The Next Step
Sermon
You Have Mail From God!
Second Lesson Sermons For Advent/Christmas/Epiphany Cycle C
Paul's letter to the Colossians has a rhythm to it, "put out ... put on." It's a rhythm with which we contemporary Christians can resonate. There is a certain throwing away of past practices that eventuates in every productive life. One year I decided to use the time after Christmas to rid myself of my old clothes. With great zeal I threw the old, out-of-style ties, shirts, sweaters, and pants into the trash. Right there, amid the mangled and torn Christmas wrappings, the faded, dry greenery, and the cracked and broken decorations, sat my old clothes. They no longer served me. I no longer believed in them. They had failed to keep up with my needs and my desired personae. But, alas, my closet was then virtually empty. I had nothing to wear. Consequently I had to go shopping for an entirely new wardrobe. Trying to find something to "put on" was more expensive, tiring, and agonizing than tossing out the old attire.
To get rid of that which isn't wanted is fruitless if one does not take the next step and replace it with something that is much more effective.
To decide to stop paying rent is a momentous decision only if one is willing to take the next step and purchase a house. To remove a diseased limb is to leave one less than whole without a willingness to take the next step and undergo rehabilitation. To decide not to be single pales before the next step of committing oneself to being married.
It's always that next step that causes us to pause. We become like the crab that has moved out of its old shell, floating in a vulnerable, exposed state over the waters of existence, waiting on the next protective shell to cover our feebleness.
Life after Christmas is not all sweet. After our wonderful Christmas celebrations we are confronted with the fact that the Kingdom has not yet arrived. The week after Christmas is the anniversary of some less-than-angelic episodes in human history. The day after Christmas is when the church commemorates the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Only two days after Christmas in 1941 the Japanese bombed Manila. On that same day in 1972 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. On December 28 back in 1890, the horrible battle of Wounded Knee took place on the American plains.
If we are going to put out the Christmas lights, we had better find some practical ways to turn on the lights of everyday kindness, for our world seems to need a witness in the days immediately following the putting away of the theoretical celebration of the nativity. Ringing out the old is but a prelude to a dangerous wrestling with the new.
Letting go of the old ways always creates the terror of embracing new ways. In Paul's wonderful letter to the Colossians he begins with a great house cleaning of old gods and old practices. "Let no one take you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy"(2:8). "Do not ... do not ... put out ... put out." To a people obsessed with nature worship, astrological speculation, and wisdom teaching drawn from Hellenistic mystery cults, Paul was adamant: "Put out your old religious clothing. Get rid of the old. Don't live with excessive food, drink, sex, and mortification of the human body." The first half of the letter is a clear list of taboos. The old ways are dead. He talks constantly about the need for a "make-over." And if you are going to get a new image you've certainly got to strip away the old stuff you've gotten wrapped up in: "fornication, impurity, passion, evil, desire, greed, slander, anger, malice, and filthy language."
We can all understand that stripping away of our old ways. But what's the next step? What are the distinctive marks of the new face? Once before, in antiquity, the Jews had faced the issue of having to put out the old. Her promised land, her Davidic Covenant, her temple, and her old language of rewards and punishments had been rendered useless by the Babylonians. She had stripped away that old stuff as emblems of her faith. In her vulnerable and exposed state she had settled on two new badges of identification: circumcision and the Sabbath. And it had worked. Put out your old beliefs, put aside the Babylonian gods, and put on the new clothes of circumcision and observance of the Sabbath. It had worked and worked well.
Now, here are some new Christians in Colossae. Paul is not only telling them to "put out" their old gods and practices but to "put away," "put to death," "put off," even the old Jewish badges of separation, circumcision, and Sabbath. What, then, is the next step? What will be the new badge of identity? What shall we "put on"?
In a switch from his excessively negative language, Paul proceeds to talk about specific and down-to-earth ethical principles. Love is the Pauline badge of the new Christian profession. Everyday love is the next step.
It isn't enough to stop worshiping idols and refrain from evil. Throwing away an old and unclean garment is, indeed, necessary. The real kicker is putting on the virtue of love which Christ gave to us. And this love is something which must bind together every virtue, for it is not just in theory but in deed.
Some years ago a rather enterprising and effective public relations expert came up with the "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelet. Many Christians wore it as a trademark around their wrists. McDonald's had its "golden arches." Budweiser had its talking frogs. Christians had their "WWJD" bracelets.
Yet a trademark is but the first step. The next step is to improve the product. "What Would Jesus Do?" has to become "What Would Jesus Have Me Do?" Here is the genius of the great apostle. He writes the Colossians that they must let the "word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish ..." (3:16).
Paul fully understands the transforming significance of the cross of Christ. It is not the "trademark" of a church that flies over the building or hangs from a golden chain around the neck of a believer. The love exhibited by God in Christ on the cross is a practical strategy for finding a new life.
