I John 2 and the Ironic Memorial

[Technical Note: Someone recently asked me to try recording my sermons again, so I gave it a try this week. The voice-activation mode setting on the recorder was set wrongly, so the sound cuts off the beginnings and ends of words at times. The effect is only slight (and corrected for the future.) If you would like to listen to this on another device at your convenience, you can click this link to download the audio file.]

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, "I have come to know him," but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, "I abide in him," ought to walk just as he walked.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

Whoever says, "I am in the light," while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world--the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches--comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us.

But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also.

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he has promised us, eternal life.

I write these things to you concerning those who would deceive you. As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him.

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him.

Do you have someone in your life that is like a grandfather or grandmother to you? It may actually be a parent of your parent, but it doesn’t have to be. This special kind of relationship isn’t restricted to a singular family tree. And it is special. This is a person who is enough older than us to live comfortably outside timely fads with which we are enchanted. Oh they know about the internet, but they are only on there really to keep up with you.

They have been around long enough to know the difference between “the flavor of the week” and what is just eternal way of people; the things that never change. And because they have earned this perspective and wisdom, AND because they care about us, they choose to be involved in our lives. They generously offer us a peek behind the curtain; not to the specific circumstances of our futures, but to the inevitable opportunities and consequences of life. This person is someone about whom you secretly think, “When I grow up, I want to be just like them.” That is our friend John, the author of our letter. And what he wants is for us to get this truth for our own good.

John begins by reminding us that we are to earnestly pursue a righteous life. Not a religious life; not a life built around the game show of the appearance of blinding purity, and the insincere approval of the other players. The righteous life is jealously interested in only one opinion; that is, the opinion of God. She regularly reflects on the Words of God, not with the intention to use them in point proving, but rather to be changed and used by God’s words. He understands that God is up to something and is careful to look and listen, never too busy to join what God is doing when he has the eyes to see it.

God brings out the best in the righteous. The religious act fake around God because they are uncomfortable with him; unfamiliar with who he is. The righteous may act different in God’s presence, but only because we all like to be our best selves around the people that we love and admire most. And the righteous, like to enjoy as much time with God as they possibly can. It is their wish to spend every moment in the awareness that God is at hand and is seeing what they are seeing; sharing in their life.

A life characterized by this kind of relationship with God is not a storybook fantasy. It is not wishful thinking or the “blessing for very, very spiritual people.” Jesus begins by saying, “Blessed are the POOR in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This life is the life God wants for you and for me.

It is not a perfect life, however. Inevitably, there are moments when our eyes are drawn away from God and onto ourselves; when we choose to please ourselves rather than to please God. Though it is our aim to honor God with every thought, every word, every action, we do not always hit our mark.

What a comfort to know that in those times of failure we are not alone. Jesus, the one who lives in perfect community with God, is present to be our advocate, not only with words, but with his very self. The reach of his atonement devastates the guilt of our mistakes; it overwhelms our selfishness in God’s eyes. And Jesus is the cure not only for our wrong doings; He has the power and authority to forgive the sins of the entire world. Jesus is the right that rights all wrongs.

Relationship with Jesus embodies more than the simple dismissal of our guilt before a righteous God Judge. Jesus invites us to know him and in him to know the perfect love of God. Is there any more valuable summons than this? We may hear others talk about their knowledge of God, but we should be unimpressed by cheap talk. Jesus’ life is characterized by his singular obedience to God, and if we are to know Jesus and share fellowship with him then we must commit ourselves to his path. The way of knowing Jesus is not the way of boasting; it is the way of obedience.

Today our message is an ancient one. It is an echo of the earliest law, the foundation upon which rests the faith of all those who have gone before. The Law of Moses recited in Leviticus includes the underpinning and summary of the relational aspect of the God’s law: You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

God reminds that as his children, our actions bear his name and reflect on his character. We are to care for one another because He is the LORD and we are his children. We are the LORD’s.

Yet, we are also hearing this command in a new way. Jesus begins teaching with the words, “You have heard it said…” then he recites the old law. Jesus answers the old law in reply, “BUT I SAY to you…” and the ancient command is born again. God never changes, his desire of abundant life for Abraham and Moses and David, is the same torch that he carries for us. But when Jesus broke into the world and brought the Holy Spirit with him as a gift to everyone, literally the whole world changed. Paul tells us, “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away. See, everything has become new!”

Christ claimed his own purpose for coming was not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, which he did once for all in his ministry and resurrection. He now calls us to maintain the law fulfilled, in his death and continuing life as the head of the church. To uphold Christ’s law now is not to strive for God’s acceptance through righteousness. It is to please God in thankfulness because of Jesus’ reconciliation.

But just in case our theology is about to run away with us, let us bring our attention back to where the rubber meets the road. Our teacher lists simple, practical actions as the tell-tale sign of a person living in God’s light. A person of confession has fellowship with God and with his children. A person of obedience is following the path of Jesus. To these John adds that a person of loving action will never stumble in the darkness.

There has never been a shortage of religious talk in the world, but how far has this excess of discussion advanced Jesus’ cause? Declarations of spiritual maturity abound, but what is the quality of love found in the person? Jesus says, this is all that matters. She, who loves, lives in the light. He, who hates, will stumble and fall in darkness, regardless of his claims.

And just in case you are wondering if this teaching applies to you, rest assured, our message is for everyone. No one is exempt. Even those who are young need forgiveness for their sins. Even those who are old need a father-figure in their lives. And everyone in the middle lives with the struggle of evil and promise of overcoming it. We all have something to learn from this word; a new direction to take as a result of it.

For many of us receiving this word will mean finally breaking it off with the world. Oh, it’s been an innocent enough love affair, that dark and alluring stranger with an allusive appeal. It is always tempting to reach for that which is forbidden. John warns: the world and the things of the world are without the love of God; not for God’s inability but for the world’s disallowing. All that will be found in pursuit of the world and its things are sin, and the injury and pain that are its inevitable result. Greed and pride, selfish desire and illicit living all lead to destruction; and the nature of God and his people is eternal.

