January 29, 2017
True North | Offering my time
- Colossians 3:12-17
- Rev. Dr. Jerry Deck
If you weren’t here last week we began part two of our True North Series. In the first part of our series last fall we were looking at what we believe and during this part of our series we will be looking at how we respond to what we believe. How we, who have received the love and grace of God, should now act. I may not do this every Sunday during this part of our series, but I will do it again today which is to remind everyone that what we do, how we act as Christians, is not something we do in order to gain the love or acceptance of God. Rather we do these things because we are grateful for what God has done and so we desire to give him praise by the way in which we live and move and breathe. Our passage today is from the 2nd half of Colossians and it’s been pointed out that like most of Paul’s letter, the first part of the letter is all about what God has accomplished for us and we embrace that first and then, as our passage today points out, we see how we then should live.
Last week we said that one of the ways we respond to God’s love is by worshipping God, by re-centering our lives, not around ourselves, but around God. That our worship service points to God while also shaping us in different ways. It’s communal because God is a God of community. We sing, because singing stokes our passion, stays with us longer than the spoken word and reminds us of our identity. We pray which is an act that says with great clarity that we are not in control, but that God is. We take up our tithes and offerings as a sign that all we have is gift. We hear testimonies of what God is doing around the world because it reminds us that God is alive, not just in certain parts of our world, but in all in of the world. We hear the scripture read and proclaimed because we easily deceive ourselves and scripture helps to refocus us around God. And all of these things, all of these things we do in our Sunday worship service is not to be an aberration from the rest of the week, but a microcosm of it.
This week some of the ZPC staff went up to Calvin College for worship conference and we got to hear from one of my heroes, a New Testament scholar named N.T. Wright. And not only did we get to hear him, but I even got to have my picture taken with him. Here I am. With Jon. With Calvin. With Betsy. With Sally. Oh yeah, anyway, the point is that one of the things he said was that far too many people come to church on Sunday morning in order to say, “hi” and then go back to the real world. And what he, and I, are suggesting is that what we are doing in here is actually the real world, that God is in control, that he is the one of love and grace, that we are a people who love one another, and our call is to take that real world out there! That’s a part of our response to God.
And today we want to look at how another response to God’s love and grace is that it changes how we spend our time. That the resurrection, as it’s been said, should redeem our calendar. Now hopefully this concept is not new to us here at ZPC. We talk about it with some regularity because of the fact that we know how easily, with all the activities that we are in, with jobs and schools and this and that, that our calendars can get out of whack and begin to reflect, not the peace of Christ but the franticness of our world.
There are lots of different ways to look at time and today I want us to look at it through the lens of Colossians 3. I initially thought of this passage because the 17th verse was brought up in the book Believe a book that has been the template of our True North series. The 17th verse says that “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” This speaks to the importance of thinking through what difference it makes to us, in every minute of our lives, that Christ has loved, saved and redeemed us. It’s yet one more reminder of the fact that the difference Jesus makes in our life should not just be that it means we go to worship on Sunday mornings.
But as I began to look at the 17th verse I also was drawn to the verses that came before this one. These verses are God’s call for us to be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, forgiving and loving. Now, let me point this out once again, that it begins not by saying “do these things,” but by saying “as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” This is the indicative that leads to the imperative. Because you are loved, holy and chosen, because you are a child of God, this is how a loved, chosen and holy child of God acts. It begins with reminding us of who we are, who our identity is.
But, what is also fascinating is to look at the ways in which Paul says we are to act. Paul isn’t just willy nilly coming up with nice things that he thinks we should do. Um, be kind, yeah that’s good. What about humble? Sure! No, from whence does he derive these attributes?
From Matthew: “When [Jesus] saw the crowds he had compassion on them.” From Titus: But when the kindness and loved of God our Savior appeared, he saved us… From Philippians: [Jesus] being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. From 2 Peter: Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.” From I John: If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” From Romans: But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” And finally John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he have his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” In all of these Jesus is being described as compassionate, kind, humble, patient, forgiving, loving.
What’s important to see is that all the attributes that Paul is beseeching us to exhibit are attributes that the scriptures give to who God is, who Jesus is. In other words, this isn’t simply, “Let’s be nice people,” it’s, “Let’s act in this way because in so doing we will become more like Jesus, we will look more like the God who loves us.” When we begin acting in this way then we begin bearing the image of God in even clearer ways. As Tod Bolsinger points out, we have been saved not simply so that we can go to heaven, but so that we can then begin to look more and more like the one who has saved us and in so doing be a light to the world around us.
