Building a future not our own
Philippians 2: 1-13 New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE September 27, 2026 Photo of two flat stones painted white, with blue letters outlined in black that spell "I'M U". When I read Paul’s words “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others”, I thought of the dubious claim that the first sign of civilization is a healed femur. Archaeologists have theorized that pottery shards, the division of labor, or the ability to keep records are more likely signs, but proof of altruism is what we’d like to think separates us from the animal kingdom and makes us civilized. The idea is that instead of focusing on one’s own survival by abandoning a person so severely injured, in order for a broken femur to heal, someone would have to stay with that person—supplying them with food and water and keeping them warm until they were able to do that for themselves. Even though that idea is attractive to us, both chimpanzees and elephants have b...