And so, as we race toward God’s promised future, in the face of those who would spread a contrary message, we are to humbly and firmly take exception. Even from those with whom we may have shared fellowship and with which we have some things in common. we must remember what we have been taught and what we know to be true. Jesus is the truth.

Jesus is our source; nothing exists today apart from him and nothing ever will. He is the wisdom and word with which God sings love into the world. Jesus is our head; he is the only full revelation of God in history, and freely offers a way to abundant life today. He is the object of our thinking, and the character out of which we act. Jesus is our destination; he is seated at the right hand of God as the first born of all creation and the first born from the dead. It is his invitation that offers us light today, and leads us forward, forsaking even our fear of death.

Because we abide in this truth, because we abide in Jesus who is truth, we enjoy the inheritance of eternal life. That is not to say that we count ourselves among a fortunate few, as we bide our time in this life and wait to die, only then go to enjoy fellowship with God. We do not live in a holding pattern, waiting to make our final ascent and land in God’s airport at the end of this life. The death that offered us inheritance has already occurred. Our eternal life has already begun; the wheels have touched down. We’ve exited the craft trudged up to the gate bags in hand, and fallen into the arms of the God who welcomes us home.

Friends, we are already there! We have not seen or learned all of God that there is to know, and there is a greater abiding fellowship to be enjoyed with God in our future. But in the mean time, as we enjoy this life of abiding in God with Jesus, we join God’s welcoming party and anticipate the arrival of others into God’s fellowship. Ours is a work of invitation, of hospitality, of sacrificial service, and of love.

And so this morning we abide together. We sing songs to God who is our guest of honor, conscious that our performance is a witness to the people in the world around us.

We observe the discipline of listening to the Holy Spirit here where it is easier, so that later when we find ourselves in some harder place, facing the temptation to choose our own selfish will over God’s, we are better practiced in obeying, familiar with the sound of his voice, and more prepared to listen.

We gather around the fellowship table of Jesus. We share in the emblems representing his body and blood, and honor his request that we remember him. At funeral homes all over this city, in any other memorial service scheduled for today, people will gather to celebrate the life of a dead person. It is a peculiarity and a sweet irony that we gather today to honor the death of a living person. We abide together in the living Jesus. Let’s pray.

Our Father, and our God, it is our pleasure to walk in your world. It is our desire to please you with our lives. It is our prayer that you would lead us into the service of your kingdom. May we have ears to hear your voice, eyes to see your opportunity, and may we rush to attend to your will.

Jesus, we are blessed to abide together in you. We pray that our confidence in your presence and your coming, will keep us from shame. Your righteousness saves us from our sin and into a new life. May we offer your invitation and share in your hospitality with your generosity.

Holy Spirit, we call for your abiding power to the measure of the task God has set before us. Awaken us to your presence, and empower us to listen and obey your leading. Shape us into a people united in purpose and boldly called by love.

This is our prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.

1 John 1

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

“All of a sudden the building shook, then it started to sway. We didn't know what was going on. I ran towards the reception area. It was completely collapsed, but the receptionist was able to crawl out from under it. People started to panic. We got all our people on the floor into the stairwell, and then people began to calm down. At that time we all thought it was a fire. Someone was joking, "I hope it wasn't another bomb." Everyone was trying to keep things up-tempo. We got down as far as the 74th floor, and someone there pulled us into their office. They had a TV on, and we saw that a plane had crashed into the building. Then there was another explosion, so we left again by the stairwell.

It took about 40 minutes to get to the bottom. We were trying to get out through the building's lower level when all of a sudden the power shut off and the lights went out. The police yelled, "Run!" Then something behind me collapsed. The building was starting to come down. All you saw was black, it was so dark. Now everybody was screaming. I got out with a coworker, I grabbed his hand and we headed out together. Once we got outside, he went back in to assist, but I was so messed up, I just kept on walking. A detective came up to me and asked me if I was okay. I had an asthma attack and I had debris in my eyes, but I was okay.” [Kim White’s account of the attack on the World Trade Center September 11, 2001]

“It all began so beautifully. After a drizzle in the morning, the sun came out bright and beautiful. We were going into Dallas. In the lead car, President and Mrs. Kennedy, John and Nellie, and then a Secret Service car full of men, and then our car – Lyndon and me and Senator Yarborough. The streets were lined with people – lots and lots of people – the children all smiling, placards, confetti, people waving from windows. One last happy moment I had was looking up and seeing Mary Griffith leaning out of a window waving at me. Then almost at the edge of town, on our way to the Trade Mart where we were going to have the luncheon, we were rounding a curve, going down a hill and suddenly there was a sharp loud report – a shot. It seemed to me to come from the right above my shoulder from a building. Then a moment and then two more shots in rapid succession. There had been such a gala air that I thought it must be firecrackers or some sort of celebration. Then, in the lead car, the Secret Service men were suddenly down. I heard over the radio system, "Let's get out of here," and our Secret Service man who was with us, Ruf Youngblood, I believe it was, vaulted over the front seat on top of Lyndon, threw him to the floor and said, "Get down." Senator Yarborough and I ducked our heads. The car accelerated terrifically fast – faster and faster. Then suddenly they put on the brakes so hard that I wondered if they were going to make it as we wheeled left and went around the corner. We pulled up to a building. I looked up and saw it said "Hospital." Only then did I believe that this might be what it was. Yarborough kept on saying in an excited voice, "Have they shot the President?" and I said something like, "No, it can't be." As we ground to a halt – we were still the third car – Secret Service men began to pull, lead, guide and hustle us out. I cast one last look over my shoulder and saw in the President's car a bundle of pink, just like a drift of blossoms, lying on the back seat.” [Mrs. Vice-President Johnson’s account of the Kennedy assassination, November 22, 1963.]

While the content of eyewitness accounts is often the matter of tragedy, this is not always the case. I offer the following in evidence.

