PAST SERMON 2009 #18
by Reverend Judith Alltree, delivered on Sunday December 27, 2009,
at the Church of the Holy Spirit. (1st Sunday in Christmas)
Instructions For A New Year
Colossians 3:12-17
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians is one of my favourites. If I have done your wedding, you may recognize it as one of my suggested readings because for me it is a primer for relationships. No matter what the relationship has been before marriage, once the “I do’s” happen, everything is new. So, as a marriage begins, one of the biggest things that has undergo adjustment is the perspective the bride and groom have on their relationship with one another, with their families, with their community, and even within themselves. How they react and respond to one another; how to conduct themselves in times of stress and difficulty — such as which family gets Christmas Eve and which family gets Christmas Day! The perspective of others to the bride and groom change as well, so this passage is also about how others may see them in specific circumstances.
We’re at the end of another year. How to move into the next year is always a challenge at this point, however, if we look to this same passage, what applies to a bride and groom on their wedding day can also apply to all of us every day. Rather than making resolutions about one thing or another, things we are always conscious need changing or adjusting, perhaps we can let the new year bring us a new perspective on everything, and Paul’s words can guide us.
“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved”
How wonderful, for example, to be thought of as God’s “chosen ones, holy and beloved”. Right away, doesn’t your perspective change? How can we think of ourselves in a negative way when God has chosen us, and we are his “holy and beloved ones”? Don’t look in the mirror any more and tick off the things you don’t like about your appearance: you are holy and beloved of God; this makes you beautiful!
…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…”
In the rite of baptism, even today, the candidates are dressed in brand new white outfits (or a cherished gown thoughtfully handed down through the generations). This clothing signifies the death of the old person and the birth of a new person in Christ. Paul speaks here not of a new outfit but similarly of a new outlook: instead of responding with anger or bitterness in a situation, try compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience no matter what. It will take a dramatic change of perspective, particularly as we all like to have our own way. On the other hand, imagine if we all handled each other in this way, if all our relationships were governed with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. How different our new year would be then?
“…forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
In Psalm 19, the psalmist speaks to the perfection of God using the words radiant, right and pure. He then asks to be forgiven “my hidden faults”. No one likes to think of themselves as having faults, yet we must be realistic and accept this as true. Jesus taught us to pray “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” How can we expect forgiveness from others for our own faults if we refuse forgiveness to others? More importantly, how can we ask God to forgive us, and expect His forgiveness in return?
“…clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Perhaps it is in putting on the clothing of love that we can learn to both forgive and accept forgiveness. By loving God in Jesus Christ we can learn to love one another and thus to create harmony for our lives. This love extends to our spouses and partners, our families, our church community, workplace, and in our lives in general. Others also view those who clothe themselves with love differently. This kind of love is visible to the naked eye, and draws others to itself because of love.
“…let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts and… be thankful.”
Once peace enters into your hearts, it is impossible not to be thankful! There is a bliss that comes with the peace of Christ that is different from the transitory happiness we experience in other ways in our lives. This is permanent peace, profound peace. This is God’s peace, for which we give our thanks.
“…teach and admonish one another in all wisdom …”
I recently watched a film presentation on a big downtown church in which one of the associate pastors made the following comment, which I will paraphrase: “We don’t always agree on everything but that doesn’t keep us from being together in community. It does allow us to continue the discussion in love.” This community practices Paul’s invocation to “teach and admonish each other in all wisdom”, which means that not everyone is right, and not everyone is wrong: it’s about listening to one another, and learning from one another, “in all wisdom”! This group also don’t allow their disagreements and differences to keep them from being a community in Jesus Christ because they put everything before Him. It is Jesus’ wisdom that is the source of their own understanding. Jesus said “take the plank from your own eye first, before you seek to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye”. If we do this in all wisdom, we gain a new understanding and a new perspective on our lives and the lives of others.
“…with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God…”
How great it was on Christmas Eve to stand together outside in the cold night, to sing at the top of our lungs, because we were excited about Christmas, about being together and celebrating the birth of Christ. Our singing was our thank offering to God for this night, given with gratitude for all that God has done for us in the birth of His Son. Our voices rose to heaven, and God’s peace descended on us.
“…whatever you do, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
It was Jesus who said “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13) Paul also wrote to the Philippians “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6-7) These are promises made by God in Jesus Christ that we can count on to be kept, when we, in turn, do all things in the name of Jesus, thanking God in His name.
We are the chosen people of God, holy and beloved. Let’s wrap ourselves in the clothing of that love, of the humility of being beloved by God; show yourselves to the world wrapped in the clothing of God’s grace which is patience, kindness, love, gratitude and thanksgiving and your own perspective will change, along with the world around you.
I pray that as you do these things your lives in this year to come will be blessed beyond all measure.
AMEN.