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“Christ in You, the Hope of Glory”
Colossians 1:15-28 Luke 10:38-42
I was in High School in Bentonville, Arkansas when I heard Rev. Vincent read from the first chapter of the Gospel of John. I realized for the very first time that this Gospel was speaking about the pre-existence of Jesus Christ with God in the very Beginning. I could hardly wait to get to Sunday School class to ask my teacher all about it. My understanding of Jesus at that time was as that he was born in a manger on the first Christmas night hundreds of years ago. How surprised I was to learn that Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh and blood. That “Word” in the original Greek language was “Logos.” In the beginning was the Logos – the Word, and the Logos – the Word was with God and the Logos – the Word was God. He, that is the Logos - was with God in the beginning. The he was Jesus. Later I would learn that Jesus gave up his glory in heaven to come to the earth as a human being, as an example for us all to see how a human being might live according to the will of God. When I found my way to seminary, I found myself truly interested in what Paul wrote to the community at Colossi about the very nature of Christ which is our text for today.
The text from Colossians tells us that all things were created through Jesus and for him. And it also says that Christ is the head of the body which we call the church. In other words, Jesus has supremacy over all things in the Church and He is our Lord and Master. No human being can live without a head. Our head allows for the proper functioning of the rest of the body. It is the key to the central nervous system; it is the organ that sends signals to the heart that keeps it beating in perpetual motion thereby giving us life. In the Gospel of John we are told that the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus Christ, that he was the embodiment of the fullness of the Living God. Seeing Jesus meant knowing God the Father. Through Jesus Christ, we are given the peace of God which passes all understanding. Through Jesus Christ and his blood we are given the gift of reconciliation with God and we are also given the capacity to forgive one another and thereby be reconciled to others. In all of this enmity, hatred, distain, anger and grudge-bearing, these things have a finite ending. They run their course and find their end. When we dare to forgive another, we allow them to be free from the prison where we have isolated them from our daily living and companionship. We open the cell doors and embrace them for they and we are flawed human beings. We all make mistakes and do things for self-motivated reasons and for personal gain.
I was driving home from Dayton yesterday afternoon and the traffic slowed to a crawl just after Livingston Street. The car in front of me had a license plate that read Ephe 2. Being Biblically minded I concentrated on the wonder of that license plate and how that was a message from God to me as I was driving. Ephesians 2 is that chapter where we read “Jesus is our peace. He has torn down the wall of hostility between the slave and the free, the Jews and the Gentile. He has by his blood and through his blood brought reconciliation between ourselves and God.
What remains is for us to become more and more spiritually mature. If we stay as babies, we always crave spiritual milk. It is rare but some babies voluntarily give up their bottles and choose to drink from cups. They are maturing. Then they graduate from straws to simply drinking from the glass or the mug or the jar. As we graduate from milk we begin cereal or oatmeal or cream of wheat and graduate to blended vegetables that come in little bottles and then finally we can handle meat cut in small pieces and then a diet that includes more than our grandparents ever dreamed of in their diets.
Paul spoke of the difference before we know Christ and the transformation change that was and is anticipated because we now are in a relationship with Jesus Christ. There is supposed to be a big difference in our lives because the mind of Christ begins to work in us, opening us to many God possibilities and new ways of thinking and relating to people. The idea of maturing in Christ should be our goal. As we read the Scriptures over and over again, the idea is that our lives might bring glory to God through our thoughts and actions and intentions. As we are the body of Christ, we receive our instructions for how we live our lives in relationship to others from the Lord. It is as if Christ has been planted within us. Indeed the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Jesus in several places in the New Testament. So as Christ is in us, the hope of glory and resurrected life is also in us.
The Gospel text for today is the familiar text of Jesus going to the house of Martha and Mary. Martha was the older sister who invited Jesus to visit their home. In Luke’s version of this story, there is no mention of a brother named Lazarus. What we do know is that Mary welcomes Jesus and sits at his feet while Mary puts the final touch on each dish she is about to bring from the kitchen. When Martha complains that Mary should be helping her, Jesus (the divine guest) tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken away from her. Martha could have prepared less and also been at Jesus’ feet grasping every crumb of his teaching.
Now I’ve lived long enough to be able to admit some of my mistakes in hospitality. Sometimes the menu has been too elaborate so I was worn out before I got to the table and of course, there were dishes to do after the meal. I have learned to simplify so that I can have the joy of being with my guests. When someone comes, I never know when I will see them again. I have learned to try to be as available to them as possible. A book called the Sacrifice of this Present Moment really helped me to understand that being present to God or to another is the greatest thing that I can give at any given moment. To be present to another is opening myself to them in a way that honors their presence and their voice
The challenge today and this week is for us to ponder the goodness of God and what we need to do to receive the fullness of Christ within us. Is Christ pleased to dwell in us today? Are we willing to be Christ’s hands, feet and arms when someone is broken or downhearted? What could be more important in our lives than growing more mature in Christ with our speech, our motivations and our responses to our weary and broken world?
There is a wonderful new song by Casting Crowns called “If we are body?” It raises all manner of questions that remind us that we are to be the body of Christ right now because of what we know right now. We have enough if we are truly maturing in Christ and desiring to be used for his glory. Here are the words. Ponder them well.
It's crowded in a worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way? There is a way?
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tell him that his chances
Are better out on the road
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body,
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way?
But Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come,
And we are the body of Christ.
But if we are the body,
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body,
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way?
If we are the body,
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body,
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way? And Jesus is the way.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, let us pray for each other to mature in Christ, who is our Hope in Glory. Amen
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