Sermon 17th September 2017

Today, one of our Lay Readers, Adrian Parkhouse, preaches. The reading is from Colossians 3:1-17

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” 3:15

1.              “Thank you for coming along to see me this morning.  Some preliminaries:  we have about 20 minutes in our time together.  And are you quite comfortable? … Good.  Now then let’s make a start.  Perhaps you could explain to me why you are here? … So you are feeling a bit confused because you are not entirely sure why you have come? ….”

                  To some of us an opening exchange along those lines will be very familiar because either our jobs involve that sort of start to a relationship – setting boundaries, ensuring comfort and encouraging self-enquiry;  or familiar because, like me, we have been the one in the opposite chair, the client of the counsellor, perhaps uncomfortable notwithstanding the comfortable seating, wary about  starting a process the end of which is unclear and the means to get there troubling in itself.  Nor am I sure why I am there.  Perhaps it seemed a good idea at the time;  perhaps I am there unwillingly – because “they” said I should go.  “After all, it is not me, it is they, who needs to change”, we may be thinking.

2.              I have been so glad to have the chance to read again Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae.  It is a truly lovely read – a letter written from the heart from the imprisoned Paul to a community he has heard about but not met. As Gill explained in the first sermon in the series, it gave an opportunity to rejoice in the way that their new faith in Jesus was so evident in the way they were living their lives.  JB Phillips captures the tenor in his translation of 2:4:  … though a long way off in body, in spirit I am by your side, watching like a proud father the solid steadfastness of your faith in Christ.”  It is an affirming letter.  Even its theology is simple to grasp:  Trevor summed it up last week:  if you have Jesus, you have all you need.

                  And of course there are some classic and memorable Pauline phrases to be found:  for example, today, “set your hearts on the things above”;  and from the first chapter,  ^“For in [Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him”.  I found this echoed one of those many pearls of wisdom that Ben casts around when he preaches – do you remember “creation being written through the whole Bible like Brighton in a stick of rock”?

                  So if you haven’t yet had the chance to sit and read the letter from end to end then try to make the time to do so.

                  But be warned:  it is a letter about change.  It is about the change that follows from “having Jesus”.  The change from the old to the new life.

3.              Our passage today begins with a reference back to the theology that Trevor explored last week, to the concept that our baptism into faith represents our sharing in first the death and then the resurrection of Jesus:  v.3 “ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ …”.  In his commentary, Barclay explains that the Greeks would often speak about burial as being “hidden” in the earth:  Paul borrows the idea to contrast it with our being similarly subsumed and enveloped in Jesus.  And he goes on “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory”.  Christ, who is our life.  For Paul remember “to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).

                  Thus Paul sets up his guidance on living the new life in the context of realising what being “buried” in Jesus can mean;  and that that meaning is capable of influencing – at the least influencing - the way we live.

4.              And then in what follows Paul builds on the theological image of our baptism and asks us to imagine what we would need to do if we were being baptised:  we would take off (“put off”, rid ourselves”) our old clothes; and we would emerge to “put on” the new clothes, the “renewed” clothes – in some traditions the symbolic simple white clothes:  “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge” (10).

                  We will look in a moment at the style and cut of our new clothes, but first I want draw attention on how important our ability to “cut a dash” is to Paul.  If your mental picture of his teaching is of a man obsessed with the intellectual details of faith then think again.  In his opening words of the letter he talks of the gospel bearing fruit wherever it goes;  and of how the Colossians’ outward lives can bring credit to the Master’s name.  And we shall see next week the importance of our behaviour to non-believers.  How we live, how we sport our new clothes, is a part of our role in witnessing to the love which provides our opportunity to wear them.

5.              Of what then do our new clothes consist?  Verses 5-9 tell us what is not included – including immorality, greed, anger, bad language and lying.   These are left on the river bank.

                  Can I say:  do not be surprised when you have dressed in your new clothes and you look at yourself in the mirror, you will find that your new life is less concerned about you and more about your relations with other people?  I saw some very weird clothes outside one of the London Fashion Week venues on Friday, but what our new suiting would look like I can only imagine.  Except of course it looks like you and you and you … .