“Whoa, that’s a full rainbow all the way. Double rainbow, oh my god. It’s a double rainbow, all the way. Whoa that’s so intense. Whoa man! Wow! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa ho ho oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Woo! Oh wow! Woo! Yeah! Oh ho ho! Oh my god! Oh my god, look at that! It’s starting even to look like a triple rainbow! Oh my god it’s full on! Double rainbow all the way across the sky! Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh god. What does this mean? Oh. Oh my god. Oh. Oh. God. It’s so bright, oh my god it’s so bright and vivid! Oh. Ah! Ah! It’s so beautiful! [Crying? Laughing?] [Pretty sure he’s crying.] [Now he’s laughing and crying.] Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god! Oh my god, it’s a double complete rainbow! Oh right in my front yard. [Laughter] Oh my god. Oh my god, what does it mean? Tell me. [Crying] Too much. I don’t know what it means. [Laughter] [Heavy breathing] Oh my god it’s so intense. Oh. Oh. Oh my god.” [The words of Paul Vasquez, uttered upon seeing a double rainbow, January 8, 2010.]

There is something about actually being there when it happened that makes a person very special. Most of us have a story to tell in answer to the question, “Where were you on September 11?” But how many of us can say, “I was on the 74th floor; staring out the window in disbelief as the second plane buried itself into the South Tower.” It is one thing to scour through the Zapruder film frame by frame. It is quite another to pause the video, point to a fuzzy figure in the shot and say, “That’s me. I was standing right there.”

Being there offers its own kind of instant celebrity; a credibility that is only granted with personal experience. From the race of reporters to shove a microphone in your face to the seat next to an honorable judge and the promise not to lie; everyone recognizes the power of a person who can give more than just their personal opinion. A person who was there has the authority to tell the truth of what happened.

This celebrity, this authority is magnified all the more when you are the only witness left. We have all seen thrilling movies where some heinous crime has been committed and the perpetrators are ordered by their evil superior to “clean up all of the loose ends.” Invariably, people who have first-hand knowledge of the notorious offense begin to die or disappear, and we all watch tensely as our hero races against the clock to find and protect the last eyewitness; to bring the criminals to justice.

But it happens differently in real life; in a less dramatic but more deeply moving way. In February of this year, the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, died. He was 110. According to msnbc, Frank Buckles, who also survived being a civilian POW in the Philippines in World War II, died peacefully of natural causes early on a Sunday at his home in Charles Town. He turned 110 on Feb. 1 and had been advocating for a national memorial honoring veterans of World War I in Washington, D.C. Buckles lied about his age to join the army at age 16.The Missouri native was among nearly 5 million Americans who served in World War I in 1917 and 1918. "I knew there'd be only one (survivor) someday. I didn't think it would be me," he was quoted as saying in recent years.

The Bible words we have heard this morning come from just such a man. Our friend who writes to us today from across the hemispheres and centuries is the last of his kind: possibly the youngest of Jesus' followers, and assuredly the last to survive. Having survived the martyrdom of most of his colleagues, he is rumored to be the only personal student of Jesus to die in the luxury of old age. He is the last surviving disciple of Jesus; the last living person who sat at the table in Cana and shared a cup of water turned wine with Jesus. The last of the servers who watched the hands of Jesus pray, break bread and fish, and then offer it to thousands in hospitality. The last living of the witnesses who saw the feet of Jesus defy the law of nature, and heard him command the water to offer safe passage. The last to stand in the dark middle of day as Jesus spoke his final words and his body breathed its final breath.

In this sense, there is something even more special about being the last eyewitness; a unique seniority that brings with it a distinctive countenance. Different people may express it different ways, but when you have been around longer than anyone else; when you have seen and heard more, when you have been there from the very beginning, you carry a natural liberty. It is not arrogance; it does not have to express itself as bravado (though it can.) It is a unique resource well from which draw, the well of sole experience.

And this one witness has been given the unusual gift of long life. Unlike his executed colleagues, John has had years to reflect on the incredible acts of Jesus that he saw and in which he participated. He has had decades to discuss the great wisdom of God embodied in the Rabbi of his youth. He has had over half a century to dwell in the words of Jesus; a few of which we may read in the passed-on accounts, most of which we as later followers will never hear.

When you are that kind old-timer there is no need to impress anyone. No one expects you to be informed on the latest fashions. When you’ve been around forever and seen the fashions come and go like the months of a year, you cease to be impressed by the latest fashion. The shine of newness wore off ages ago. Time and mileage slowly steal the freshness away from you, but they offer you something stronger in return.

We envy and desire that singular strength. We treasure the words of Jesus that we find in the Gospels, but our ears only hear them from our own mouths. Our imaginations are left to try to conjure a suitable substitute for the ancient sound of Jesus’ voice. We have no memory of the man himself, and without that anchor, it can be easy to fall prey to the allure of the latest theological fashions. We are tempted to bind ourselves to the new and fresh ideas about God and church that are being discovered in our midst. We may look to the latest innovative conferences hosted by the largest competitors in the North American Church industry. We may read the latest blogs and dwell on the re-tweets of our most admired theologicians. We may find ourselves combing through YouTube: the world’s most ubiquitous sermon concordance, for the next viral God-slogan, offered by an iconic Christian preacher.

Most of these ideas are not without merit. They deserve some of our attention and discernment. But we must never forget that their value comes from their harmony with the Spirit of God, not from the proximity of their creation with our experience. Jesus is not “the latest intellectual pursuit of a recalibrating theological movement." Jesus is not an idea. Jesus is a flesh-and-blood person, who has ideas.

And so, our ancient friend offers us this more-than-just-a-spiritual-idea person that he personally knew; with which he had slept on the ground under the stars, with which he had weathered the storms in a boat. With which he had shared bread and wine and the love of family. John offers us Jesus in the flesh, and let’s us know in no uncertain terms what we are getting when embrace Jesus as our teacher.

Be warned: the message of Jesus is not complex, it is simple. The message is easy to understand, but that does not make it easy to live. John makes it clear that Jesus’ teaching and authority lives to heal us of our pride which separates us from God. And while pride is a fatal and cruel disease, the cure is equally painful.

