The Christological hymn in Philippians

Canon William Maclean of Stornoway writes on the hymn contained in St Pauls letter to the Phillipians. We talk about Kenosis, Padre Pio and Coracles. Our lesser spotted Saint is St Adamnan. Welcome!

Although we read this hymn as our Second Reading every year on Palm Sunday, and on Saturday evenings at First Vespers for Sunday, I feel it is still a bit hidden away and under-appreciated. We have another crack at it this weekend (if we read the long version of the epistle). I feel it is simply one of the most beautiful pieces of Scripture.

It makes me wonder, without trawling through all the First and early Second Century writings, just what the early liturgy was like, and sure there are books and research on the subject, and there will have been many beautiful hymns which have not survived because they were not inserted into a letter like this one. It was clearly a hymn that St. Paul knew, and was likely sung or said in a number of the churches. It is far from the only time Paul does this, inserting a piece of liturgical text into his letters, (Col 1:15-20 and Eph 1:3-14 being the best other examples). I think we can all be grateful to St. Paul for sharing this one with his community in Philippi, and for keeping it from being lost and forgotten. It also sheds light on very early, pre-Pauline, Christology

The beginning line states “though he was in the form, (morphē) of God, Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped at”. There are many ways to translate this, and they all seem to have pitfalls. Does this mean that he is God, as in the prologue of John’s Gospel, “the Word was with God, and the Word was God”, or is it more in the tune of being in the image and  likeness of God, as Adam (Gen 1:27)? An important distinction! Was Christ equal to God, and therefore let go of it to empty himself, or was he offered the possibility of becoming God but chose not to grasp at it? Our theology tells us which of these is true, so there is no confusion about the divinity of Christ, but let’s not forget just how early into Christianity this hymn was written, long before all the Councils that defined and encoded orthodoxy. Many things were still up in the air at this early stage, but it is interesting to see how Christology was developing through such an ancient lens.

Clearly the movement within the hymn descends from divinity, to humanity, servitude, death, and even death by execution. It then returns upwards from that depth, back to divinity. The focus is soteriological; Jesus has to descend to the lowest extent of the human condition in order to pull us out. He has to empty himself in order to save us.

One of the key issues that this hymn accents is the idea of the pre-existence of Jesus. While we see that idea very clearly in the Gospel of John, let us not forget that this hymn was much earlier. If we accept that the letter to the Philippians was written around 56-60AD, this hymn, and the theology it contained, was sung even before that. Devotion to Christ as sung in this hymn included the idea that he existed as a person before the Incarnation. In 1 Corinthians 8:6b Paul writes that there is “one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things, and we exist through him”. In Galatians 4:4, Paul writes that “at the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman”. I think we can see Paul accepts the view of the pre-existence of Jesus very clearly. This is underscored by his use of the phrase “in the form, (morphē) of God”, and of his “equality with God”. Jesus’ pre-existence is logically presupposed in the reference to his activity in creation, and of course the next chapter in his mission is that of redemption. There is only one way Jesus can do that.

The self-emptying of Jesus, kenosis, can only come, therefore, from a previous fullness and an immense generosity. Also key to the dynamic is His obedience to the Father, beautifully expressed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me, but not what I want, but what you will be done” (Mk 14:36).

In this hymn we see a very strong link to the Suffering Servant. The servant was obedient, suffered torture and death, and it was all part of God’s plan. Just as the Suffering Servant, who, in the final Servant Song, starts off with the promise, “See, my servant will prosper, he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights” (Isa 52:12), to then be cast so low as to be despicable and unrecognisable, “he was despised and we took no account of him”, “pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins” and “struck down in death” (53:3,5,8). But just as in our hymn from Philippians, the final Servant Song has exaltation as its endpoint. “His soul’s anguish over, he shall see the light and be content”. (53:11). There is no room in such a small piece to do more than make a cursory comparison.

The final theme in the hymn is of Exaltation. After all, if there was no exaltation, it would just have been the waste of the life of a good man, and a disaster all round. There would have been no point writing a hymn! We would still be waiting for our Saviour.

God the Father gives him “the name which is above every other name”, and “every tongue should confess Jesus Christ as Lord” (Phil 2:9,11). The title ‘Lord’, or ‘Kyrios’ is one Paul uses many times. It indicates his authority. It is also a title people would have used to address the emperor, who had declared himself divine. But in  Jewish setting it is clearly the title for God, ‘Adonai’ in Hebrew, to avoid using the word YHWH. This is unmistakeable and deliberate, especially when Jesus starts off as equal with God, and this is also where we end up. It is only God before whom “every knee shall bend, every tongue shall swear, saying, from Yahweh alone come victory and strength” (Isa 45:23-24). This echoes in the accolade to Jesus in Phil 2:10.