The first piece of clothing is non-discrimination:  11.  No distinctions – neither of creed (Gentile/ Jew), nor tradition (circumcised/uncircumcised), nor culture (barbarian/Scythian) nor wealth or social standing (free/slave).  For some, left to ourselves, this would be difficult to get into.  But buried in Christ whose life is ours?

And then clothes we might expect – but remember clothes speak to us more about our relationships, than about ourselves:  compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love.  We might do well to explore each piece of clothing for ourselves – to see how it fits us, how its suits us – where in our relations we may want to wear it more prominently?

And the  towards the end of our passage, Paul moves away from his analogy and provides three checks and balances for our living the new life:  peace, which is to be the ruler, the judge, the umpire;  thankful and honest fellowshipping together; and doing what we do in Jesus’ name.  It is as if we might ask ourselves:  if I (or if we) do this, will it promote peace, can we continue our common life and can we say confidently we have done in Jesus’ name?

6.              A letter about change.  Did you note my subtle “I (or we)”?  Throughout this letter Paul’s words seem sometimes aimed at us as individuals and sometimes at the church as a whole.  I think today’s words have resonance for both.

                  For neither is change necessarily easy.  I began today with a reference to the counselling relationship because that is one space where today many folk explore their ability to change.  In some respects Paul’s picture of the baptismal candidate emerging in fine raiment may imply instant change; and in some respects it does but that he needs to teach again and again about the significance of our living live consistent with buried and resurrected life, shows that there is a process for each of us.

                  And for the church?   As Gill explained in , we are readying ourselves not only for the change of this interregnum for also for what may follow with our new vicar.  At Thursday’s PCC, the Archdeacon used the word “transition” (echoing both previous sermons in this series).  Why?  Because there is a view that the parish may have outgrown some of the ways we have worked;  in a different sense than Paul, we may need some new clothes and different ways of doing things. 

Who knows what God has ahead for us?  What we do know is that Paul could have written for us today.  As individuals and churches let’s dress in our clothes of our new life and so be ready for whatever lies ahead.

That is our 20 minutes up.  See you next week?

Sermon 10th September 2017

Today, one of our Lay Readers, Trevor Tayleur, preaches. The reading is from Colossians 2 v 8-19.

Fullness of Life in Christ

One Sunday a preacher was giving an all age talk, and was using squirrels as an example. He started, "I'm going to describe something, and I want the children to raise their hands when they know what it is." The children nodded eagerly.

"This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)..." No hands went up. "And it’s grey (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)..." The children were looking at each other nervously, but still no hands were raised. "It jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited (pause)..."

Finally one little girl tentatively raised her hand. The preacher quickly called on her. "Well," said the girl, "I know the answer must be 'Jesus' ... but it really sounds like a squirrel!"

This preacher was perhaps a little bit predictable. In our parish our all-age talks aren’t quite so predictable, but Paul, the writer of the letter to the Colossians, would certainly have approved of the preacher’s emphasis on Jesus.  The dominant thought that runs through this passage, and indeed much of the letter, is this: “If you have Jesus, you have everything you need spiritually.” Jesus is central to our faith and the Gospel we believe in.

The Christians in Colossae had been unsettled by false teachers who were saying to them, “You’re immature in your life as Christians. You need to be more advanced in your experience. And the only way to become super-spiritual is to follow our teachings.  There are spiritual mysteries and secrets that need unlocking, and we hold the keys. We alone can lead you to spiritual fullness.”

And many humble Colossian Christians were tempted to listen to these false teachers. They knew that they had much further to go in their faith, and they must have found this false teaching unsettling. They realised they didn’t fully understand everything and thought that maybe this false teaching could help them to become more mature. It could be the way for them to experience Christian fullness.

And Paul’s response to this teaching? No, no, no! If you have Jesus, you have everything. You don’t need anything more. Jesus is central.  And so Paul gives them three warnings.

·      Don’t let anyone kidnap you!

·      Don’t let anyone condemn you!

·      Don’t let anyone disqualify you!

The first warning is in verse 8; "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy…" Literally, don’t be kidnapped. Don’t be kidnapped by hollow and deceptive philosophy. The word “philosophy” here is a general terms for hollow and empty teaching. This type of teaching depends on “human tradition” and the “elemental spiritual forces of this world”.  