Jesus’ message is this: God is light, and when we walk with God we walk in light. If we walk in the light, we are bound to clearly see our mistakes. When we admit that we make mistakes, God forgives us and heals us, and we enjoy a close relationship with God and with other people who enjoy living in the light.

If we refuse to see our mistakes and confess our sins, we are pretending that the light is of no benefit to us. We are telling God that we are perfect and that He is a liar, and that we have no need of him. In this sad case, God will grant us our wish, he will release us to the darkness where we will no longer see and be confronted by our sins, and we will no longer be burdened by the fellowship of those who love the light and seek the truth.

Pride is the enemy of confession. It kills relationship, it sews darkness and clouds the clarity of God's light. Pride entices us to twist perception; to close our eyes to indiscretion, to avoid personal reflection that might lead to conviction. Pride motivates us to search for the source of the problem "out there" rather than to examine our responsibility in surrounding brokenness. Ultimately pride is a voice that shouts down the song of Good News. A person with no need to confess disregards the invitation of a Savior. They suffer nothing from which they need to be saved.

For John, the practice of confession is the central indicator of a person who has abandoned their pride in order to live in light with God. The church practice of confession as we largely remember it has to do with a persuasive sermon that motivates people to walk forward at its end and ask for the prayers of the church. I say “remembered” because it is rarely practiced anymore. This modern church discipline invented in the 19th Century and as a tool for recruiting new tithers, has fallen out of favor in our “don’t ask, don’t tell” world. And I’ll confess to you as a gospel preacher, I don’t miss it. It was created as a brutish tool, and while I respect what good it has accomplished over the last century, that specific model of confession is not necessary to the message of the flesh-and-blood Jesus or endorsed by John. For Protestants, the only other practice of confession with which we are widely familiar is the catholic discipline that we have seen in movies; A person steps quietly into a small booth and through a shade, reverently speaks the liturgy, “forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”

John does not give us an approved method for the practice of confession. John’s matter of fact instruction suggests that the way of confession is self-evident. Because God is always wronged by our sin, we need to confess our sin to God, which we may do alone or among our friends in prayer. If our sinful act also wrongs another person, we should go to that person, tell them of our wrongdoing, and ask for their forgiveness. As a people walking in the light, God’s presence stands as witness to our humility and recognition of his truth.

This is the simple life of abundance into which John had followed Jesus all his days, and it is the life into which Jesus invites us as well. We stand before Jesus' fellowship table this morning ready to feast on the emblems of Christ himself: his body and his blood. We now become the living witnesses and participants in Christ's body, alive in the world. We are reminded of the great length to which Jesus was willing to go in order to seal our new covenant with God, and we confess that fellowship with God and each other is all that matters.

Jesus, we come to hear your voice, to hear your words today. We lay down the fashionable distractions of the world around us to listen to the witness of your truth, to accept these symbols of your body and blood, and to follow you wherever you are going.

God, as we think about our sins, we are sorry for hurting you and the people around us. Please help us by your Spirit to have the courage to make amends with you and with those we have offended. This is our prayer in Jesus’ name, amen.

Colossians 4

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, 4 so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should. 5 Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me; he is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts; 9 he is coming with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here. 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions--if he comes to you, welcome him. 11 And Jesus who is called Justus greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. 13 For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.

15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, "See that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord." 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

If you have been looking for it then here we find it: this is the ancient Facebook, is it not? “Aristarchus greets you, Epaphras who is one of your own family greets you. Mark, with whom you have one mutual friend, wants to be your friend, and greets you. The church in Laodicea has invited you to an event. Onesimus reminds you that it’s your turn on Scrabble.” Can you imagine what a nightmare Facebook would be if its delivery system was the postal service instead of the internet? Isn’t that basically what the postal system was created to do? Though there was a postal service for state correspondence in Roman times, most letters were carried by friends, from one friend to another.

These days our options for sending and receiving communication are so plentiful and convenient, I can’t help but wonder if it has cheapened the quality of the things we say. If getting a word to others costs us almost nothing, how easy it seems to broadcast without discretion. It is good to remember though that on the other side of our phones and computers are eyes and ears and hearts that still respond to words with the same emotions and reactions that people have had for all of history. Maybe we should consider adding an extra step of quality assurance to our sharing?

How is it that our teacher who strongly warned us against a reliance on religious rituals in earlier chapters would now call us to be devoted to prayer? We are to both make use of spiritual disciplines, but also be careful of their tempting allure? The difference lies in the quality of our intent and our expectation of the outcome. For those who approach the practice of prayer as an obligation to be rendered, prayer will adequately serve their needs. Having labored to fulfill one’s duty of repeating the words, one feels the satisfaction of an exercise completed. And a practice that has been devoted to self from its start will have reaped its just reward: prideful self-satisfaction.

For one whose desire is an intimate relationship with God; who understands God as the end and object of our prayer; who meets and expects a conversation of both talking and listening, then devotion is not too strong an imperative. The object of our devotion is not a practice. He is a person.

What an adventure of inward life to which we are called by God. In the promise of a new Kingdom where God makes himself available to us, he invites to a constant fellowship with him: a conversation of our experience that enjoys his perspective, his blessing, his direction. Most citizens live their entire lives never once receiving an invitation to enjoy an audience with the King.

Ours is the blessing of the unlikely kingdom; our sovereign is at hand and wanting to receive us at any moment; to enjoy our fellowship, to share our struggles, thoughts, and emotions; to hold counsel with our discoveries. What other kingdom can boast a King so generous in his attention? What other religion can offer a God so ready to live and die with his people?

How unfortunate that we often feel guilty for the lack of devotion to a life of prayer. It is probably true that no matter how often our thoughts turn to God they could always turn there a little more. To focus on our failure in this devotion is to miss the Gospel in our letter. The good news is there will never be a time when we turn our hearts to God that he is not ready to receive us. God is always attending, and time that we spend dwelling in guilt that does not lead straight back to God in repentance and humility is just one further distraction; one more self-focused delay in the journey. God loves the sound of our voice; he loves to hear his name on our lips. He treasures our attention.

