Philippians 3: 12-16 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Somewhere in your readings, you may have probably encountered the phrase “the 2012 phenomenon.”Advocates and supporters of the New Age Movement believe the 2012 phenomenon refers to a wide range of events that will lead to an apocalyptic global transformation, some kind of “end-of-the-world” scenarios, as depicted in the movie blockbuster 2012, released in 2009 as a science fiction disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich and starred by John Cusack.
As expected, reactions to the movie were varied. Some were frightened and disturbed, some were intrigued and mystified, some were amused and simply entertained. Be it as it may, one thing is sure: the unseen future is something that we are all awaiting with much mixed anticipation, with much eagerness, and yes, as believers of Christ, with much hope and optimism.
Our scripture reading is taken from the book of Philippians, a pastoral letter written by Apostle Paul during a time of imprisonment in Rome. Considering the very complicated circumstance of Paul during the time of its writing, many wonder why the letter turned out to be so joyful, so positive, and so encouraging.
You see, Paul was a very respectable and dignified member of the religious elite in his community prior to his conversion to Christ. He had powerful friends in high places. He was living comfortably. Certainly, there were so many opportunities for him to advance himself in any field he would choose to pursue.
But after he became a follower of Jesus, his life took a drastic turn. He made enemies. He became a target of much suspicion. His life was endangered countless times.
But in Philippians 3, he said that considering everything that the world would ever consider to be great and grand about his life, he said, “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9” — Philippians 3:7-9
And so here was Paul, imprisoned, done wrong by his critics and detractors, and all alone. Not a very good situation to be in, others will argue.
His well-meaning friends probably asked, “Paul, is it all worth it? — all the pain, all the hardship, and all the undeserved suffering? Why are you putting up with all these?”
But for Paul, there were absolutely no regrets. He made his choices for the sake of Christ, and he was not sorry for any of them. He was at his very best, and very brightest, and no one could possibly discourage him or stop him from going further in his faith in Jesus Christ.
In the face of all these, Paul writes such awesome words of inspiration to the Church to press on, “13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
To “press on” means “to proceed, to advance, to move forward, to hasten, to go.” In short, to press on is to take hold of what is ahead, what is unseen, what is yet to come.
Sounds simple, but not quite. For those who have been wronged, for those who have been hurt, for those who have lost much, for those who are kept in the prison of pain and suffering like Paul, pressing on may be the most difficult and most intricate task one could ever do.
But such is the message of the Lord to us at the start of this new year. What does it mean to press on?
Forget. “Forgive and forget”, we often hear. But you see, the truth is, we never forget! We simply choose not to be affected. We can never pretend things never happened. We only make a conscious and deliberate effort not to be controlled, and not to be dictated upon by what we had experienced in the past.
It is learning to live ourselves outside the influence and power of certain situations, or perhaps, even certain people, to embrace what it ahead. It is learning to let go, to put things out of our hands, and into the hands of God.
Are there things we need to learn to leave behind? Are there issues in our life we need to stop looking back over and over and over again?
Face the future with hope. It’s always interesting to discuss about new year prosperity superstitions — from wearing polka dots, to having round shaped fruits on our tables on New Year’s Eve, to wearing all kinds of good luck charms. And how about jumping up and down to gain a few inches in height? We often laugh at these things, and they can really be very amusing.
It just goes to show that underneath our hearts, we are all looking for something to hold on to, something to anchor our weary and insecure hearts, something to assure us that all will go well someway, somehow.
Friends, we have learned so many lessons from recent events in our nation. How can we ever forget the different situations, images, and actual experiences that made us realize once more that nothing, absolutely nothing in this world is certain?
The strongest of structures can be toppled in seconds. The most beautiful home can disappear right before our eyes. The most stable government can be caught off-guard by a single terrorist attack. The most powerful and most influential person in the nation can lose influence and reputation just like that.
Where do we go? Where do we turn? Who shall we truly trust? Only in Jesus Christ! We know that in our heads, we speak that in our lips, but do we truly understand substantially and sincerely what it means?
May it be our utmost prayer that this year, we may learn to take root in Jesus Christ, and yearn more for his presence and will. May we all experience a deepening of our personal relationship with Christ that will enable us to live faithfully, justly, and compassionately in this glorious and blessed new year.
It’s time to forget what lies behind. It’s time to face the future with Christ. So be it!
