10 Pentecost C 07 Proper 13

A speeding motorist was caught by radar from a police helicopter in the sky. An officer pulled him over and began to issue a traffic ticket. “How did you know I was speeding?” the frustrated driver asked. The police officer pointed somberly to the sky.

“You mean,” asked the motorist, “that even He is against me?”

If you were to read parts of the book of Ecclesiastes such as the one in our first lesson today, you would think that the writer thinks that even God is against him. Seemingly waxing philosophical, the writer paints a grim picture of life and concludes that all is vanity and grasping after the wind. He paints a picture of an unfulfilled life of working to gain everything only to lose it to those who have not worked for it when you die. This guy seems to be down in the basement digging holes, he is so depressed. It seems as if God is against him, or perhaps God has outright abandoned him.

What the writer is doing here is painting a picture of a life lived by those who do not have an eternal perspective, who look at life only from a human perspective. A person living like that tends to wallow in depression because their reality is based on the things of this world. When the things and relationships of this world don’t bring satisfaction, they become disillusioned to the point that they think, “What’s the use? Why even try?” or as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, “all is vanity.”

When God is not at the center of our lives, then we will tend to be depressed and find little joy in life. Life loses its meaning.

A rabbinic student is about to leave for America. When he asks his mentor for advice, the rabbi offers an adage that, he tells the student, will guide him for the rest of his life. “Always remember,” the rabbi said sagely, “Life is like a fountain.”

Deeply impressed by his teacher’s wisdom, the student departs for a successful career in America.

Thirty years later, he learns that the rabbi is dying, so he returns for a final visit, “Rabbi,” he says, “I have one question. For 30 years, whenever I was sad or confused, I thought about the phrase you passed on to me, and it has helped me through many difficult times. But to be perfectly frank, I have never understood the full meaning of it. Now that you are about to enter the realm of truth, tell me, dear rabbi, why is life like a fountain?”

Wearily, the old man replied, “All right, so it’s not like a fountain.”

If we look at life from a human perspective it seems to have no real purpose or meaning. It all becomes vanity.

In our second lesson today from Colossians, St. Paul writes to a church who is struggling to decide which world it wants to live in.

Colossians is an interesting book in the Bible. From whatever angle one views our age, Colossians is up to date. Although written nearly 2,000 years ago, its timeless message speaks to the dilemmas facing us today. To the problems and crises of our age, it presents Jesus Christ as the answer.

Ours is an age of science. Ninety-five percent of all the scientists who have ever lived are alive today. The past century has seen a tremendous increase in knowledge in all areas of science and technology, from microbiology to astrophysics. Millions of pages of scientific and technological literature are published yearly. Even specialists find it difficult to keep up with the flood of discoveries in their fields.

The rapidly advancing pace of scientific discovery leads to the question of how God relates to the universe. Is He a part of the created universe, or its Creator? Did the universe evolve, or was it created? Colossians answers those questions. Col 1:16 says, "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created by Him and for Him."

This is also an age of ecumenism. Many people are seeking to unify the world's religions. Some seek a unity of political and social action, others a unity based on common experience. Efforts are being made to unite not only Protestants and Catholics, but also such diverse religions as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Such a religious amalgamation would be a body without a head. There can be no unity apart from truth.

Colossians gives us God's perspective on the push for a oneworld church. It tells us there is but one true church, whose head is Christ: "He [Christ] is also head of the body, the church" (1:18). True unity can exist only among the members of Christ's Body.

Rebellion against all forms of authority also marks our age. Absolutes are denied. Truth, especially religious, is viewed as relative. All religious traditions are assumed to be of equal value. To claim that one religion is exclusively true is regarded as the height of intolerance and bigotry. In such a religious climate, Jesus becomes merely another wise man. He is nothing more than a great moral teacher, on a par with Moses, Muhammad, Confucius, and the Buddha.

Colossians gives us Jesus' true identity. Far from being just another religious leader, He is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" (1:15); the One in whom "all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (2:9). As God in human flesh, Jesus' word is authoritatively, absolutely, and exclusively true.

Ours is also an age of pragmatism. The question people ask about a religion or philosophy is not whether it is true, but if it works. They want to know if it will make a difference in their lives. People therefore ask pragmatic questions about Christianity. Can Christ really change lives? Can He give peace, joy, and happiness? Does knowing Christ give meaning, hope, and purpose to life? Colossians answers those questions:

· "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach" (1:22). Christ makes sinners holy and blameless in God's sight. He changes lives.