The devotion of our inward journey should live in concert with our actions. As our thoughts are turned toward and led by God, so our conduct should also follow in this same path so that the wisdom of God shared in our prayer life finds itself manifested in our conduct. As we pray, so should we live, and wisdom is the theme and result of this integral connection between God and our thoughts; our thoughts and our action.

The conduct of a Christian devoted to prayer is founded in wisdom. Wisdom is characterized in the Old Testament as the hand maiden of God, and extolled as one of the noblest pursuits of a person of faith. The book of Proverbs invites us:

Listen as Wisdom calls out!
Hear as understanding raises her voice!
On the hilltop along the road,
she takes her stand at the crossroads.
By the gates at the entrance to the town,
on the road leading in, she cries aloud,

“I call to you, to all of you!
I raise my voice to all people.
You simple people, use good judgment.
You foolish people, show some understanding.
Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you.
Everything I say is right,
for I speak the truth
and detest every kind of deception.
My advice is wholesome.
There is nothing devious or crooked in it.
My words are plain to anyone with understanding,
clear to those with knowledge.
Choose my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.
For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.
Nothing you desire can compare with it.

“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.
I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.
All who fear the Lord will hate evil.
Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance,
corruption and perverse speech.
Common sense and success belong to me.
Insight and strength are mine.
Because of me, kings reign,
and rulers make just decrees.
Rulers lead with my help,
and nobles make righteous judgments.

“I love all who love me.
Those who search will surely find me.
I have riches and honor,
as well as enduring wealth and justice.
My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold,
my wages better than sterling silver!
I walk in righteousness,
in paths of justice.
Those who love me inherit wealth.
I will fill their treasuries.

“The Lord formed me from the beginning,
before he created anything else.
I was appointed in ages past,
at the very first, before the earth began.
I was born before the oceans were created,
before the springs bubbled forth their waters.
Before the mountains were formed,
before the hills, I was born—
before he had made the earth and fields
and the first handfuls of soil.
I was there when he established the heavens,
when he drew the horizon on the oceans.
I was there when he set the clouds above,
when he established springs deep in the earth.
I was there when he set the limits of the seas,
so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.
And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,
I was the architect at his side.
I was his constant delight,
rejoicing always in his presence.
And how happy I was with the world he created;
how I rejoiced with the human family!

“And so, my children, listen to me,
for all who follow my ways are joyful.
Listen to my instruction and be wise.
Don’t ignore it.
Joyful are those who listen to me,
watching for me daily at my gates,
waiting for me outside my home!
For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the Lord.
But those who miss me injure themselves.
All who hate me love death.” [Proverbs 8]

The introduction in the book of John joins the ancient image of wisdom with the philosophical thought of his day as it describes “the Word” which was with God in the beginning and was God.

God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it. [John 1]

Unfortunately the story of inspiration swiftly turns to tragedy in John’s narrative, because those people who had been nurtured by God to identify and pursue life’s call of wisdom regretfully refused this Word of God.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. [John 1]

This wise “Word” made a life among people and John proclaims that we were witness to His glory; “he” being Jesus, the only born and living Wisdom of God. So, the very act of praying “in Jesus’ name” is an invitation for God to bless us with His guidance in the everyday choices of our lives. Our life together as disciples of Jesus manifests the wisdom of God in as much as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to know the commands of Jesus and to obey them.

This wise life at times stands in contrast to the choices of those around us who have not invited the living Wisdom of God to instruct them. It opens an opportunity to provoke a generous conversation about how the Wisdom of God offers peace in a hostile world, proclaims truth in a compromised world, and inspires hope in a world swaying under imposing burdens of political oppression and religious scorn.

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center…

The WBC is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations. The church describes itself as following Primitive Baptist and Calvinist principles, though mainstream Primitive Baptists reject the WBC and [its leader Fred] Phelps. [Wikipedia]

Their protesting website is updated frequently with new funerals to disrupt, and lists sister sites including

• GodHatesTheMedia.com - The worldwide media is in place for WBC to preach through. What they mean for evil God means for good.
• GodHatesTheWorld.com - Country-by-country explanation of why God hates the world.
• JewsKilledJesus.com - What the Bible teaches about the final fate of the nation of Israel for murdering the Messiah.
• blogs.SpareNot.com - Chronicles the worldwide street preaching ministry of Westboro Baptist Church!
• AmericaIsDoomed.com - Builds the airtight case that America is not only cursed of God, but that this curse is irreversible.

and a small number of others that not even I will say aloud in the context and company of a sermon.

This active religious group has become infamous for their attention-seeking, inflammatory tactics that neither honor the truth of God, nor embody the mercy of Christ. They choose a path in open disobedience to the Word of God that we hear today which calls us to use gracious speech, especially with those who think differently than us, so that we may have an answer for everyone.

The literature and shouting of the Westboro Baptist church make liberal use of the name of God but rarely mentions the name of Jesus, and appropriately so. I doubt they have much use for a Savior who openly associates with sinners, who accepts the hospitality of people of questionable reputation, and befriends and praises the good character of people of other religions.

It is ironic that they condemn the Jews for Jesus’ murder when they have taken to the activity of shouting at funerals. It is not hard to imagine the members of the Westboro Baptist Church standing on the hillside in celebration of the death a preacher who generally took a position of the acceptance of others. Their picket signs might have said, “Son of God? King of Jews? Save Yourself!”

In this moment we hear an even more scandalous word; a word that our righteous indignation does not accept. We hear the author of the gracious speech to which our teacher alludes. We hear a voice of acceptance that reaches farther than our mercy can extend; a distance that would break under the weight of our conscience. We hear the word of Jesus reaching past what we can allow; the preacher looks down at the mockers at his own funeral and responds,

“Father, forgive them.”

Our father and our God, we are gathered today around your table to celebrate this gift: the body and blood of Jesus, who is our head. As Jesus has asked us to do, we remember him today.

