First Preached 15th July 2007 Trinity 6 (Proper 10 C )
Deut 30.9-14 : Colossians 1.1-14 : Luke 10.25-37
I want to tell you that you are wonderful people, that God loves you dearly and that you are an example to all other churches everywhere.
It pays to get your audience on your side. So that is how Paul starts out his letter to these folks in Colossae.
It was true of course, and it is true of you. When I pray for this church I have to give thanks for the many good things and good people that there are here.
Things are not that different. The church then was not made up of supermen and wonder-women. It was ordinary people like you and me, coping with the ordinary problems of life, home and work, marriage and children and the problem of being a Christian in a largely indifferent or hostile culture.
Let’s not think of them as supercharged Christians or else we shall think that the things Paul says to them do not apply to us. They do, they are true just the same now as then. And the truth is they (we) were doing all right – but could do better. There was reason for hope – but a few worries.
The worries will become apparent further into the letter. They are as usual, caused by a loss of focus on Jesus. So this introduction drips with the name of Jesus, and references to God as his Father and ours. Where there is that loss of focus, there follows as night follows day a loss of confidence. So this introduction is full of hope and encouragement.
So, Reasons to be cheerful. The Colossians are full of hope and love. They have grasped the gospel
What they need to be reminded of is that the gospel is triumphing. We need to get that fact into our heads. In the last century the faith of Jesus Christ has burst out from being the polite pious gloss on Western culture to a dynamic force that is active in every continent – In Africa, In South America. In parts of Asia and stunningly in China, the Church is growing hugely. Not only numerically, but also look at the contribution Christians are making to the fight against poverty; the lifting up of the poor, the education and empowering of the downtrodden.
Where is the church weak – only in Europe? And European culture is past its peak. It is literally dyeing out. . We see the fruits of its apostasy in what is now being called the broken society.
In all the world the Gospel is bearing fruit. It is bearing fruits of love, not terrorism.
They and we need encouragement. We also need to renew our faith. Paul prays that “God will fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
We need to cultivate a reliance on God not on ourselves. If we are wonderful it is because of God’s love for us, not our own charm and brilliance.
We need that reliance for the challenge of living up to our calling. Paul does not pray this in order that they will feel good, but in order that they will ‘Live a life worthy of the Lord’
And he wants them to have power. Not for kicks or easy answers, but in order to have endurance and patience (another fruit of the Spirit)
But now comes something we might like to learn. In the endurance they are to give thanks joyfully.
We tend to contrast endurance and Joy.
You endure with grim determination. It is no laughing matter. What’s to be joyful about.
Well, do you ever give thanks when things ar tough that you still have your faith? It may have been a near thing at times, but rejoice, you came through. You are here when others have dropped away. You have overcome, rejoice. You are still on the road to heaven – Rejoice.
You see God has qualified us for heaven. He not us!
The heresy that Paul will have to argue with in the next chapters cast doubt on that. By losing the focus on Jesus it cast doubt on the certainty of God’s saving love. It always does.
Because it is in Jesus that we have the redemption. He has gained it for us by the cross
It is Jesus we need to know. Jesus we need to follow. Jesus will see us through. Because he has already gained for us a crown if life – Rejoice,
Filed under:Tags: Assurance, Collossians 1:1, Rejoice