A Change of Clothes By Rev. Neal Neuenschwander Grace Presbyterian Church May 5, 2018 Introduction: We ve had some pretty wild weather here lately. They told me when I moved here that I would experience 4 seasons. They didn t tell me I would experience all four of them in one week! One good thing about these changes is the opportunity they provide to reassess your wardrobe. Knowing that hot weather is on the way, we can pull out the shorts and tee shirts while putting heavy coats away. In the 3 rd chapter of Colossians, the Apostle Paul suggests that this is also a good season to change out some behavioral clothing clothing that doesn t fit this new season in which we live. In the passage we read last week, Paul told us to put away some ugly clothing: envy, anger, lust, malice, greed, and so on. In the passage we read today, Paul suggests a new wardrobe for believers: a wardrobe that begins with compassion and ends with love. But how do we really make that sort of change? And how do we keep this clothing on even in the midst of some pretty ugly emotional storms? Those are some of the questions that we ll be talking about today. So listen now for the word of God to you. Scripture & Sermon: Colossians 3:12-17 (Pastor s Translation) As God's chosen people, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion: kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, while bearing with one another. The most important word here is compassion: Feelings of compassion. The other 4 adjectives are subcategories of that. If you're feeling compassionate, you don't want to be judgmental. You don't want to be harsh or cruel. So, it's easy to be kind, easy to be gentle, easy to be patient, and easy to be humble too. If anyone has a complaint against another, be graceful. Since the Lord has forgiven you, you should also forgive each other. 2 verbs are central here: be graceful and forgive. The interesting thing is that they are not really 2 words. In New Testament, they are different senses of 1 word (charizomai). You can translate it either way, but the concept is the same. In their mind, to be graceful is to be
forgiving. To be graceful is to be thoughtful. To be graceful is to let your grievance go. They are one and the same. On top of all these garments, put on love, which connects each one perfectly. The key word here is connects (sundesmis, in Greek). That word can refer to the links in a chain. It can also refer to the tendons in your body, tissue that literally holds you together. Some of you might remember 1 peter 4:8 love covers a multitude of sins. That s the same concept here. Sin divides, sin denies, sin destroys Love connects, love covers, love redeems. Love is the outer garment that you always need Then let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since you were called into one body. Two words are central here. The first is rule (brabeno in Greek). Originally, it referred to the decisions of an umpire in athletic games. We might think of an umpire in baseball: ball, strike, foul, fair, etc. The umpire keeps order. That s his purpose. He keeps both teams from starting fights (or he tries to). If you're going to be happy (successful) in the Christian life, then the peace of Christ must have the same role. You let God call balls and strike, foul and fair, and you don t second guess him. You choose to let things go. I ll say more about that in a moment. The second key word is one --one body. I could do a whole sermon just on that word because it appears in so many parts of the New Testament (esp. in Colossians and Ephesians). Some of you might remember Ephesians 4:3-6: make every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of love. For 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. That s 7 ones in one sentence! However you choose to say it, the point is this: we were made to be one people created by Christ, united by Christ, directed by Christ, redeemed by Christ. Anything that divides you from Christ and those who love him is sin. I ll say more about that one too. Become thankful. I love the word become. Become thankful. Because it reminds me that I have a choice. I can choose to dwell on things that really tick me off (especially when I hear the news), or can choose to put those problems in the hand of Christ: your state, your nation, your world, you handle it. In looking at my past, I can choose to dwell on things that really tick me off. I can choose to nurse my grudges and cherish my resentments. Or I can choose to let them go. It s simply a matter of focus Or I can choose to dwell on things that make me angry. Or I can choose to dwell on things that make me grateful. It really is up to me. I love to listen to the sound of the birds in the morning. I don t love the little white presents that they leave on my car. But one comes with the other. Do I focus on the singing or focus on the poop? It really is up to me. When walking up to the church each Sunday, you can rush into the building preoccupied with
a,b,c, and d. Or you can notice all the blooming trees and shrubs. This time of year, there s a new one every week. You can disregard the bulletin boards outside the building, or you can notice that one of them is changing all the time. We have a member who spends hours on that each and every month. You can walk past the greeters and ushers while just aiming for your seat, yeah, hello Or you can look em in the eye and say, thanks. Thanks for your faithfulness. Thanks for serving me today. The bottom line is that you choose. Becoming thankful (even if you re not feeling thankful) is a genuine possibility. It s a choice you make every single day. Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly, teaching and admonishing yourselves in all wisdom, while singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. The most interesting thing about this verse is the combination of directives. Teaching and admonishing sounds a bit formal/proper; do this, don't do that. Say this; don't say that. Think this, don't think that, etc. Yet singing has always been an outlet for emotion. Whether it s a dirge or a triumph, a rap song or a band song, country music or operatic art, it's all about emotion. When it works, you feel something. You feel what the artist feels. You connect in that way. In many ways, this verse is a prescription for Christian worship. But the ultimate expression of Christian worship is a sense of gratitude. It all comes back to that. Don t get me wrong. There are times for repentance: confession, confrontation, admonition, etc. but you must put those things in context. After all, the good news of the gospel is not what we do or say or think or feel. The good news of the gospel is what Christ does: what he did in Galilee, what he did on Calvary, what he does for us in God's house today When we connect with that message, when you let that message dwell deep within, then you will experience gratitude. It s a natural response. You really don t have to force it. It just is. That leads to our last verse And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. There are things that we must do. Things that we say. Some of which are difficult. But the most important thing is giving thanks. It really is. The question is: How do you do that? How do you live a life of gratitude and praise? This morning s text describes 3 practices that will help. 1 st, Retaining the words of Christ let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (v. 16) Both the words about Christ and the words from Christ Words from Christ might lead you to repentance and conviction because he often took that role with his disciples. Wrong move guys. Bad choice. Bad call. That sort of teaching is important.
