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If...then..., |
Colossians 3: 1-15
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© John Ewing Roberts |
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INTRODUCTION As we approach the year 2,000, I hear more and more nervous humor about the rapture, people saying things like, "What if the rapture takes place and you and I are left?" Someone almost always remarks with equally weak humor, "It has taken place and we were left." Paul began today's lesson with the words that could cause one to ask if the resurrection rather than the rapture has already taken place and we did not notice it. "If you have been raised..." Did you notice that "have been raised"? Has the resurrection already occurred for the believer? Do not we usually think of the resurrection as a future event? E.g., in Romans 6: 5 Paul wrote "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall be certainly united with him in a resurrection like his." It jolts us to hear that the resurrection in some sense has already happened. If so, did you and I miss out? It startles us to learn that in some sense Paul could write of the resurrection has something that somehow has already occurred for us, especially on a day when you may not feel all that alive, on a day when we can't stop thinking about Kosovo and 300,000 people who are refugees, a day when Paul's remark in Colossians 1: 4 about "the present evil age" seems to carry more weight than his assertion that we have already been raised with Christ. Kosovo takes us back to Palm Sunday and Jesus weeping over Jerusalem in the same way that I believe he weeps now over Kosovo. Kosovo takes us back to Good Friday, the violation of justice and religion because of sin. Kosovo makes us ache for Easter and cry out for an end to death and for new life in Christ. So we pray for Kosovo; we send gifts to aid refugees. But we still feel helpless; beyond praying and giving, we can do battle in our own settings and in our own lives with all that is dark and deadly and sinful. We all have dead days when evil works its deadly way into our lives, when our patience wears thin; our fuses are short; our anger seethes until some foolish soul fans the flames - his fault, her problem, not ours, we think. Then we grow cold and numb, a kind of spiritual death by inches. One thinker explained Paul's past tense, "have been raised," like this: in "some definitive sense, we are being told that what Christ experienced on Good Friday and Easter we have already experienced; we are co-participants with him in his death and resurrection. [1] The author means that the Christian is already delivered from the authority of those in power on this earth (Rome) and already established in God's kingdom though faith in the resurrected Christ. It is the same notion as that of Colossians 1: 13 where we read that God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of Jesus.[2] To realize that we are part of Jesus' resurrection is transforming because our perspective shifts. We are part of "things below" but also live in touch with "things above." Amphibians, creatures of two worlds, we are capable of multiple perspectives. But we are torn in two directions, partly by our amphibious nature, partly by the gap between our profession and our practice. We ache for a consistency. If we are raised with Christ, then we ought to live like he lived. If we are resurrection people, then we ought to live like it. "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above...not on things of the earth." (vv. 1 and 3, emphasis added). Some scholars point out that the "if" is in a kind of clause which can be translated "since." I like that reading - it virtually demands us to be consistent in Christian living - "Since then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above...not on things of the earth." HIGHS AND LOWS Let's think together about these "things above" and "things of this earth." I wish Paul had used different language, because to many modern ears it sounds as if he is talking about "pie in the sky by and by." But the Spirit did not inspire Paul to talk about impractical, other-worldly, head-in-the-clouds religion. I agree with A. T. Robertson's remark that "The Christian should have his feet upon the earth, but his head in the heavens. He must be heavenly-minded here on earth and so help to make earth like heaven."[3] Negatively put, we should not be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good. Positively expressed, we should be so heavenly minded that we are of some earthly good. "The things of this earth" are not all bad. God created the earth and said it was good. (Genesis 1: 31) "The things of this earth" are not to be ignored or exploited. God gave humans dominion over this earth to be guardians, trustees, stewards of it, to till it and to keep it, never to pollute it and pillage it. (Genesis 1: 28, 2: 15) When we speak of the things above and the things of this earth, it is easy to get stuck with spatial imagery, up versus down, high versus low. But the real accent is not spatial but moral, as we can easily see by taking a quick look at three verses in which Paul's moral passion gets very specific. He lists earthly vices before he lifts up the ethics of heavenly virtues. (1) In v. 5 sins of the heart are listed, "immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness." All have to do with misplaced seeking. (2) In v. 8 Paul catalogs the sins of a bitter, destructive response to others - "anger, wrath, malice, slander and foul talk." Alan Culpepper calls these "life's most common pollutants.