I’ll come to human tradition in a moment, but I’ll look at “elemental spiritual forces” first, which does sound rather strange. The commentaries put forward a variety of suggestions. It could be a reference to the stars, the signs of the Zodiac, or to spiritual powers of some sort. But basically what these false teachers were doing was to base their teaching on a cocktail of human tradition and spiritual claptrap. And Paul slams it as “hollow and deceptive”. They’ve removed Jesus from the centre of their teaching. Paul’s response is to launch into an amazing description of who Jesus is.

In verse 9 Paul tells us that Jesus is fully God. He couldn’t be more God. He’s not just one spiritual being among many. In verse 10 Paul proclaims that Jesus is the head over every power and authority. He tells the Colossians; “in Christ you have been brought to fullness.” “Fullness” is probably a word these false teachers were using. They were probably claiming that if you want the fullness of God, the fullness of spiritual experience, then you need to follow their teaching.  For the humble Colossian Christian, this might have sounded plausible. But Paul says, “No, absolutely not! If you are in Jesus, you have nothing more to move onto.”

And the message for us is that we too need to realise how much we have already received from Jesus. We don’t need to move beyond Jesus to something extra. We have been given fullness in Christ already. And that’s what the Colossians were insecure about. Was there something more they should have moved on to – some further advanced fullness or spiritual experience? “No”, says Paul. “Don’t be kidnapped by hollow and deceptive teaching.”

We’ve already touched upon this false teaching – human tradition mixed in with some form of bogus spiritual mysteries. And Paul goes on to look further at how the Colossian Christians were at risk of being kidnapped.

It seems from verse 11 that one of the human traditions that the false teachers were teaching was circumcision; they were claiming that Christians needed to be circumcised. That, according to them, would be the final proof of their maturity and of their commitment. Of course it sounds very religious; it’s related to what God gave the people in the Old Testament as a sign of their relationship. But it was completely wrong. Paul explains that we’ve been given a far deeper, a far more fundamental circumcision in our hearts. It’s our hearts that need changing, as Paul tells the Colossians in verses 11-13. He says to them that they were dead in their sins, but through Jesus God has made them alive. They have been freed from the power of sin. That’s what Jesus did on the Cross. He set us free from the power of sin – that which separates us from God. There’s no need for any extra religious ceremony for us to have a relationship with God.  What separated you from God is now gone, and you now know him for yourself. There’s no need for anything beyond Jesus. Faith in Jesus is all we need.

It also seems from verses 13 and 14 that these false teachers were telling the Colossians that they should follow certain rules and regulations, certain religious codes – most probably the OT Law of Moses. And again that sounds plausible. It sounds so religious and seemingly right; after all Moses is one of the great OT figures. But again Paul says, “No!”   In verse 14 Paul writes that “God cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross”.

So, what does Paul mean by “the charge of our legal indebtedness”? The Greek word used in the text indicates a bond or debt or IOU signed by a debtor. What Paul is getting at is that the Colossians were debtors to God – and so are we. We have failed to keep the Law that reflects the holiness of God – we have fallen short of God’s standards. We are debtors to God. And there are only two ways to deal with this debt. One way is to try to keep the Law perfectly, but that’s impossible. We will always fall short. And the second way is the way that Paul is talking about. The record of the debt is nailed to the Cross. There is a debt owed and somebody must pay. An injustice done, an offence committed, must be paid for. Otherwise we will live in a world that is unjust, where things will not be made right. Someone must pay the debt. It’s Jesus who has paid the debt through his death, and as a result we see the record of our debt nailed to the Cross. In Jesus’ death we have life and we have fullness in him.

And Paul hasn’t finished yet. In verse 15 he writes, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” When the Roman authorities put Jesus to death, they thought that was the end of him. They had stamped out whatever he might have represented.

Paul is actually alluding to a famous Roman custom, the triumph. A Roman triumph was a spectacular victory celebration parade held in Rome for a general who had won an important victory on the battlefield. The defeated enemy leader was taken to Rome, humiliated and paraded before the people of Rome in chains. While the Romans hadn’t bothered taking Jesus back to Rome, anyone looking at Jesus on the Cross would have thought: the Roman rulers have made a public spectacle of him and have triumphed over him.