The cross was used by the ancient Romans to put an end to political uprisings. They discovered that not only is a cross a slow and painful death, but it is also public. It would also serve as a deterrent to others. For the Jews the cross was an especially shameful thing. The Romans learned that in Jewish law a man being hanged from a tree was a curse by God. They seized on the perfect means to squelch trouble-makers in Israel. Hang them on a cross out there on the highway where everyone passing by would see them. If you had a problem with a group, the cross would make them scatter. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will run off. It would put an end to this Messiah business.
And it appeared to work. Jesus' disciples went into hiding. The empty tomb didn't make much difference to either the Romans or the disciples. Empty tombs were not that uncommon in those days. People were always stealing bodies. They said the same thing happened to Jesus' body. Somebody obviously stole it. An empty tomb was not impressive. It did not proclaim Jesus as resurrected. The cross did.
The cross came back, not as a curse but as a strategy for building a new world. Christians began to die the way Jesus did, loving those who were their enemies. Christians began to forgive people, in Jesus' loving words from the cross, for they did not know what they were doing.
The Romans made a big mistake. When everyone was scattered and wanted nothing to do with this Jesus, they let Mary Magdalene through the police line guarding the tomb. No one paid much attention to her. They just let her push up the yellow tape and head on. After all, she was a woman, which in those days and in that culture, meant that no one would take her seriously. She stayed there at the tomb and ran back to report what she saw.
It changed everything. The cross came back. Suddenly people were scratching it on coins over the face of the Roman emperor. People were painting crosses on the walls of their homes and in caves. People were using a cross as a strategy for building a better world. People were going to their deaths in the coliseum in Rome and making the sign of the cross and forgiving those who had done them harm. This was how the officials knew that Jesus was resurrected. They tried to get rid of Jesus with a cross. But they got both Jesus and the cross. They both came back
This was the message of Paul to Colossae: "Put out ... put on the cross of forgiveness in your everyday words and deeds." Take that next step beyond self-denial. Catch up the whole of life and place it under the aegis of the love of Christ.
Some years ago, the city of Atlanta went through the fight over whether or not to have a paid holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Atlanta settled for a supper of appreciation. Daddy King, Martin's 82-year-old father, had just gotten out of the hospital. He came to the supper from his home. He was weak, ate nothing, and scarcely talked during the meal. When most of the festivities were over, he was asked if he had anything to say. He shuffled to the microphone and this is what he said: "I'm old and I'm tired. And I'm sick. I've lost two sons and a dear wife -- all too early. But I want you to know tonight that I hate no man. I hate no man!"1
If the forces of evil took away your children and your wife's bullet-ridden body were draped over your church's organ, could you get up and say, "I want you to know I hate no person"?
That's the next step: a higher motivation for life than self-denial and vengeance. Put out the harmful, the superstitious, and the false. They do not work. Take the next step. Put on the virtues of kindness, forgiveness, compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them together.
____________
1. As quoted by Thomas Conley, Northside Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, September 21, 1986.
To get rid of that which isn't wanted is fruitless if one does not take the next step and replace it with something that is much more effective.
To decide to stop paying rent is a momentous decision only if one is willing to take the next step and purchase a house. To remove a diseased limb is to leave one less than whole without a willingness to take the next step and undergo rehabilitation. To decide not to be single pales before the next step of committing oneself to being married.
It's always that next step that causes us to pause. We become like the crab that has moved out of its old shell, floating in a vulnerable, exposed state over the waters of existence, waiting on the next protective shell to cover our feebleness.
Life after Christmas is not all sweet. After our wonderful Christmas celebrations we are confronted with the fact that the Kingdom has not yet arrived. The week after Christmas is the anniversary of some less-than-angelic episodes in human history. The day after Christmas is when the church commemorates the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Only two days after Christmas in 1941 the Japanese bombed Manila. On that same day in 1972 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. On December 28 back in 1890, the horrible battle of Wounded Knee took place on the American plains.
If we are going to put out the Christmas lights, we had better find some practical ways to turn on the lights of everyday kindness, for our world seems to need a witness in the days immediately following the putting away of the theoretical celebration of the nativity. Ringing out the old is but a prelude to a dangerous wrestling with the new.
Letting go of the old ways always creates the terror of embracing new ways. In Paul's wonderful letter to the Colossians he begins with a great house cleaning of old gods and old practices. "Let no one take you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy"(2:8). "Do not ... do not ... put out ... put out." To a people obsessed with nature worship, astrological speculation, and wisdom teaching drawn from Hellenistic mystery cults, Paul was adamant: "Put out your old religious clothing. Get rid of the old. Don't live with excessive food, drink, sex, and mortification of the human body." The first half of the letter is a clear list of taboos. The old ways are dead. He talks constantly about the need for a "make-over." And if you are going to get a new image you've certainly got to strip away the old stuff you've gotten wrapped up in: "fornication, impurity, passion, evil, desire, greed, slander, anger, malice, and filthy language."