We remember Jesus as a man devoted to prayer; who rarely left the company of his disciples, but would regularly break fellowship with them to find a lonely place and enjoy an intimate fellowship with You. Father, by your Spirit may we feel a hunger for that intimate communion, and thankfully seek You in prayer.

God, we remember Jesus as a man of wise conduct; who acted in merciful justice because he is the very architect and source of justice and mercy. Father, by your Spirit may we live in the wisdom of Jesus and may our actions be mistook for His wherever we go.

God, we remember Jesus as a man of gracious speech, who had an answer for everyone he met; most often a word of mercy and healing for a person rejected, and sometimes a word of loving reproof for the arrogant self-righteous. Father, by your Spirit may we be a people with Good News on our lips; generous with hope, and patient with ourselves and with others.

Lord, we gather to receive the body and blood of this Jesus that we remember today and by your Spirit we ask that we might see Jesus in others, that you would call and empower us to be like Jesus, and that by your mercy as the church we would be Jesus’ body and blood living and dying on behalf of others in our world.

This is our prayer in Jesus' name, amen.

Colossians 3

Our reading has been interrupted by two weeks of activity, so I would like to remind us briefly of what we have read thus far before continuing through Colossians chapter 3. Paul and Timothy open their letter to the Church at Colossae (founded by Epaphras), with prayer and thanksgiving for their faith, and extol Jesus as the exact picture of God: who reconciles the broken to himself, and who calls them to be an advocate for people new to the faith all over the world. Paul wants to encourage these Christians that he has never met in person to cling to Christ who is the fullness of God, and avoid empty philosophy and religious rigor. The ritualistic traditions adhered to by religious addicts are a shallow attempt at self-justification. They are an offensive response to the grace of a God that has given everything, and they are a poor substitute for the authority of Christ who is above everything.

Those who are addicted to religion have miscounted the cost of following Christ and mistakenly found it too expensive. They try to leave the store with the prize, throwing their change on the counter when no one is looking and pretending as if their payment is somehow a generous gesture. Certainly their heavy regimen of prayers, their abstinence from the “secular life”; their showy religious actions make them a lock to be picked first for God’s team.

They are too busy straightening their ties and flattening their dresses to realize that God is away searching out the hurting, the broken, the hopeless, and ironically offering them for free a redeeming grace about which the religious sing in majestic anthems, and then like to pretend that they don’t need.

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! 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.

Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

It is commonly understood among motorcycle riders that the most important part of your body for steering a motorcycle is your eyes. The principle is called “target fixation” and it applies to the driving of all vehicles. It is the reason why we find it almost impossible at times to miss that pothole in the middle of the road; because we are looking at the pothole. The effect is much more pronounced on a motorcycle: because the direction of the vehicle is so closely tied to the balance of the rider, the motorcycle will invariably go toward whatever target the rider is looking.

This is not unlike the relationship between the trajectory of one’s spiritual life and a person’s regular patterns of thinking. Both of these inward journeys are deeply intertwined. Our friend instructs that spiritual direction is set by the setting of our mind; and this a conscious choice. We may not realize or recognize it but though we have been raised with Christ, our minds may have been set and well-established on things below for much of our lives. We may be living in old habits, reliving old mistakes, dwelling on old sins, and unfortunately, we tend to steer where we look.

The way of things below is exactly what we think it might be. It is the way of escaping the pain of our lives by focusing on actions that bring us selfish pleasure with disregard for the hurt that they may pass on to others in the process. The hunt for elicit pleasure is a temporary distraction from our own spiritual brokenness. This satisfying of our carnal appetites includes but applies to much more than simply sex and money.

The fulfillment of such lustful pursuits requires mastery in dark actions: manipulating words of rejection to and about others which win us the immoral prize that we seek but at the cost of multiplying our pain and hurt onto others. Be warned, God is not oblivious. He intends to broker a reckoning for this kind of selfish cruelty in our world.

The good news is we no longer need to live in this place; we have been raised with Christ. Christ is healing us of our past wounds; he is making us like himself, and he offers us a place of fellowship with him in communion with God. We need to no longer to chase our past appetites; to fall into the old lifestyle patterns in which we once lived. We can discard these old clothes and dress in a new set of fresh clothes that Christ has set out for us.

These new clothes are not for show, they are work clothes, and the new work for which we are commissioned is the work of compassion: to bear the likeness of God to others around us who need to physically experience his mercy. It is the work of kindness: to approach every person as a child of God by creation and to respect them in such a way as to invite them into God’s adoption. It is the work of humility: to never forget that the clothes we wear were received as a gift, undeserved and unearned; free to us, but at great cost to God in Jesus. It is a work of meekness: choosing a gentle way, knowing that God has the authority and power to make his will come to be. It is a work of patience; accepting the brokenness surrounding us, for the time being and the time to come, as a reminder of God’s own long-suffering with our own frailty. It is a work of peace, knowing that our vocation is nothing short of a participation in divine reconciliation, and giving our work its due attendance. And supremely it is a work of love which means, our clothes will not stay clean and fresh, we will enjoy meeting others where they are, we will create our own messes, and Christ will be with us to right the wrongs we find and commit along the way.

In this sense, in the most human sense, everyone is to approach their relationships with the generosity of God regardless of their ethnicity, their gender, their station in life. Because Christ has raised us, these things no longer define our roles in the world, and they also no longer confine our responsibilities to one another.

Do you find yourself in a role that is usually seen in a posture of submission? In your new life in Christ you are addressed with the same respect as your dominant counterpart. You are no longer an object on which to be trampled. You have the privilege of setting your mind on things above. And in this moment when you may be tempted to seize your power and exact revenge on your prevailing partner, Christ calls you to set your mind on things above. To remember your calling to love and to peace; to choose a posture of reconciliation in your divine power.

Do you find yourself in a role that is expected to possess a posture of dominance and ruling? In your new life in Christ you are called to see the image of your Master in those over which you have exercised authority, and value and serve them as you would serve God himself. Your social power is not to be exploited for your own selfish gain. There is one who has power over you, and when no one else does, Christ calls you to your deep responsibility in being loving and peaceful toward those over which you exercise authority. Everyone is a servant in Christ’s new clothes.

