by Pastor Harlan Heier
Put on them, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
–Colossians 3:12-17
What does it take to be a winning team? If it’s an athletic team, it’s obvious that the players must have talent. It’s also obvious that talented players don’t necessarily equal a winning team.
To be a “winning team” every player must accept the unity of the team of which he or she is a member. Part of the unity of the team is the fact that its members share the same goal. A member of a basketball team is hardly recognizing his or her team’s goal, if in the middle of the game; he or she walks off the court to talk to a friend. Part of a team’s unity is its recognition of what it wants to accomplish. In the case of a basketball team, the goal is obviously to play the game in such a way as to score more points than the opponent.
Today’s text points to the unity we Christians share. The people of Colossae are called “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, . . .” Later in the passage Paul reminds them of the peace of Christ “to which indeed you were called in the one body.”
Centuries ago the children of Israel became “God’s chosen” through the call of Abraham. No matter how badly they forsook God and God’s ways God continued to consider them chosen. Generation after generation God called them to be “holy and loved.” That call always pointed to the purpose promised to Abraham, “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, . . . and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”
Then the promised blessing happened. God’s Son, through his mother, Mary, a descendant of Abraham, became the instrument of God’s call. By the sufferings and death of Jesus of Nazareth, a new Israel, the church, came into being. Now the Colossian Christians and you and I are “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” We are members of “the one body.” Like the members of a team, we remember who we are together. As members of the church, we celebrate and look for ways to express our unity. We do so recognizing God gave us our unity long ago. We are one because God loves us.
Because of God’s love for us our love for one another is part of our unity. In our text Paul writes: “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Love for one another cancels the jealousy that can make it difficult to work together. Harry Truman once said, “It’s amazing how much you can accomplish, if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Love honestly doesn’t care who gets the credit, but rejoices when people’s needs are met.
As the church, you and I have been given a goal described in today’s lesson: “And whatsoever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.”
What a privilege! Think what it would mean if, for example, Warren Buffett gave us permission to use his name to accomplish our goals. We would have all his power and privilege at our disposal. Doors would be opened that we could never open ourselves. At the same time, what a challenge! We would have to weigh with extra consideration just what we wanted to accomplish to be sure it was worthy of the reputation of our benefactor.
Warren Buffett has not given us permission to use his name, but the Lord and Savior of the world has. We have the power and prestige of none less than the Son of God at our disposal. That means we must put everything we do as individuals and as the church to the test: Is it worthy of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Can we submit it to him for his stamp of approval?
Much of today’s text describes attitudes and actions by which we express our oneness as “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” and “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” “Put on then, . . . compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. . . . And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. . . . And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
In order for those things to be the rule, rather than the exception, even among Christians, two other principles of “a winning team” must be present. First, every player must contribute what he or she does best.
How often do you and I ask, “What is it I can do to contribute to the life of our congregation?” When we do that, we need to be careful not to sell ourselves short. Sometimes I think we Christians have learned the lesson of humility too well and use it as an excuse for not contributing to our life together. We need to remember that even the “one talent” servant in Jesus’ parable was held responsible for what he did not use.
On the other side of the coin, every player on a “winning team” recognizes the contributions of the other team members, and encourages and helps them use their abilities.
How often have you and I asked, “What have I done to recognize and encourage my fellow Christians to ‘do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?’ When was the last time I spoke an encouraging and appreciative word to a Sunday School teacher, a choir member, a council member, someone I saw offering loving help to another, a pastor? Or am I more apt to stand on the sidelines and criticize so that those who are doing Christ’s thing want to say to me, ‘I like my way of doing Christ’s work better than your way of not doing it!’”
Our theme for this service is “the cross and our witness in a common life.” No matter how separate our lives are outside the church, in the body of Christ we are “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” As Christians our call is to a life bound together by God’s love for us and demonstrated by our love for one another. May you and I accept God’s challenge to be a team, sharing a common goal, contributing our abilities, and encouraging others in their service. Only then can we “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