[4] (3) In v. 12 Paul says to "put on" the contrasting five virtues the way a baptismal candidate would put on a clean robe, shining, fresh, clean Easter attire - "compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness and patience." No, "things above" and "things of this earth" are not "up-down," "spiritual-physical" issues. Rather, they are about life and ethics versus disobedience and death, earthly behavior grounded in heavenly motivation. Here is how this resurrection and ethics relationship works out. Ethical action does not earn the resurrection life in Christ; rather, we are ethical because we are living out of the life of the risen Christ. The energy for life, the quality of life come from living with and in Jesus. Obedient, ethical living is a way of giving thanks for salvation, for life, for resurrection. AN ILLUSTRATION Listen to this magnificent story of an heroic father who was caught just as we are in the tension of living in the two worlds, the Kingdom here and this world with its responsibilities for living ethically even in times of great personal pain. John Killinger tells of a young man from Arizona who was in mental agony because his infant daughter was facing an operation to repair a hip joint which was not growing properly. "It would be easy, he wrote in his journal, "to see the Lord's Prayer as being greatly out of touch with what really matters to me. It might be more relevant to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, why aren't you down here on earth, doing something about my present difficulty? Who cares if your name is hallowed, or whether or not your kingdom comes, when what concerns us most is what life is really made of - our big and little hurts... "But the young man didn't pray that prayer. Instead, he tried to give thanks for his daughter and the joy she had brought into their home. Then, listening for the voice of the Spirit, he reviewed the world around him to see what he could be thankful for. At last, turning again to the Lord's Prayer, he asked himself how he could possibly pray it in relation to the situation that had weighed so heavily on his mind. "This is what he wrote: Our Father, in spite of the present difficulty, you are still in heaven and the world is still ordered. May my response hallow your name. The coming of your kingdom is more important than my difficulty - so may I not hinder its coming by my worry. Cause this event to be an opening up to your will for earth which I can see as clearly as if I were in heaven. I must recognize that you still provide the necessities of life: I have bread enough. May this event help me to realize how important it is to secure your forgiveness and to forgive those who have sinned against me. And may this not be an occasion for temptation to lose faith or respond as a pagan. Deliver me from any evil response or action in this difficulty. The overriding and all-important fact of life is that to you belongs the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, and this even is caught up in that fact. Amen."[5] HIDDEN FOR ETHICAL LIVING We start growing into that kind of faith when we begin living with Jesus as a living presence in our lives. His resurrection has taken place and our participation in that resurrection, our already having been raised with him empowers us to begin to live the consistent Christian life. It is as if we had died and been born again to a new life with a new identity. Our new life now "lies hidden with Christ in God." (v. 3) Paul expressed this ethically energizing insight many times: - "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1: 21) - "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you." (Romans 8: 11 - "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2: 20) The expression in today's text, "hidden with Christ in God," is hard to understand. Here are several interpretations from which you may choose one or more, if it helps and makes sense: (1) "Hidden" may refer to the Greek idea that a dead body is hidden in the ground and by extension to the Christian notion of being hidden in baptism. Early Christians, following Romans 6, regarded baptism as a death and burial. As they were placed under the water they remembered how Jesus had died and been buried in the ground. They were hidden in Christ in baptism. But even as Jesus was raised, they were raised up out of the water for a new life. (The analogy only works with real water immersion baptism; sprinkling just doesn't do it.) (2) "Hidden" may mean hidden for safe keeping, eternal security, "once saved, always saved," locked together with Christ where "no hellish burglar can break that combination."[6] (3) "Hidden" may mean the core value of your selfhood. Alan Culpepper wrote "One's life may be hidden in barns, or it may be hidden in Christ."[7] At the center of your personality, what is hidden? This is another way of asking where you wish to place yourself, where you want to be, from what deep reservoir will you draw your resources for life, where you will bury yourself, where will you be coming from when you go forth to give yourself, where will your very selfhood will be kept, where you are hidden. And where are you hidden? In some compulsion, some addiction, some habit, some dependent relationship, some drive to control, some need for dominance, some sexual issue, some financial power? (4) "Hidden" could refer to a hidden destiny. "When Christ who is our life appears, then you will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 4) The author of I John put it like this: "Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him..." (I John 3: 2) (5) "Hidden" can mean what David Buttrick suggests. Think of yourself as a "work in progress." But remember, you are not ultimately in charge of the progress, and you cannot envision the finished product. After all, we are a mixture of freedom to choose and the destiny for which we are chosen. God knows how we are going to turn out! That is what is means to say our lives are "hidden with Christ in God."