I can’t help but think of Martin Luther King, Jr. standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as we read this chapter today. Summoning the voice of one who had been given the legal right to walk as an equal in his world, but who had suffered the life of chronic injustices leveraged at any black-skinned person living in his day and time, King’s speech at the Lincoln memorial strikes as the words of one who has set his mind on things above. King says in a lesser-famous section of his speech:

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

In this historic moment we hear the words of a man who suffers from acute target fixation. He stands as a representative of a class of unjustly subjugated people, and speaks a message of peaceful and compelling reconciliation to a prejudice nation that has proudly understood itself in the moment as Christian. King is a human representative, suffering many of the flaws and making mistakes as we all do, but he summons a profound dignity as God’s child, not afforded to him by society, and he asks his nation’s leaders to set their minds on things above, to join him in fellowship as equals. It is an admirable target on which to fixate. It is a target above.

It is this dignity that is offered to us by Christ. Jesus chose to leave his place above to walk alongside us in the human struggle. Though he willingly relinquished the favor of heaven for the austerity of earth, he never forsook his divine esteem; knowing that he belonged to God, and God to him. Jesus willfully joined those who were subjugated politically; who were enslaved to their sin, who were despised by their communities, and with those people that the world views as worthless Christ shared the dignity of God. It was his to give away, and Jesus gave it freely and with unlikely generosity.

Our Father and God, we are blessed to be your testimony of healing in the world today. Having been touched by Jesus, and having felt your mercy we meet at your fellowship table in humility and gratitude. God we are not perfect, but we belong to you, and as your possession and the object of your affection we are overwhelmed by your Jesus-gift. May we look to you, setting our mind on things above, and by your Spirit may our hearts follow where you lead our thoughts. This we pray in the name of Jesus, amen.

Mary's Song

Colossians 2

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
On this day, many retailers open very early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier; offering promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many commonwealth countries. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in recent years. The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it initially was used by police to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term began by 1966 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the period during which retailers are turning a profit, or "in the black."
Whereas Christmas films often depict a comedic dramatization of the somewhat chaotic antics that people may go through in order to achieve their holiday shopping goals, recent years have seen a marked increase in extreme and even violent chaos resulting from people's desires to take advantage of Black Friday sales.
In 2008 a crowd of approximately 2,000 shoppers in Valley Stream, New York, waited outside for the 5:00 a.m. opening of the local Wal-Mart. As opening time approached the crowd grew anxious and when the doors were opened the crowd pushed forward, breaking the door down, and trampling a 34 year old employee to death. The shoppers did not appear concerned with the victim's fate, expressing refusal to halt their stampede when other employees attempted to intervene and help the injured employee, complaining that they had been waiting in the cold and were not willing to wait any longer. Shoppers had begun assembling as early as 9:00 the evening before. Even when police arrived and attempted to render aid to the injured man, shoppers continued to pour in, shoving and pushing the officer as they made their way into the store. [Wikipedia]

It is inherent in our nature to strategically want. For many as it pertains to Black Friday, this is little more than annual sport of acquisition; a life-sized strategy game of risk, to search and purchase the best deal available on the planet even if it is only available for one day. We should be careful because as the demand increases, the game and its consequences increase as well.

In a sense quieter, in life, it pertains to most. We perceive a missing piece of ourselves and we imagine that having found and obtained it that we could be more that what we are now. There is nothing inherently wrong with acquiring, but when the internal drive to acquire is born from a personal sense of inadequacy then the result of an external acquisition seldom satisfies.

People are driven and drawn in a countless number of ways to acquire this missing magic piece. Some work overtime and endure the stress and politics of high paying jobs to purchase and polish expensive status-achieving trophies: fancy cars, speed boats, beautiful houses, in the few hour remaining in their week.

Others push their physical selves to test the limits of their created frame. They might spending hours in the gym, targeting the perfect body fat percentage, that extra repetition of weights, one more yoga class in preparation for the next extreme pentathlon contest. The answer for them is to push their physical bodies and find their maximum capacity.

Others ignore material possessions and athletic accomplishments to pursue excellence in the world of the intellectual or academic. Their arena of achievement is framed inside the mind and there is always one more degree to acquire, one more conference for which to register, the latest book to devour and critique.

And if somehow the appetite for all of these drives could be summed, they would be embarrassed to fall so short of the force which has drawn people to radically pursue the appearance of wisdom in religion.

The appearance of religious wisdom has been a trap’s best bait since the time of ancients. It is only natural: the promise of self-improvement is always attractive, and what can be more helpful and noble than wisdom? It is not hard to see the wholesome and bountiful result of a well-lived life. Who wouldn’t pass their plate for a second helping?

But there is a big difference between wisdom and the “appearance of wisdom”. A polished exterior can make all kinds of promises about its contents, but the promises are often crafted to sell the product more than to actually describe its contents. “This snake oil must work; it was sold to me by a doctor.” Or these days, “You are just one click away from your free iPad.”

Often we can smell the ruse. “There’s no such thing as free lunch.” Or better put, Thomas Paine suggests, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods.”

Here is something that Paul knew: the temptation to pursue the rigor of religion for the sake of achievement can be strong, and He warned the Colossians against it. Paul knew what we know; that we feel a special kind of personal approval when we do an unusually pious thing, and if we are not careful we can forget the aim of the piety itself, and our hearts can sometimes forsake the object of our devotion, to chase the prideful feeling. Religion is a dangerous drug.

Paul had been a reputable Pharisee; a bit of a local celebrity. He had an impressive resume; and it was no secret to those around him that he was destined for prominence. In fact, Paul had almost reached the top of the success ladder when one day on the road to Damascus, Jesus knocked him off his horse and blinded him. Paul got the message: He was near the top, sure enough, but his ladder was leaned against the wrong wall. In his effort to achieve religious stardom, he was inadvertently persecuting the God he so devoutly worshiped. From that day on, Paul chose to forsake the appearances of wisdom and the trappings they promised: pride, celebrity, power, for the pursuit of Jesus.

