Lectio Divina
October 2007

Philippians 2:6-11
Christ, God’s holy servant

Though he was in the form of God,Jesus did not deem equality with Godsomething to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himselfand took the form of a slave,being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate,and it was thus that he humbled himself,obediently accepting even death,death on a cross!

Because of this,God highly exalted himand bestowed on him the nameabove every other name,

So that at Jesus’ nameevery knee must bendin the heavens, on the earth,
And under the earth,and every tongue proclaimto the glory of God the Father:
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!


This canticle is an early Christian hymn taken up by Paul in his appeal for unity in the Church at Philippi. Unity, he says, can only come as we each imitate the example of Christ in his humility.

Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

The hymn may be making a comparison between Christ and Adam. Adam, made in the image of God, grasped proudly at equality with God and lost the glory of communion with God. By contrast, Christ, who was in the form of God, in humility was obedient to the will of the Father and received the highest honor in heaven and on earth.

Jesus did not regard his equality with God as a privilege to be jealously clung to, a thing to be grasped at all costs. Instead, He emptied himself,taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men.

When Jesus became man he did not case to be God, he did not empty himself of his divinity. He emptied himself of all the glory and status, all the privileges and honor which rightly accompanied his divine nature. (At the transfiguration the disciples are given a glimpse of the divine glory, the form of God, which Jesus put aside in becoming man). A servant was the lowest human status, and therefore the most dramatic contrast to the form of God. Jesus described his mission as that of a servant: ‘The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45). His mission began when he was born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form,he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,even death on a cross.

The hymn takes us down, down, down, each step involving a radical humility. Jesus not only became a human being, he suffered the ultimate fate of all humanity – death. His death was no ordinary death, but the most humiliating of deaths, death on a cross. The Old Testament Law pronounced a cruse on anyone who died as Jesus did: ‘Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree’ (Galatians 3:13, quoting Deuteronomy 21:23). This is as far from the glory of God as it is possible to go.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the namewhich is above every name.

The hymn now lifts our gaze from the depths to the heights. Jesus humbled himself, God now acts to exalt him. This is the strongest appeal Paul can make for Christian unity – ‘Follow the example of our Lord in his humility. Never hesitate to renounce your status or dignity in order to serve on another. If you follow the way of Jesus, God will exalt you.’

The same message is given in 1 Peter (5:6), ‘Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves therefore under the might hand of God that in due time he may exalt you.’

The name which is above every name is revealed to us at the conclusion of the hymn. It is the name of God himself, the name ‘Lord.’ In the Scriptures a person’s name expresses their nature and character. By bestowing on Jesus the name ‘Lord,’ the name of God, God is declaring to the world the nature, character and authority of his Son.

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

In Isaiah 45:23 the Lord God declares:

By my own self I swear it; what comes from my mouth is saving justice, it is an irrevocable word: All shall bend the knee to me, by me every tongue shall swear, saying, ‘In Yahweh alone are saving justice and strength, until all those who used to rage at him come to him in shame.

Jesus begins to fulfill this prophecy of the saving justice of God, a justice which will eventually triumph throughout the whole cosmos, in heaven, on earth, under the earth. (The underworld was the traditional place of the dead).

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lord is the name used in the Old Testament for God himself. The Hebrew name was YHWH (translated into English as Yahweh), for which the Jews substituted the word Adonai, Lord, because they believed the divine name was too holy to pronounce. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) translated YHWH as Kyrios, Greek for ‘Lord,’ and it is the word Kyrios which is used for Jesus here in the Philippian hymn.

The confession Jesus Christ is Lord was the earliest Christian creed, and is the climax of the hymn.

(Commentary on Week 1: The School of Prayer, An Introduction to the Divine Office for all Christians, by John Brook, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota)