Scripture Text (NRSV)
Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)
2:6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue
to live your lives in him,
2:7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just
as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
2:8 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.
2:9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
2:10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every
ruler and authority.
2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual
circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision
of Christ;
2:12 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.
2:13 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,
2:14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal
demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.
2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public
example of them, triumphing over them in it.
2:16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and
drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths.
2:17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance
belongs to Christ.
2:18 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,
2:19 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.
Comments:
The letter to the Colossians warns about "the empty lure" of ideas
that compromise the faith into which people are baptized. Through
baptism, the church is rooted in Christ.
I just got through reading snippets of the blog someone named Dave
posted on the Discussions page. At one point, he talks about the
Charismatic movement becoming its own form of legalism.
It seems to be so with any movement that becomes institutionalized.
Someone's insight and blessing eventually must become doctrine, which
must be followed ... While there are times when one group or another
seems to be particularly insistent on its own philosophy (to relate
this to this text), I really can't think of any Christian denomination
where this doesn't become true to some degree.
In our UM churches, I hear among more conservative, disillusioned
people, "we need to get back to what Wesley taught." Well, we ARE
teaching what Wesley taught; just not in the way they'd been
accustomed. Wesley wrote and taught a lot of different things! Why
highlight some rather than others? It's not Wesley we're to be
dogmatic to, but the Gospel ...
and that, too, is open to its own form of legalism.
I recall something Barbara Brown Taylor said ... (I won't put it in
quotes, because I'm not sure it's 100% accurate) ... When my blessing
becomes your obligation, and when I judge you on how well you
demonstrate my blessing, the blessing becomes something pernicious.
Reflections from...
Sally in GA
Sally I read with interest your reflections on this Colossians
passage. I am interested in it, because I will be preaching on the
Epistle next week. I preached on it last week, using the 1st chapter's
hymn on the "Image of Christ,"(1:15-20), and suggested that as the
Epistle to the Colossian's says, Christ is above all. This pericope
continues this critique of those who would try to put other "Angels
and Principalities" above Christ. You spoke to modern day attempts. I
agree. However I'm wondering are their other such dangers even of
those you, and I and others would support? Are some of our more
liberal groups within the church also tempted to do similar to the
charismatic groups?
I suspect there were opposing groups even within the earliest church
competed like our groups today. I guess the question becomes, how do
we (leaders in the church) keep from being sucked into the conflict?
Thanks for reflecting on this pericope
Shalom, bammamma
bammmamma asks (how many m's are there in bammamama), "how do we keep
from being sucked into the conflict?"
One way is to choose a side and play for it - and be rigid about it!
There is no conflict when you're doing that...
Another (I humbly believe, preferable) way is to maintain our own
individual relationship with God ... and keep it up to date, and keep
in touch with colleagues, and maintain a nonanxious presence, and ....
be super=human!!! Of course, that's not possible, so this is another
opportunity to let God do God's work....
sorry, I'm distracted, hope that made sense.
Sally
This reminds me of something that Leonard Sweet wrote:
"For mission's sake, what if Christians were to renounce Christianity
and become followers of Jesus?"
revgilmer in texarkana
My last Sunday before three weeks of holidays. I am going to try and
finish it off with preaching on this text as I have been using Paul's
letters the through June and July. It might be easier to use the
Gospel, but it is a good discipline for me to continue trusting in the
Spirit with the harder ones as well. I will probably include verses
16-19 as they affirm ways in which we as individuals express our
faith, all this in relation to keeping Christ central in our lives.
For being set free to live this new life in Christ, we need to
remember it isn't about the rules we set, but how we live in relation
to God in Christ. Rev. Tim, South Central Onatario, Canada
Regarding verse 18--"Do not let anyone disqualify you...": A pastor in
my lectionary group talked about Paul having to counter the Colossian
penchant for self-mutiliation and other odd behaviors, thinking that
this kind of sacrifice was necessary to bring them closer to God. God
does not ask us to sacrifice ourselves or our children because God has
already provided the sacrifice.
I argued with him a bit here and said that perhaps we have to
re-define "sacrifice," thinking of Romans 12:1-2. Sacrifice not
resulting in harm or deprivation, but that results in life.
Just some early thoughts. Sybil in KS
This is an interesting pericope full of promises and warnings. The
warning is obvious - don't fall prey to the human misconstructions
which surround (even moreso today, it would seem) the Christian faith.