· "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude" (2:6-7). Knowing Christ gives stability to our lives, causing us to be thankful.

· "In Him you have been made complete" (2:10). Christ fulfills all our needs, so that we lack nothing.

· "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (3:3). Knowing Christ so radically transforms us that our old life is dead.

This also is an age marked by frustrated relationships. People long for meaningful relationships, yet most find those longings unfulfilled. Many people do not know how to relate to their spouses, their children, or the people they work with.

Colossians speaks clearly to this issue. Chapters 3 and 4 tell us how husbands and wives, parents and children, and employers and employees can have positive relationships. To the lonely, alienated people of our day, Colossians brings a message of hope.

Finally, ours is an eschatological age. The threats of war and environmental disaster hang over our generation like twin swords of Damocles. People fear that the end of the world could be near. Books with such ominous titles as The Biological Time Bomb, Future Shock, The Doomsday Book, The Population Bomb, and An Inconvenient Truth warn of impending doom.

Colossians has something to say about our destiny: "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (3:4). The present age will not end in a nuclear or environmental disaster, but with the return of Christ in all His glory.

This leads us to our lesson today from chapter 3 in Colossians.

“Put to death what is earthly in you: sex outside of marriage, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and coveteousness for that is idolatry. Put away anger, rage, bad feelings towards others, curses and slander, foul mouthed abuse, shameful utterances from your lips, and lying to one another.” This is a common theme through out many of the epistles. Putting sin to death, then, is not optional in the Christian life. The Puritan Richard Baxter wrote, "Use sin as it will use you; spare it not, for it will not spare you; it is your murderer, and the murderer of the world: use it, therefore, as a murderer should be used. Kill it before it kills you; and though it bring you to the grave, as it did your Head, it shall not be able to keep you there" (cited in I. D. E. Thomas, A Puritan Golden Treasury [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1977], p. 281).

People have often misinterpreted Paul's words here, in much the same way as Jesus' words in Matt 5:29-30 and 18:8 have been. Taking those passages literally, many have physically injured themselves. According to tradition, Origen, one of the great theologians of the early church, was voluntarily castrated (based on his misinterpretation of Matt 19:12). A common sight in European cities during the Middle Ages was a group known as the Flagellants. Marching through the streets in solemn processions, they scourged themselves in penance for their sins. Nor are such misinterpretations a thing of the past. I once met a man who wore a belt studded with nails that constantly tore his flesh. He felt that by so doing he was killing the flesh as well as suffering to atone for his sins.

Paul, however, is not advocating the very asceticism he condemned in chapter 2. Rather, he is calling for the elimination of everything in the believer's life that is contrary to godliness. He told the Romans, "If you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom 8:13). Only then will the believer experience spiritual fullness as God intended.

To be a Christian is to die to self, to ambition, to ego, and to pride. It is to bow in humble submission to Christ's lordship. It is to obey the Lord's command expressed in Luke 9:23: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." It is to follow the example of Paul himself, who told the Corinthians, "I die daily" (1 Cor 15:31).

You can tell a lot about people in our society by the way they dress. From baseball players to bus drivers, from postal carriers to policemen to priests, people wear the uniform of their profession. Who we are determines what we wear, and failing to "dress the part" can sometimes have embarrassing consequences. Many years ago a very wealthy man in a Southern California town was found wandering around the local country club wearing shabby clothes. He was promptly seized by security guards and charged with vagrancy — even though he owned the country club. He had failed to dress consistent with who he was.

That is precisely Paul's point in Colossians 3:9 b-17. We as Christians must dress ourselves spiritually in accordance with our new identity. We have died with Christ and risen to new life. Salvation thus produces a two-sided obligation for believers. Negatively, they must throw off the garment of the old, sinful lifestyle, as Paul pointed out in 3:5-9 a.

Positively, the Christian must put on godly qualities. The Christian is to put on compassion as not just an attitude of the heart but also an action of the body. How can we show compassion to the hurting? We are to put on kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forebearing one another and if you have a complaint against another, forgive them as Christ has forgiven you. Above all, put on love.

We are to clothe ourselves with love. Love is the key to binding the church together in unity. All of these things with which we are to clothe ourselves are reflective of what Paul describes in Galatians as the fruit of the Spirit.

So the question is “how do we do this?” The answer is to first decide – is the word of God true? If it is true, is it true for me? If you decide it is true for you, then the decision can be made to put to do away with anything that contrary to godliness. Having done this, the believer can then move on to putting on godly qualities by seeking first Jesus and his righteousness.