We can all understand that stripping away of our old ways. But what's the next step? What are the distinctive marks of the new face? Once before, in antiquity, the Jews had faced the issue of having to put out the old. Her promised land, her Davidic Covenant, her temple, and her old language of rewards and punishments had been rendered useless by the Babylonians. She had stripped away that old stuff as emblems of her faith. In her vulnerable and exposed state she had settled on two new badges of identification: circumcision and the Sabbath. And it had worked. Put out your old beliefs, put aside the Babylonian gods, and put on the new clothes of circumcision and observance of the Sabbath. It had worked and worked well.
Now, here are some new Christians in Colossae. Paul is not only telling them to "put out" their old gods and practices but to "put away," "put to death," "put off," even the old Jewish badges of separation, circumcision, and Sabbath. What, then, is the next step? What will be the new badge of identity? What shall we "put on"?
In a switch from his excessively negative language, Paul proceeds to talk about specific and down-to-earth ethical principles. Love is the Pauline badge of the new Christian profession. Everyday love is the next step.
It isn't enough to stop worshiping idols and refrain from evil. Throwing away an old and unclean garment is, indeed, necessary. The real kicker is putting on the virtue of love which Christ gave to us. And this love is something which must bind together every virtue, for it is not just in theory but in deed.
Some years ago a rather enterprising and effective public relations expert came up with the "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelet. Many Christians wore it as a trademark around their wrists. McDonald's had its "golden arches." Budweiser had its talking frogs. Christians had their "WWJD" bracelets.
Yet a trademark is but the first step. The next step is to improve the product. "What Would Jesus Do?" has to become "What Would Jesus Have Me Do?" Here is the genius of the great apostle. He writes the Colossians that they must let the "word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish ..." (3:16).
Paul fully understands the transforming significance of the cross of Christ. It is not the "trademark" of a church that flies over the building or hangs from a golden chain around the neck of a believer. The love exhibited by God in Christ on the cross is a practical strategy for finding a new life.
The cross was used by the ancient Romans to put an end to political uprisings. They discovered that not only is a cross a slow and painful death, but it is also public. It would also serve as a deterrent to others. For the Jews the cross was an especially shameful thing. The Romans learned that in Jewish law a man being hanged from a tree was a curse by God. They seized on the perfect means to squelch trouble-makers in Israel. Hang them on a cross out there on the highway where everyone passing by would see them. If you had a problem with a group, the cross would make them scatter. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will run off. It would put an end to this Messiah business.
And it appeared to work. Jesus' disciples went into hiding. The empty tomb didn't make much difference to either the Romans or the disciples. Empty tombs were not that uncommon in those days. People were always stealing bodies. They said the same thing happened to Jesus' body. Somebody obviously stole it. An empty tomb was not impressive. It did not proclaim Jesus as resurrected. The cross did.
The cross came back, not as a curse but as a strategy for building a new world. Christians began to die the way Jesus did, loving those who were their enemies. Christians began to forgive people, in Jesus' loving words from the cross, for they did not know what they were doing.
The Romans made a big mistake. When everyone was scattered and wanted nothing to do with this Jesus, they let Mary Magdalene through the police line guarding the tomb. No one paid much attention to her. They just let her push up the yellow tape and head on. After all, she was a woman, which in those days and in that culture, meant that no one would take her seriously. She stayed there at the tomb and ran back to report what she saw.
It changed everything. The cross came back. Suddenly people were scratching it on coins over the face of the Roman emperor. People were painting crosses on the walls of their homes and in caves. People were using a cross as a strategy for building a better world. People were going to their deaths in the coliseum in Rome and making the sign of the cross and forgiving those who had done them harm. This was how the officials knew that Jesus was resurrected. They tried to get rid of Jesus with a cross. But they got both Jesus and the cross. They both came back
This was the message of Paul to Colossae: "Put out ... put on the cross of forgiveness in your everyday words and deeds." Take that next step beyond self-denial. Catch up the whole of life and place it under the aegis of the love of Christ.
Some years ago, the city of Atlanta went through the fight over whether or not to have a paid holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Atlanta settled for a supper of appreciation. Daddy King, Martin's 82-year-old father, had just gotten out of the hospital. He came to the supper from his home. He was weak, ate nothing, and scarcely talked during the meal. When most of the festivities were over, he was asked if he had anything to say. He shuffled to the microphone and this is what he said: "I'm old and I'm tired. And I'm sick. I've lost two sons and a dear wife -- all too early. But I want you to know tonight that I hate no man. I hate no man!"1
If the forces of evil took away your children and your wife's bullet-ridden body were draped over your church's organ, could you get up and say, "I want you to know I hate no person"?
That's the next step: a higher motivation for life than self-denial and vengeance. Put out the harmful, the superstitious, and the false. They do not work. Take the next step. Put on the virtues of kindness, forgiveness, compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them together.
____________
1. As quoted by Thomas Conley, Northside Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, September 21, 1986.
