A sermon on Philippians 2:6-7

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
HCP columnist

Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead, He gave up everything and became a slave, when He became like one of us. (Phil. 2:6-7.) 

There is a Greek word to describe what Jesus did. It is called "Kenoo" which means to "empty out."

God loves us so much He sent to earth His Son Jesus who emptied out all the glory of His Divinity and took on the limitations of a human. Jesus became a nothing slave so we could have everything as children of God. God continually empties out His Love upon you made possible through the self-sacrifice of Jesus. God's top priority is your well being, your happiness, your healing on earth and one day eternal life with God in Heaven. This is so important to God that in Jesus He died so you can live with Him forever.  

God calls you to live a life of self sacrifice. You are most like God when you "in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." (Phil. 2:3-4) I would not exist today if it were not for the self-sacrifice of Fena my maternal grandmother. My mother Julia shared with me what her mother did to keep her alive.

My mother contracted active tuberculosis at 10 years old in 1933. There was no medicine yet discovered to cure this disease. My mom coughed constantly, even at times coughing up blood. She had constant chest pain, could not eat and grew very weak. Fena could no longer watch her little Julie suffer. Grandma had an ambulance take my mother to the local sanitarium. 

On a sad note my mother's father, Jovo, was an alcoholic who hung out at the local bar. When the ambulance passed by the bar where he was drinking, he angrily shook his fist at my mother for taking away his drinking money. 

I asked Mom how she felt about this. She simply said, "I forgive him." He died in 1942 nine years before I was born.

My mother stayed in the sanitarium for over a year. During her stay, my grandmother swung in to action. She was not going to let her little Julie die. Twice a day my grandmother Fena walked several miles hauling a bag of food to feed my mother. The sanitarium did not provide food. The family was responsible to provide food. 

Fena took a job to earn enough money to buy my mom the best food rich in protein needed for healing – meat, eggs and milk. Grandma went without food so her Julie could eat and regain her strength. My mother told me, "There were many days I didn't want to eat. Your grandmother shoved it down my throat."

Grandma Fena was a big woman. She lost about 100 pounds as she gave up her food to feed my mom. If it were not for the sacrifices of my grandmother, my mother would not have lived, and I would not exist. I hope God gave her a big reward in Heaven. 

I know God sees the many sacrifices of our parents at Children's Hospital. The best food you can give your children is your love. I believe the emptying of your love to another is the best medicine for healing and a "conduit of compassion." 

Sacrificial love is hard to do. I share a poem called the "Weight of Love." This poem reflects on how love often requires you to endure hardships, but they can lead you to a deeper union with God.

Love bears a weight that’s hard to see,
Yet it lifts us high, sets our spirits free,
Each choice to give, a heavy stone,
Transforms our hearts, no longer alone.

With every trial, our spirits grow,
Through burning suns or winter’s snow,
In sacrifice, we find our worth,
A precious gift, our truest birth.
 
Blessings...Fr. Mike.

Fr. Mike Paraniuk is a Priest Chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. His sermons can be heard live over WLRU Radio 106.9 FM on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.