Christ Hymns of Philippians
‘Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus’Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 1] When St. Paul was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel in Philippi, St. Luke tells us he and his companion Silas sang hymns of praise to God (Acts 16:15). Later, St. Paul instructed the...
Christ Hymns of Philippians
Though He was in the form of God….’Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 2] Wings of Desire is a 1987 film by German director Wim Wenders. Its main character is an angel who spends his time overlooking the vast city of Berlin from lofty heights and listening to the inner thoughts...
Christ Hymns of Philippians
‘In the Form of God…’Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 3] ‘Who do people say that I am?’ Jesus asked Peter as they passed through Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27). It’s a question that has echoed down the ages. There have been all sorts of answers, some of them saying more about...
Christ Hymns of Philippians
‘He emptied Himself…Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 4] ‘Greed is good,’ proclaimed Gordon Gekko, the rapacious financier in the 1987 film Wall Street. Indeed, we oftentimes can be tempted to think that grasping, self-serving exploitation is a fundamental human trait. The...
Christ Hymns of Philippians
‘Born in human likeness…’Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 5] ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.’ These opening lines of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 point out a problem. How do you describe the indescribable? When something is...
Christ Hymns of Philippians
‘Obedient unto death…’ Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 6] The Old Testament book of Isaiah is oftentimes called the fifth Gospel, because of its vision of justice, its words of comfort, and its oracles foreshadowing the coming of Christ as found, for example, in the prophecy...
