English sermon

Dear parishioners,

The beginning of a new year is a sort of threshold situation. Among the
wishes that people exchange at such times, two words are always mentioned:
„happiness“ or „strength“. Where does this strength
come from? One often doesn’t know. Is it the wish itself which gives me
strength? Or is it the wish that should mobilize my strengths? Or does
the thought of the person who wished me strength make me strong? As Theodor
Storm expressed it in a verse to his wife:
If things go awry in the world, / wherever you are, I am at home.
If I see your lovely face / I do not see the shadow of the future.

In any case, wishes such as „lots of happiness“ or „lots
of strength“ are signs of empathy. Empathy has something strengthening.
If someone embraces me to express his empathy then something like a transmission
of strength occurs.

Words, wishes, gestures that accompany the passage into the new year
all share one thing: they bring strength of life and courage to live.

The sermon text for today’s New Year’s Day deals with strength,
the strength to live. It is illustrated in the powerful, bold confession
of Paul. He says: „I can do everything through him who gives me strength“.
But the apostle does not leave it there. He then immediately adds where
this strength comes from. There’s a name for it, a person: Christ, the
carrier, the bearer, of God’s strength.

Thus Paul speaks. He also tells us about the impact of the strength he
receives from God on his life. „I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being
content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want“. Through these sentences the boldness
of his faith becomes clear.

One could conclude that a Christian is a sort of virtuoso, a master,
of diverse situations in life. He can do all this because he stands over
them. He faces them with an enormous freedom. The freedom of choice and
will in every situation. Luther’s famous words according to which the
Christian is the lord of all while the servant of all also relates to
this. Something from the wonderful freedom of the children of God lives
in the apostle whose revelation is awaited by the whole creation.

Someone might perhaps stand up and object: „Yes indeed, I hear with
admiration how Paul can say so boldly: ‚I can do everything because Christ
gives me the strength in every life circumstances‘. This person might
then add: „Dear Paul, things are unfortunately different for me.
Christ has disappointed me on many occasions, he has let me down. I have
called upon him and have prayed but he hasn’t given me the strength“.

What would Paul say to that? I think it would say something like that:
„The strength that Christ gives me doesn’t come automatically. He
has often and for a long time let me feel my weakness more than his strength“.
And Paul would probably continue: „I didn’t write my confession
to shed shame on others nor to make them feel bad. Above all, I write
about my joy. This joy doesn’t belong to me nor even to Jesus Christ but
to the community of Philippi. My joy arises from the gratitude for proven
solidarity. The people of Philippi had let me bring some gifts by Epaphroditus
in prison. They wanted to show me that they cared about me. This gesture
should give me strength while in prison. Now I write them so that they
are not worried. Although their gesture is very important for me, the
Christians in Philippi must know that I in the meantime know how to live
in the most different situations in life. I owe this to God who became
our servant, the king who serves us all. I owe it to the freedom of Jesus
Christ. That’s what Paul would probably answer.

As such, the fact to have plenty or to be in need, to be hungry or well
fed, to live in abundance or in want are not sources of liberation, but
threats to life. Not only hunger is deadly, abundance can be it just as
much. Frequently, the strength that comes from Christ remains inaccessible
where pride, abundance, and the plenty prevail. This unholy alliance
opposes Christ as an iron wall. For this reason, the world is relieved
where there are people who know how to deal with any and every situation.
They are responsible for a solidary world.

This is precisely what characterizes Christians: they know how to deal
with any and every situation. This is also, by the way, the reason why
Christians are so sensitive to social issues. They know how to deal with
any and every situation. They cry with those who cry, they share the happiness
of others, they wish justice with those in need.

To know how to deal with any and every situation is not something that
comes automatically. For this reason, Paul also says: „I’ve learnt“.
Christians are eternal learners. Many teachers, prophets, apostles, contemporary
brothers and sisters work in their school. Above all, life is a great
school master. We know that Paul was arrested several times and thrown
in prison without court hearings, he was also plundered. We know that
he foundered shipwreck, almost starved and died of thirst. For this reason,
he says in his confession: „I have learned to be content whatever
the circumstances“. The Shelter-Now workers in Afghanistan have made
similar statements–before, while, and after their imprisonment.

But two things are important for Paul’s life: the parish that he founded
and wanted to found. The apostle had a clear origin and a clear goal.
Those were the source of his strength. But it’s also true that: „One
needs more than goals to be able to live: one need a face“ (E. Canetti).
A face? Paul knew many faces but they were for him the reflection of one
face, that of Jesus Christ whom gave him strength for all. Christ is the
strength behind all communities. For him, Paul could have sung the poem
that Theodor Storm one wrote for his wife:

If things go awry in the world, / wherever you are, I am at home.
If I see your lovely face / I do not see the shadow of the future.

Let’s repeat what Paul said so to enter the new year as confident „virtuosi“
in all circumstances of life. We can thus testify the freedom of the
children of God. We’ll make sure that the hungry won’t stay without bread
and that those who live in abundance do not loose contact with those
who live in need. Christians know how to deal with any and every situation.
And a lot of people benefit from it.

Amen!

Dr. Wilhelm Hüffmeier, Berlin
Präsident der Kirchenkanzlei der Evangelischen Kirche der Union
Leiter des Sekretariats der Leuenberger Kirchengemeinschaft
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Translated by
Barbara Thériault
Centre canadien d’études allemandes et européennes
Université de Montréal
Pavillon 3744, rue Jean-Brillant, bureau 525
Montréal, Québec
Canada H3T 1P1
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