All Saints Episcopal
Church
Proper 10, Year C, Track 2 (readings here)
July 14, 2013
May the words I speak
and the words you hear be God’s alone. Amen.
At first glance, it
appears that the community of the Colossians is too good to be true. The
Colossians, “once estranged and hostile in mind” (Col 1:21), have done a 180
and have been completely transformed, all because they have heard the gospel.
We don’t know to what degree they were bad before, but we do know that they
were “doing evil deeds” (v. 21). And now, all of a sudden, they are a model
faith community. When faced with an idyllic example like this, it can be
intimidating and it can even turn us off: “There’s no way we could ever be like
that community. We’re not perfect. We might as well stop while we’re
behind.”
But while the Colossians
are good Christians, it doesn’t mean that they are perfect. A closer look
reveals that the transition is not necessarily as smooth or quick as we might
presume. The gospel has been “bearing fruit among” the community (v. 6). Their
transformation has not happened overnight! They have been steadily growing in
their “knowledge of God” (v. 10), and to assist them, Paul and his companions
ceaselessly pray for this growth to continue. The Colossians don’t master being
Christian after hearing the Gospel once; they are constantly discovering what
being a Christian means, constantly discovering how to apply the words to their
lives.
The passage tells us
that, among other things, a life of faith takes strength, reminds us to be
thankful, and urges us to “endure everything with patience” (v. 11). I don’t
know about you, but more often than not I find it difficult to be strong, I
regularly forget to be thankful, and many times I have little to no patience. I
think that last one is probably the most difficult for me. In an age when so
many things are instantly accessible, when questions can be answered within
minutes, if not seconds, I have become increasingly more impatient. I want to
know now. I do so many things in the name of saving time, but then I often end
up wasting time on the internet. And then there’s driving. I may be a small,
soft-spoken person, but when I get behind the wheel I get angry--irrationally
so. Let’s just say I’m not very forgiving and don’t always have the most
charitable thoughts toward other drivers.
Being a Christian is
hard work! Our baptismal covenant acknowledges this. One of the questions
reads, “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin,
repent and return to the Lord?” (BCP 304). It doesn’t say, “if you happen to
accidentally sin”, it says “whenever you...sin” (ibid; emphasis my own). Face
it: we are going to sin. We’re human; it’s inevitable. Now, that doesn’t mean
we have free rein to do whatever we want. We should be continuously striving to
resist evil and the things that separate us from God. But just because we are
sinners, it doesn’t mean that God can’t use us. After all, some of the most
important leaders in the Bible did some pretty awful things (Moses was a murderer,
David was an adulterer who had his mistress’ husband killed, and Paul was on a
mission to kill all the Christians before being converted to Christianity
himself). But these leaders acknowledged their sins and experienced the grace
of God’s forgiveness.
Throughout the Bible
there is a cycle of faith, sin, redemption, and restoration, and this is
reflected in our liturgy, in our rituals of faith. In our service we listen to
the words of Scripture, we reaffirm our faith in the creed, we remember our sins
and receive forgiveness, and receive nourishment for the spiritual journey
ahead. When we are baptized, it does not mean that we will be magically
transformed into perfect Christians. It does not guarantee that our life will
be easier or that all our problems will disappear. But it does mean that we
will become members of a larger family, the Body of Christ, a family that is
broken like we are, but that works together to support each other in faith and
to help each other follow the way of Christ.
I experienced the power
of the Body of Christ first-hand. When I was a sophomore in high school, my
family went through a particularly difficult experience. Our church was right
there, supporting us, calling us, and loving us. There was no judgment, no pointing
fingers; just lots of cards and hugs. In that period of darkness we were
surrounded by love and prayer so strong it was almost palpable. Time eventually
brought healing, but it was the love of Christ demonstrated by our Christian
community that really made the difference.
The Gospel reading for
today reiterates how to be the Body of Christ. In the story of the Good
Samaritan, we learn that when you truly love “your neighbor as yourself” you
are promising to “seek and serve Christ in all persons”, even those outside
your circle of friends, outside your ethnicity, or even outside your faith
(Luke 10:27; BCP 305). We are to “strive for justice and peace among all people
and respect the dignity of every human being” (BCP 305). This is what we
promise when we are baptized.
But being part of the
Body of Christ doesn’t just mean that we are a social club that gets together
weekly to talk about our problems and make each other feel good. Being the Body
of Christ also means that we “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God
in Christ” (BCP 305). When we are baptized, we enter into a relationship with
Jesus Christ, and living this experience of God’s grace, forgiveness, and
promise of everlasting life should give us so much hope that we can’t keep it contained!
I’m not saying that we should necessarily go door to door trying to convert
everyone, but we should not be ashamed of our faith, either. We don’t need to
bring it up in every conversation we have, but we also shouldn’t shy away from
it (I’m saying this to myself as much as to all of you).
Last night we welcomed
Max and Sadie into the Christian life. We promised to “do all in [our] power to
support these persons in their life in Christ” (BCP 303). We will teach them
the stories of Jesus and the rituals of our faith. We will listen as they
discover and try to articulate what they believe. We will do our best to answer
their questions. And above all, we will pray for them. This is what we promise
to do for every one of our brothers and sisters in Christ, whether or not we
are present at their baptism.
If all of this seems
like an overwhelming burden, know that we are not alone. When we renew our
baptismal covenant, don’t forget that we (or our Godparents, on our behalf),
promise to do all of these things “with God’s help” (BCP 304-305). God will be
with us as we attempt to live out a life of faith. God will be with us as we
struggle with difficult questions (and difficult people). God will be with us
when we mourn and when we celebrate.
We live in the hope that
God has “rescued us from the power of darkness”, granted us “redemption, the
forgiveness of sins”, and “enabled [us] to share in the inheritance of the
saints in the light” (vv. 13, 14, 12). With Good News such as this, we, like
the Colossians, can be transformed. It doesn’t mean that we will be perfect
Christians; we will mess up, time and time again. But as we “grow in the
knowledge of God”, we will “bear fruit” (v. 10). We already are--in our service
to the hungry and the children of Miller Park, in our offerings of Christian
education and Vacation Bible School, and in our time of worship together. We
welcome the baptized into a community where the love of Christ shines through.
May we help strengthen them, teach them patient endurance, and give them many
reasons to be thankful. Thanks be to God!