But Paul declares that the reverse is true, because the Cross is actually God’s victory. By Jesus’ death it’s the Romans who are humiliated. What happened on the Cross is that Jesus triumphed over all evil, over death itself, over the mighty Roman Empire, over all rulers. And Jesus is leading the triumphal march in which he is leading the rulers of the world – whether spiritual powers or earthly powers – in triumph.

Paul’s message to the Colossians was this: “Look at what Jesus has done. Don’t be kidnapped by false teaching!” Now in 21^st Century Herne Hill no-one is telling us that we should be circumcised or obey the letter of the OT Law. But Paul has an important message for us. There are some groups that say you need something extra. In my student days I came across people who said you need a “second blessing” before you can be a complete Christian. Some of you might have come across similar claims. And they’re wrong. Jesus is enough.

Again, I doubt if we hear much of that sort of teaching today in Herne Hill. But there are other voices that we may hear. “This is all too simple. Life is too complicated for simple solutions. Are you really going to put all your eggs in the basket of one teacher?” And Paul’s response is, “Yes, you can.”  

“Don’t be kidnapped by false teaching,” says Paul. And then in verse 16 he says, “Don’t let anyone judge you.” He writes: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

The false teachers were trying to impose yet more Dos and Don’ts on the Colossians. Their teaching involved a whole host of rules about what they should and should not eat. And they drew up lists of days which specially belonged to God, on which certain things must be done or not done. Now, it’s very clear that Paul was no enemy of self-discipline. Rather the reverse. He was very much in favour of it. We do need to be self-disciplined to pray, to read the Bible and to grow as Christians. But it seems that these false teachers were saying that you had to follow these rules about food and observing festivals if you were to be saved. And Paul rejects that view. This kind of thing is only the shadow of truth. A religion that’s based on eating and drinking certain kinds of food and refusing others, or based on the rigid observance of certain special days, is only a shadow of the real thing. True religion is fellowship with Jesus. Don’t let anyone judge the way you live your Christian life, because God is judge. And the judgment was taken out on Jesus, not on you. Sure, there are good ideas to help us in our Christian lives, but Paul’s basic point is that Jesus is central to everything.

Don’t be kidnapped by false teaching. Don’t let anyone judge you. And thirdly, don’t let anyone disqualify you. In verse 18 Paul writes, “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.” Once again Paul makes the point that there’s no need for anything beyond Jesus.  We’re not disqualified from being Christians because we don’t follow loads of rules or regulations, or particular forms of worship, or because we don’t dabble with strange spiritual forces. In Jesus we are totally forgiven. That’s why the Cross is so central. Yes, there are things that we have to change in our lives. But the great debt has been paid. What cut us off, the penalty for sin, has been paid. Yes, we need to tackle the sin in our lives. Paul deals with this in the next chapter. Yes, there is plenty of work we need to do in our lives, but that does not disqualify us.

Sometimes we may feel discouraged as a Christian. Sometimes we will feel empty and wonder whether it’s really worth it to struggle on as a Christian. Yes, there will be times of great joy and blessing, but there will also be difficult times. Sometimes we will feel dissatisfied, and it may be tempting to listen to someone who claims that they have all the answers to our problems. But our confidence is not in particular techniques or mantras, but in Jesus. With confidence we can renew the battle against sin in our lives, not to win the praise of people - but to please our Saviour, Jesus.

We’re now well into our period of vacancy, and it will be some months until we get a new vicar. And in this period of transition, I think it’s helpful to look at our Parish Aim; it’s on the front of our service sheets. “Our aim is, in God’s strength, to bring Jesus to the centre of our lives and to the heart of our community.” And that actually reflects much of what Paul was saying to the Colossians. Yes, we need to put Jesus in the centre of our lives, and that will help us to bring him to the heart of our community. We don’t need to go anywhere else for inspiration. Jesus is the source of our confidence as Christians. And let’s look to him for fullness.

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending us Jesus, your son, to live as a human and to die on the Cross for our sins. Let nothing take that away from us as we seek to follow Jesus more closely. Amen.

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[i] 10 September 2017