But the words about Christ are compelling and profound: words about his healing, words about his preaching, words about his praying, words about his dying, words about his rising from the dead. And music somehow makes all of those words stick. In Paul s day and our own, songs make it stick. There s a reason you remember hymn verses better than bible verses..... 2 nd Sharing the grace of Christ Since the Lord has forgiven you, you should also forgive each other. (v. 13) Three words in this morning s text all have the same root: Charis: grace Charizomai: forgiveness Eucharistos: thanksgiving These are three different concepts, but they are intricately related. It s sort of like the Trinity. You can t have one without the others. You can t lose one unless you lose the others. If you re feeling bitter for example, resentful of some person, then you can t be grateful. Until you choose to release it, to let it go, you re cut off from God s grace... That s why unforgiveness is a wall--a block--not just between you and others, but also between you and God. If you want to know God s grace, you ve got to share grace (just like Jesus did). You can t keep it to yourself. If you want to be forgiven, then you must forgive. If you want to feel god s love, then you ve got share God s love. If you want to experience mercy, you ve got to share mercy. Giving and receiving are really one. So, sharing the grace of Christ is the 2 nd thing we need to do. The last thing is: 3 rd Accepting the peace of Christ..... Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. (v. 15) Some of you might remember John 16:33 I have told you these things so that you might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but I have overcome the world. In other words, I ve experienced the worst injustice. I ve experienced the worst betrayal. I ve experienced complete abandonment from those I was called to save. But Jesus loved em anyway. Jesus saved em anyway. Jesus called them anyway. Then Jesus sent them out to save. That s how Jesus overcame the world. God s offering you that kind of peace. But you ve got to accept it.
That means you ve got to let some things go--including your own sense of victimhood and your own sense of what is fair. Let God call balls and strikes. Let God be the judge of you and other people Do you really want Jesus peace? Or would you rather nurse your grievances instead? I was reminded of this during the 25 th reunion of my seminary class just a few months ago, where I got a chance to visit with one of favorite classmates, Andy Walton As you might guess from this picture, Andy is a colorful character in every sense of the word. He has a colorful accent, having been raised in the Deep South, he tells colorful stories (sometimes, a little risqué), and he has a colorful faith journey too. Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed [a] go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Andy grew up in a very conservative congregation that could summarize the whole gospel in 3 sentences--the three S s of true religion. Save yourself Save others Shut up. Forget about social justice. Forget about politics. Forget about the environment. None of that is your concern. Just focus on salvation, nothing else Then, he ran into some professors from Columbia Theological seminary, who really got his goat: Some of them made him think about Isiah 58:6-8 What kind of gospel is that? Andy thought, That has nothing to do with Jesus and nothing to do with us.
Then they showed him Jesus mission statement in Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the lords favor. That doesn t sound right either, Andy thought. So he debated them in class over and over again. This had great entertainment value. We loved it. It was sort of like a ping pong match. We loved to see Andy debating the Profs. We thought he loved it, too. But it didn t. It actually made him mad that these high falutin professors were punching holes in the faith that he known as a child. This problem was coming to a head one spring morning when we gathered as a community for worship and communion. We served it by intinction, so everyone had to walk forward. As it happened, Andy s least favorite prof was standing in line just in front of him. Andy wanted to spit. He was so angry and so mad. But then the Holy Spirit took hold of him, and he heard the voice of Jesus say that is my gospel too. That man proclaims my gospel, too. Then, Andy began to weep. Later, Andy met with that professor, seeking his forgiveness and his help. The professor granted it eagerly. Before long, they became best friends. Once made peace with this professor, Andy s life began to change, too. His understanding of the gospel became much broader than before. Now, when matters of public policy are debated in his own religious community particularly policies that affect the poor Andy is the one who stands up to quote Isaiah 58 and Luke 4. With that, let us pray...