But, I want to ponder the promises for a moment.
What does it mean to us to read that "you have come to the fullness in
him" when just before we read "in [Christ] the whole fullness of the
diety dwells bodily?
We are "circumcised [made part of God's chosen people?] with a
spiritual circumcision."
We are buried in baptism and raised from the "dead in trespasses" in
Christ.
God has erased the record of our sins [and I fervently hope he doesn't
have a heavenly "recovery" program.]
These are all heavenly promises concerning the manner in which we are
to approach the totality of living - enriched, embraced and welcomed
by God through Jesus Christ...
And, then we return to the warning. Do not let anyone condemn ....
Paul writes of food and drink and the religious abstemptions imposed
from outside the faith in Christ - even by some inside - and warning
us of humanly constructed issues interfering with our worship of God.
Question: We know that the "world" is at best ambivalent toward the
Christian faith, and in some cases, hostile toward people who claim
Christ as Lord. But, Paul is writing this to a church about religious
observations which if I recall correctly, were being taught by others
as a necessary adjunct to the "correct" observance of this new faith
with the underlying implication that faith in Christ was not
sufficient. What, then, under the "shadow of what is to come" has
arisen today which denies the suffiency of Christ. The mention of the
"worship of Angels" leads to a possible question about the recent
interest in angels in popular culture.. There is the cultural
overshadowing of Christian celebrations - Holy Week has become Spring
Break, Christmas has become the Winter Vacation. Within the Christian
faith - we are exhibiting Orwellian "Animal Farm" characteristics -
only instead of all animals being created equal, but some being more
equal than others - some Christians practices are equal, but some are
more equal than others - the manner of baptism; the question of
whether you are a Christian if you cannot speak in tongues or have a
personal prayer language; and if you are a woman are you allowed to
fill this pulpit dedicated to Christ still abound in this faith. There
are even some "theologians" who speak of the church being held captive
by either the liberals or the conservatives, depending on which flavor
of theology one finds most appealing.
How do we avoid focusing of the plentitude of things which surround
and distract from keeping our focus on Christ? What does it take to
return to "living our lives rooted and built up in him?" What is the
new way Christians must have of dealing with and negating the effects
the worldly influences which seek to minimize Christ in our time by
exalting the difficulties with which we must interact?
Pondering in South Georgia, Rev. Rick
The command to live rooted and built up in Christ is so essential to
our Faith yet why do so many insist on being lead astray. Many
Churches I know struggle to keep the members coming while the World
Wrestling Federation packs 'em in! Truth, honesty, goodness and value
appear not to be attractive. Am I missing something? It makes me
wonder if I took some of the choir members and threw them down the
Chancel stairs, would more people come to worship? My cynicism is
running away with me. A W-G rocky coats Me
This passage is troubling to me. I'm serving a congreation where it
seems very little growth is taking place. To me Christianity is all
about relationship, between God and humanity made possible though
Christ. It seems that in many people relationship has been replaced by
cold steril faith. How can we move our people back to this kind of
relationship and the growth that comes with it? Any ideas? Frank in
Kansas
According to verse 8, is there a natural difference between human
tradition and Christ?
It's the Real Thing!! Remember the Coke commercial of days gone by?
Little seems to change - many today are also ready to worship angels
while they are not at all interested in worshiping Christ. What does
it mean for Christ to be the "Real Thing" in our lives? in the lives
of our parishioners? When I was about 30 I had what is now called a
"Near Death Experience" I was very ill in the hospital, and comotos. I
could hear others, but could not talk to them. I knew I was on a
journey like none I had ever experienced before. People would come in
my room and say I was going to die and that I was leaving them. I was
going away. But, although I felt like I was on a journey I did not
feel like I was going anywhere. Only to a differant reality. I did not
see God or a great light, but I knew God was holding my hand guiding
me into this new reality. I was filled with great joy and expectation.
I was happy, comforted and wanted so bad to tell them I was not going
away - I was there with them. I knew also that what we count on this
earth as reality does not last - it does not matter - it is not what
is truly real - reality is God - beiing with God - loving God and I
recieved this great gift through the love of Jesus Christ! That is
reality!! Life is not a fairy tale. In fairy tales you kiss a frog and
get a prince. In real life you kiss the Prince of Peace and become a
frog. ( a FROG is on who is Fully Relying On God.) jmj in Wisconsin