Now Paul finds himself not being entertained by the wealthy, but in a Roman prison. From his prison cell Paul is struggling; he is not second-guessing this decision that he made to leave his popular life behind. Rather, his chains will not allow him to meet this stranger family in person, and he wants them to know surely how he wishes that he could. How he desires to encourage and assure them of the authority and reliability of their shared faith. As the church has joined Paul in joining Jesus, Paul wants them to know that he has never been surer that they have made the right decision. Paul aches to stand alongside them as support, to defend them against those who would try to convince them that as beginners their faith is somehow less than: in some way insufficient to meet their spiritual needs.

There are very few things over which Paul will break fellowship; Paul forsook the pious life to meet Gentiles where they lived, he often referred to notorious sinners as brothers and sisters. There are very few hills that Paul will fight and die on, but on page two of this letter, we find ourselves standing on one of those hills. Paul boldly proclaims: Jesus is enough.

It is important to Paul that his new friends maintain their way in Christ. It is so easy to get distracted along the course of a long journey; to forget the priceless worth of the slow and steady road on which Jesus set us, and travels with us. New opportunities are presented in attractive packages; easier destinations call us to a hastier and cheaper gratification. In a world of “do it yourself” spirituality: of quick-fix psychology, of bumper sticker theology, it can be difficult to maintain the resolve to remember that Christ is our end. Jesus is our home and with Him in our lives we are at peace no matter where we find ourselves. With our lives in him, no other home will satisfy us.

They sit in a row on the window sill of classrooms. Paper cups filled three quartes of the way full of dirt. For a few moments each day, the teacher directs her students to check for progress and add a bit of water, but not too much.

The student remembers poking a hole in the dirt, and hiding a few small seeds beneath the surface. In the first week the only way one student could tell her cup from another’s was by her name carefully scratched in pencil on the outside. But with a little time and a little water, not too much, a flower begins to grow.

Christ’s seed has been planted and is bearing fruit, but growth is measured in seasons, not minutes. Jesus is now the root of our lives. He is the foundation of our covenant relationship with God, and the source of our spiritual nourishment. Like much of the spiritual life this is an inward transformation; however, the fruit of the decision to abide in Christ is unmistakable. It can be the cause of great change in a person, a family, a city. Christ can change the course of kings and direct the intentions of nations.

The change is not random or coincidental. At our baptism we declare in ceremonial words that Jesus is Lord. It is our proposal that we wish to know His will and to make it our own. When the ceremony is over, then the being and action begins: to know the will of Christ and to decide in favor of it every day: to pursue the character of Jesus, and to apply ourselves to his person. To learn that the answer “Jesus” presupposes and frames the questions that will confront our lives.

And because we are found in God through Christ, because we are redeemed and sustained by Christ’s grace, because we are finding freedom choosing for Jesus and trying to live like him, we are thankful. We are less hungry for the petty trappings of status and temptations of the sensational “new thing”, be it material, personal, intellectual, or religious. Christ has set a lavish table for us and encouraged us to eat until we are full. And for this meal; for love, for truth, for grace, for the life which God provides in Christ we are truly thankful.

The Greek mystics claim they will lead you on the path to righteousness and enlightenment, but Paul is unimpressed. Jesus’ authority and righteousness is the source of all authority and righteousness. Why settle for a cheap imitation? The Jerusalem missionaries claim that one must obey the Law of Moses; that is, be circumcised if he wants to know Jesus as his Lord. Paul objects: Jesus is the fulfillment of Moses’ law. To submit to him is to find and be fulfilled in the covenant that the children of Moses could never keep.

Don’t be sucked in by the temptation of following the “authority” of a “better” way. Jesus is God fully in the flesh, and he is above any spiritual wisdom that an earthly leader might offer you. Through Jesus God has reconciled you to himself and if you are reconciled by Jesus, what more do you lack?

Christ has acquitted us of our trespasses; He has nailed our sins to the cross and erased their record so that we will no longer be found guilty of them. What can any religious leader do that can make you more righteous than can the forgiveness of God? Nothing.

Paul warns: beware the smugly devout, who consider themselves superior to others based on their resume of outstanding pious acts: their observance of an above average number of religious days, their fastidious abstinence from the norm purely for the sake of being distinguished, their condescending invitation to “follow them” as they open the mysteries of spirituality for you. Don’t buy it. Any Christian faith that is not heavily focused on Jesus as Lord, and our allegiance to him, is vanity parading as spirituality.

Jesus is the head. He is in control of this body, and only in Jesus is this body a living and growing being. Jesus says who is in, and the qualifications have nothing to do with what you do or do not eat, what you will or will not touch. It has to do with who has touched you. Have you decided that the Savior of the world should become the Lord of your life? Are there further details to this action? Absolutely, but they are just that: details. As in so many cases in life, it is not about what you know; not even about what you don’t do. It is not even about who you know. It is about who knows you.

This Jesus, who possesses the full deity of God, who is the source of all wisdom and knowledge, the strength of faith and authority of truth; this Jesus, who is your authentic invitation to God, who is the thief and chief executioner of the wrong doings of the world, This Jesus who is your resurrection and welcome to new life; a life in which everyday is holy because it is lived in union with him, and every action is a ceremony because he is present to be honored; this Jesus knows you.

Lord Jesus, we gather around your table today and we declare that you are enough. It is embarrassing to admit that along the way, there are times when our enthusiasms become obsessions. They steal the place of first-love in our life and we pursue them more than we attend to our union with you.

We are so thankful today that nothing would distract you in your loving pursuit of this world. Though you know completely our selfishness and our failures, you meet us in our inadequacy with healing love. We remember today the cross to which you nailed our sins, the dark day on which you erased our record of wrong doing and we see you there dying in our place. How could we ever choose the love of another over this greatest love? Even in those moments of our betrayal you are there to forgive us. We are made whole when we join with you, we are filled with your Spirit and we are thankful.

This we pray in your name, Amen.