And, if these are all attributes of God and if God is a God of relationships then it shouldn’t surprise us that all of these attributes are critical in order to have strong, healthy relationships. These are not just detached virtues, but virtues that connect us to one another in deeper ways. One of the things I love about Paul is that he knows that community, even Christian community is not going to be easy. The reason you have to have patience, of course, is because there are people in Christian community that require patience. The reason why we have to be told to be kind is because of the fact that there will be people who say things and do things which you will want to reply to, not with kindness, but with meanness. The reason why we are told we have to forgive is because of the simple fact that there will be times when people do things that we need to forgive and there will be times when we will do things that have to be forgiven by others. I’ve begun to think that perhaps the greatest witness to the world around us is not when we act as if our Christian community is this perfect little place full of shiny happy people, but is when we are a people who stay together in community in spite of differences or pain or missteps because we are so rooted in Jesus Christ that it is simply who we are and what we do.
So, what does this have to do with time? Well, what’s critical to see is that becoming this kind of person and this kind of community will…not…just…happen. This is not, “Hey, you’re a Christian now, so just sit back and wait to start being compassionate or forgiving.” Again, this is where Paul is refreshingly honest as is seen in this beautiful imagery of putting on and off our clothes. Every day you wake up you have to put clothes on. They don’t just jump on you. You have to decide to put them on. I think far too often we don’t think about spending our time on these kinds of thing and I think we do that to our detriment. Maybe we think that it will just happen naturally or maybe we don’t think about it all that much because we’re focused on other things or maybe we’ve tried it but have failed and so we are giving up.
But what Paul is saying is that in order to begin cultivating these virtues which will help to cultivate deeper relationships we have to be willing, with great intentionality, to take the time to invest in these things. My last N.T. Wright comment for the day is this. When talking about Colossians 3 he says, “As with the “putting off,” so the “putting on” is a matter of consciously deciding, again and again, to do certain things in certain ways, to create patterns of memory and imagination deep within the psyche and, as we saw from contemporary neuroscience, deep within the actual physical structure of our mysterious brain. Gradually, bit by bit, the “putting on” of these qualities-qualities that seem for moment so artificial, so unnatural, so “unlike me”-will in fact transform the character at its deepest level.”
This is perhaps another way to show what N.T. Wright was saying. [Play video.]
What’s important to see is that he could have just thought about how great it would be if he could ride this strange bike and then do nothing about it. Or he could have talked about it with his friends until he was blue in the face. Or he could have tried it for a few days and then just stopped. But the only way he was going to be able to do it was to spend time each and every day and no matter how long it took or how many accidents came his way he kept at it until something new happened and it finally became a part of who he was. We may not like to think about it like that, but that’s exactly what it means when Paul says that in order to do these things we have to intentionally put on our clothes each and every day.
And because of that I don’t want to just leave this with a “go get’ em guys,” but I want to ask specifically what article of clothing you want to put on. What I mean is rather than simply saying, “Go be compassionate and kind and loving and patient with the whole world,” which of course is the ultimate goal, perhaps we can begin by putting on a sock on your left foot which means, for example, “I’m going to take the time to grow in compassion for this particular person,” or “I’m going to try and slowly finally begin to forgive that particular person.” I think it’s helpful to try and shrink this down, to begin to focus on one virtue with one person and my guess is that it probably doesn’t take most of us very long to think about a virtue and a particular person toward whom you can show that virtue.
Maybe it’s a child whom you really don’t understand and again and again you are impatient towards him or her rather than extending grace. Maybe it’s someone who is continually complaining and it just grates on you and you find it nearly impossible to show compassion towards them even though you know it’s exactly what they want and need. Maybe it’s someone in your family who has caused friction and you continue to struggle, even years later, with forgiving that person. And those are just the ones that I thought of immediately in my own life! So, what is that sock that you need to work on?
I wanted to give you something tangible. This calendar is simply a reminder of time and on the back of it is our 17th verse that … The question is what’s something you can do, starting with 5 minutes a day that will help you to develop one of these virtues with someone you know. Maybe it’s praying for 5 minutes a day that you will have more patience with that person. Maybe it’s saying that you’re going to ask that person every day how they are doing as a way of trying to build compassion. Perhaps it’s taking five minutes each day to write out something kind about a person either to remember to be kind or as the start of trying to forgive someone. Whatever it is, take that calendar and put it someplace as a reminder that every day you are going to spend at least five minutes doing this. I truly believe that if you do that then, whether it takes 8 days or 8 weeks or 8 months that you will begin to see yourself shaped more like Jesus, more like the person whom God says you are.
Don’t be overwhelmed with the notion of what Christian community looks like or with how far you feel you are from that, but take one sock and put it one foot today and then again tomorrow and then again the next day until it becomes just what you do. And then pick up the other sock and start doing that. It will take time, but minute after minute we will be surprised at how God takes those minutes and grows them into the beautiful person he says you are and the beautiful body he has called us to be. For the glory of the one who created and holds time in his hands. May it be so. Amen.