own ideas and understandings to the side if they do not coincide with God’s plan. Paul tells us to have the same attitude as Christ, that is to do God’s will over our own. Christ greatest example of this is choosing to remain humbly human even though He was God and had the ability to choose that path.

This kind of choice can seem a little ridiculous sometimes. We are not God and therefore, don’t have the same decisions to make. For the most part our day to day decisions, what tie to where, what to have for breakfast, aren’t God like decisions. But the more we learn about technology and are given choices about life issues, the more this message can really hit home. Christ did not make the chose to be God like, when He had the ability. It is not for us to act God like. With so many choices that have a consequence of whether life happens or not, we really need to think about what we are doing. This is really coming out in the whole idea that artificial contraception is going to be made free by the government and Obamacare. The Catholic Church has always and will always be against artificial contraception and this a way we are allowed to play God that is really taken for granted and accepted. It is really something that is so accepted that to say anything negative about it a person is seen as a lunatic. But it is wrong and not only artificial but unnatural and has farther reaching consequences than we are ever told about. When you think about this “obvious” right you have to artificial contraception, think about this hymn Paul is quoting about Christ not reaching beyond the human grasp and what we are doing every time we take life into our own hands.