[8] We are hidden away in the artist's studio as a work in progress, offering ourselves to be shaped by the hand of the Master. So when someone wonders what in the world your life is going to come to, give a happy resurrection shrug of your shoulders and say, "God only knows!" because your life is hidden with Christ in God. We have already been raised with Christ, raised for ethical living here and now, hidden with Christ in God, a work in progress. We have so much for which we can already be thankful, and so much to which we can look forward. Verse 4 says "When Christ who is our life appears,..." There is much now; there is more to come! Easter means celebration, but it also means moral renewal, a change in the way we think, feel and act. It is a fusion, an intersection, an intertwining of two stories, Jesus' and ours.[9] Easter is neither nostalgia nor magic, but a current event. Easter is neither an ancient rite of spring nor a dazzling supernatural act. The urgent issue for Easter in Colossians is ethics. THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION The urgent issue in Colossians is ethics, not how can a dead man come out of a tomb. But this is Easter Sunday, and I must be clear that I believe in the resurrection. Here are three reasons why: (1) I believe in the resurrection because of the presence of Jesus living in the church. This is the argument for the resurrection from history. The disciples often misunderstood Jesus and competed jealously for favor in his kingdom. (Matthew 20: 20ff.) During the last week of his ministry in Jerusalem they denied him, betrayed him, feel asleep on watch, and ran away. But something happened that changed them from foolish, competitive, frightened, ignorant students of a dead teacher into people we call apostles and disciples, who turned the world upside down. (Acts 17: 6). What happened was an overwhelming, life changing experience of Jesus as a living presence and power, sending them into all the world to tell what had happened. We call "what happened" the resurrection. It is the reason why Christianity is not just another surviving mystery religion from the ancient Mediterranean world where there was a multitude of religions about dying and living gods complete with sacramental symbols and liturgies. (2) I believe in the resurrection because of the presence of Jesus living in believers . This is the argument for the resurrection based on the experience of the human heart. If the previous argument is external evidence demanding a verdict based on an examination of changes in the disciples, continuity in the church, and contrasts with similar groups, then this second argument for the resurrection is very personal, intimate and subjective. "You ask me how I know he lives: he lives within my heart." The text of the gospel song mentions "a risen Savior...in the world today." We know he lives because we "see his hand of mercy" and "hear his voice of cheer, and just the time (we) need him he's always near." "In all the world about (us) we see his loving care, and though (our) hearts grow weary, (we) never shall despair...None other is so loving, so good and kind." "You ask me how I know he lives: he lives within my heart."[10] (3) The first two reasons don't cost us much, do they? We look at history and see the church; we feel the Easter excitement of singing, "He lives within my heart." But the third argument for the resurrection, the costly one, the most persuasive one in my judgment, is ethical living by Christians who by the grace of God will to live a Christian life. This evidence is all about us in any healthy Christian community. I see you experience the One who lives in your heart by the quality of your lives - you live, you care, you give, you endure, you sacrifice, you control your emotions and direct your thoughts - all out of the power of someone living in you and among us. Yes, I believe in the resurrection for these two reasons, the presence of Jesus living in the church, and the presence of Jesus living in believers. But most of all I believe in the resurrection because I see people who live consistent Christian lives, people who have been raised and who are setting their minds on things that are above for the sake of things on earth. CONCLUSION Let's let Paul have the last word. Listen to what he said in Colossians 3 from a good contemporary translation. Let Paul's inspired words speak for themselves. "So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes on the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ - that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. "Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life - even though invisible to spectators - is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too - the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. "And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. "Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. "So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. "Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ - the Message - have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives - words, actions, whatever - be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."[11] (This sermon is for circulation within the Woodbrook congregation and may not be reproduced without permission.) Notes: [1] Carl R. Holladay, Preaching the New Common Lectionary - Year A, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986] p. 157 [2] Norman Beck, Scripture Notes - Series A [Lima, Ohio: C. S. Worship Resources Library, 1986, p. 93 [3] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. IV, "Epistles of Paul [New York: Harper and Brothers, 1931], p. 500 [4] R. Alan Culpepper, Proclamation 3 - Pentecost 2, Series C [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986], p. 16 [5] John Killinger, Bread for the Wilderness - Wine for the Journey [Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1976] pp. 52-53 [6] A. T. Robertson, op. cit., p. 500 [7] Culpepper, op. cit., p. 16 [8] David Buttrick, Proclamation 5 - Series A, Easter [Philadelphia: Augsburg Press], 1993, p. 7 [9] Holladay, op. cit., p. 158 [10] "He Lives," Alfred H. Ackley, Baptist Hymnal, edited by Wesley L. Forbis [Nashville: Convention Press] 1991, No. 438 [11] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message - The New Testament in Contemporary English [Colorado Springs, Colorado: NAVPRESS] 1993, pp. 425-426 |