Transferred

Colossians 1:1-14
As a child living in Memphis, Tennessee, I never had the need to ride public transportation. But my mother thought getting around town by various means was an important skill to develop, so on at least one occasion we took a city bus from near our home in midtown to the downtown area. It was only a six-mile ride, but it afforded me an opportunity to see how the transit system worked and that even as a child, it was nothing for me to be afraid of. Our reading from Colossians today creates an impression for me of a trip of far greater significance, one that should be taken very seriously because of its far-reaching consequences.

Imagine yourself riding on a great cosmic bus, one that is taking you and everyone you know—perhaps all of creation—toward a dark and evil place. Whether you know it or not, this is not the direction you should be going. You, and everyone else, need to get off of this bus so you can board another one that will take you in the right direction. What you need is a transfer, a ticket that allows you to change from one bus to another so that you may reach the correct destination. The author of Colossians knew nothing about busses, of course, but he did know about the need for God’s people to travel in the right direction; he also knew that God had done what was necessary to achieve that very goal. “He has rescued us from the power of darkness,” we read, “and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has provided us with a means to change directions, to arrive at the proper location, safe from the “power of darkness,” ensconced in the coming kingdom. Before we had even realized how dangerous our trip was God had already taken steps to save us from it.

This in no way implies that the struggles of life are behind us or that we will not face difficult decisions. Musician Tom Cochrane makes that clear with is song “Life Is a Highway.”

Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend and sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your head to the wind

As God’s people we still must learn to “endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father…” (vv. 11-12). The good news is that we are engaged in a winning effort, not because of who we are, but because of who God is and what God is doing for us. The cosmic journey continues toward God’s coming kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in our journey of life, that we may live in faithful obedience to you and in service to one another. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Power, Patience, and Praise

Colossians 1:9-14

I am a worrier. I worry about all sorts of things: silly things, serious things, things that I can do something about, things I can do absolutely nothing about. And all of this worry can leave me feeling drained. So I found a part of the Colossians reading today to be very interesting. “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power,” it says, “and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father…” (Colossians 1:11-12a). That’s what I want. I want the strength that comes from God’s power, I want the patience with which to endure, and I want to remember to joyfully praise God each and every day. In short, I want to quit worrying and to start living with power, patience, and praise.

I think the key lies in first accepting that God is at work in our lives whether we feel it or not, and in ways that we cannot fully comprehend. God’s love embraces us always, and God’s grace sustains us constantly. Realizing this to be true is a source of strength and confidence which empowers us to live as God’s people. Acceptance is not always easy, but it is worth the effort because the empowerment allows us to let go of doubts and fears, of our fretfulness and worry, so that we can praise God with more energy.

Martin Luther began each day reminding himself that he was baptized. In the same way I like to begin my morning by quoting Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” There really is power in the realization of God’s presence, in the acknowledgment of God’s amazing grace. That power in turn does lead to more patience, or at least a better attitude about things. And before you know it I am thanking and praising God for all the blessings I have received. I still worry; call me a work in progress, someone who is striving for a better path but has yet to get all the way there. My striving is based on God’s power, though, which does give me more patience, which in turn helps me to praise God. So the process continues. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: May we all receive the strength that comes from God’s glorious power, and may we be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Keeping It All Together

Colossians 1:15-23

I’ve heard it said that were it not for friction the entire universe would fall apart. In practical terms there would be no way for objects to remain in contact, which means there would no way for us to grasp things. Transportation would be impossible because there would be no traction between wheels and the road. Friction is essential to our lives.

Paul makes a similar theological claim in his letter to the Colossians. “(Christ) himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). In other words, were it not for Jesus Christ our lives would fall apart. There would be no way for people to remain in contact, no way for us to live in community. Truly loving one another would be impossible because we would have no frame of reference, no guidance, no encouragement, nothing to “hold us together.”

Certainly Christ is essential to the life of the church, which Paul refers to as Christ’s body over which Christ is the head (v. 18). We may speak of “friction” in negative terms from time to time, as in the friction between individuals, a phenomenon which can cause pain and loss. The church is not immune to this reality. But when the church does what it is called to do, and when the church succeeds in its mission, it is because Jesus Christ is holding it all together and making it work.

Paul would be baffled by our modern science, but he is right on target when he points to Jesus Christ as the one who gives shape and purpose to our lives.

Prayer: Lord God, by your grace may we come to know the love and community which Jesus Christ alone makes possible, for it is in his name that we pray. Amen.

The Physics of Theology

Colossians 1:15-23

Physics was never my favorite subject. There were aspects of it that I really enjoyed, but for the most part I just wasn’t interested. So maybe I’m not the best person to make this statement, but it would appear that our reading from Colossians 1 today, while it may be great theology, is really lousy science. “[Jesus] himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17), we read. It is verses like this one that seem to divide the scientific community from the church and its doctrine.

First of all questions about creation are guaranteed to start an argument. Creationism, Intelligent Design, 300 million years, 7 days; you name it and we people of faith can have a pretty good squabble about it. But here the writer of Colossians claims that Jesus is before all things, not was before all things, is before all things. Then there is this odd assertion, that it is by Jesus that “all things hold together.” I thought that friction, or bonding, or some other concept did that. I thought gravity played a role in keeping stuff where it was supposed to be. I thought there were forces and their opposites that did the “holding together.” What has Jesus got to do with this?

But here’s the good news that we miss if we aren’t careful. What is it that allows science and faith to stand shoulder to shoulder, that gives all people – regardless of their particular perspective – reason to unite? And that is where we discover the miracle, for while there are a million ways to divide us up and to break us off, there is precious little that can put us back together again. But Jesus can, for in Jesus “all things hold together.” For those of us who are Christians what unity we experience comes when in unison we say, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” So maybe our faith is the physics of theology, the recognition that above it all and before it all there is something else, something that counters our tendency to turn against each other. The author of Colossians has given us reason to celebrate! In Jesus Christ we stand together for it is Jesus Christ “that all things hold together.”

Prayer: Lord, in so many ways we pull ourselves apart. By your grace put us back together again that we might serve you in a unity of purpose. In Jesus’ name. Amen.