This is well summed up by Larry Hurtado in his book, Lord Jesus Christ. He sees two figures in that passage of Isaiah, the first is a God-figure, whether that is YHWH or the Father (in NT terms), and the second is the servant who is also the son. But crucially in the New Testament the son becomes Son, is given equality with God and his divinity is expressed. It is no longer just YHWH who is Lord, but Jesus too, Son of God, who is with God and is God. Redemption is complete, but only thanks to Jesus’ own self-emptying sacrifice.

Canon William Maclean | Our Holy Redeemer in Stornoway.

Kenosis: The great mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in the flesh. A very short article from Catholic Answers on an important part of how we understand Christ and ourselves.

Padre Pio: The late Fr Ermelindo Di Capua OFMCap shares his memories of Padre Pio who he cared for in the last three years of the Saint’s life.

Catholic 101: The Jesuit Post provides a basic introduction into the Liturgy of the Hours. I am an absoloute novice when it comes to this and I found this an excellent guide. The ribbons confuse me!

And Finally…

Making Coracles: I bet you have been wondering about Coracles lately? Well I have just the video for you! Coracles are being made in Perthshire these days by local crafts men and women. This video shows how they are made.

St Adamnan

Usually John Woodside provides us with a video, on this occassion he has kindly allowed us to reproduce a section from his book: Together In Christ: Following the Northern Saints.

23 Sept  St. Adamnan (aka Adomnan), Abbot, A.D. 704

Adamnan, whose name means ‘wee Adam’ was born in the Donegal area of Ireland around A.D 624 and was said to belong to the same family as Saint Columba. More is probably known about this Gaelic Saint as both is missionary life and death are recorded in contemporary accounts and in several of his writings, which includes Vitae Columbae,[1] have survived to the present era.  Bede may possibly have met Adamnan, mentioning his mission and writings in some detail in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People.[2]

Elected Abbot of lona at the age of 55, Adamnan held the appointment until his death in 704.  Adamnan was not only a successful and prominent churchman of his era, but was also renowned as a traveller, scholar, lawmaker and politician.

As an ecclesiastical politician, Adamnan was responsible for securing the royal burials on Iona of Egfirth, King of Northumbria in 685, followed by Brude MacBile, King of the Picts, in 693.[3]  In 697, he was a prominent participant at the Synod of Birr, and was instrumental in obtaining the passing of ‘The Law of the Innocents’ in the Irish National Assembly of Tara.  This law exempted Irish women and non-combatants from being compelled to serve on the battlefield.  In 701, Adamnan travelled to Northumbria, to seek the release of Irish captives and reparation for injuries committed by King Aldfrid’s subjects in the Province of Meath.[4]

St. Adamnan is most renowned for his life of St. Columba, which has been called by a competent judge ‘the most complete piece of such biography that all Europe can boast of, not only at so early a period, but throughout the whole Middle Ages’. He is also the author of one of the earliest European treatise on the Holy Land. Though the saint died at lona, his relics were carried to Ireland, but were restored to lona, as they were venerated there in 1520.

So why has Adamnan of Iona been included in this booklet, where are the connections with the Diocese of Aberdeen?  He was one of the most popular of the Scottish saints, and many churches were dedicated to him. The chief of these were at Aboyne and Forvie in Aberdeenshire; Abriachan in Inverness-shire; and at Forglen (The Teunan Kirk) in Banffshire.  At Aboyne there were places known as the ‘Skeulan Tree’ and ‘Skeulan Well’, and Damsey (Adamnan’s Isle) in Orkney, takes its name from this saint.  

Barrett tells us that at Firth-on-the-Spey, part of the pre-reformation Diocese of Moray, there was a very ancient bronze bell, long kept on a windowsill of the old church.  Tradition relates that when moved it produced a sound similar to the words, ‘Tom Eunan, Tom Eunan’; until it was restored to its original locus, which stood on the hill bearing that name.[5]  The tradition points to the dedication of the church to this saint. Few names have passed through such various transformations in the course of ages as that of Adamnan, and is known under the forms of Aunan, Arnty, Eunan, Ounan, Teunan (Saint Eunan), Skeulan, Eonan, Ewen, and even Arnold!

St. Adamnan s feast was restored in 1898 by Pope Leo XIII.

[1] A.O. & M.O. Anderson (eds), Adomnan of Iona, Life of Saint Columba (London, 1995) [2] Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, rev. edn (London: Penguin, 1990) pp. 293-297 [3] E.S.Towill, The Saints of Scotland (Edinburgh: St Andrew Press, 1983), p.1 [4] M. Barrett, A Calendar of Scottish Saints  (Fort Augustus:  Abbey Press, 1919), p.136   [5] M. Barrett, A Calendar of Scottish Saints  (Fort Augustus:  Abbey Press, 1919), p.137

Have a great week ahead - God Bless

Eric Hanna | Nairn