E Make Imself Nothing

Imagine one king wey remove im crown. E drop im royal robes. E waka comot from di palace for servant cloth, to kneel down wash di leg of di poorest people for im kingdom. Now imagine say e no stop there.

Paul dey for chain. E be prisoner, maybe for Rome, dey wait to know whether e go live or die. And e dey write to di church wey e love for Philippi, one Roman colony for north Greece. Dem don send am gifts and one friend to help am. But Paul don hear say some of dem dey quarrel. Some dey proud. Some dey think only about demself. So Paul talk: make una get di same mind wey Christ Jesus get. And then e write lines wey fine and get rhythm so tey plenty scholars think say na hymn wey di first Christians dey sing.

E start from di very top. Christ Jesus, Paul talk, dey for di form of God. Everything wey God be, na im e be. And still, e no see equality with God as something wey e must hold tight, to keep for im own gain. Instead, e empty imself. E make imself nothing. E take di form of servant, and e come for human likeness. Na dat one be Christmas. Di One wey get every right to glory choose manger for Bethlehem, carpenter bench for Nazareth, di life of servant.

But di song still dey go down. And when e appear as human being, e humble imself, and e obey reach death. And no be just any death, Paul add. Even di death of di cross. For di Roman world, crucifixion na di death wey get shame pass, wey dem keep for slaves and people wey rebel. Di people of Philippi, proud Roman citizens, know say dem no fit crucify any citizen. But di Son of God go lower pass citizen, lower pass free man, go down reach slave cross. No place lower pass dat one.

And then di song turn, and e begin rise. Because of dis, God lift am up high well well, and give am name wey pass every name. God lift am up, high pass everybody. So dat for di name of Jesus, every knee go bow, for heaven and for earth and under di earth, and every tongue go confess say Jesus Christ na Lord, for di glory of God di Father. Di One wey go down pass, na im God lift up pass. Paul borrow dis words from di prophet Isaiah, where God talk say every knee go bow give am. Now dem dey talk am about Jesus.

We get one witness from outside about how di early Christians dey sing. Around di year one hundred and twelve, one Roman governor wey dem call Pliny di Younger write to emperor Trajan about di Christians for im province. E report say dem dey meet before day break for one fixed day, and dem dey sing hymn to Christ, as to god. Songs like di one for Philippians fit be di kind thing wey e hear.

E Make Imself Nothing. You go find am for Philippians chapter two, verse five to eleven. Christians dey read am for Christmas because e show how far di Son come down for us, starting from manger. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Where you fit choose to serve dis week, instead of to dey demand your own way?