“Implications”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Sunday, April 9, 2023

Colossians 3:1-4 (Forward, p. 70) CEV p. 1234

One of the things I find to be extremely tiresome—and time-consuming—is the expectation when opening up a new bank account or downloading a new computer program—or whatever—that we will have carefully read over the contract. I say tiresome, and time-consuming, because I actually did so with a recent computer download. Just reading the ‘thing’ took me an hour and forty-five minutes! And, what did it tell me? Mostly my obligations and the limits therein. Next to nothing about what I was ‘getting out of it’!

Today’s passage from Colossians does just the opposite. It actually begins by describing what we, you and I, ‘get’ out of the fact that Jesus died for us.

-It says that we died with Christ, meaning that our old lives of sin and shame, and guilt and death, are over and done with, dead;

-it says that our lives are now ‘hid’ with His, meaning that we are totally identified with Him and at one with Him. But even more than that, that the lives we now lead, or live, are lived in and through Him. In other words, His life is now in us and we now live in Him.

-And it is says that we are now raised to a new life, a life with Him. Those are the implications of what He has done. But, there are also now some implications for us in terms of how we respond to all this:

-Our hearts, what we most value in life, our goals and intentions, should be entirely focused on heaven and what it stands for. That is what we should be living for;

-Our thoughts, likewise, should be focused on these things, not on the things of earth;

-It should be Christ, and Christ alone, that gives meaning to our lives; It is in Christ that we should find our purpose and our identity;

-We are becoming new people, gradually transformed into His likeness and bit by bit become more like Him, and more familiar with Him and knowledgable about Him. We should know Him better, and get to know Him better;

-Furthermore, we are now His chosen people, special people, people are His own pride and joy, and part of the Body of Christ;

-And, in consequence, we should live our lives accordingly: no sensual or depraved living, no immorality or greed or anger or selfishness or disobedience of any sort. Instead, we should be humble, gentle, kind, meek, patient and giving. We should be willing to forgive and willing to ‘put up’ with each other even when wronged or offended. We should live together in peace, in love, and in harmony.

-We should let the peace that comes from Christ completely fill and control our thoughts, and His message, His good news, completely permeate and become part of everything that we do.

Hopefully, this hasn’t taken an hour and forty-five minutes to read this, though it might well take that long—or longer—to digest it, much less, live it. Indeed, all that Christ has done, and what this means for us, the implications of the same, could fill quite a manuscript—and hopefully, fill our minds and thoughts and intentions for quite a while. Surely, there is nothing better that we could give our attention to. Amen.

Forward notes: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (verse 1).

“One of my favorite hymns (#104 in the Episcopal Church’s hymnal) is called “A Stable Lamp Is Lighted” with words by the poet Richard Wilbur. My choir hated it when I wanted to sing it at Christmas, as it isn’t all about Christmas. But that’s why I like it: it takes us through the whole story and reminds us that Easter is not possible without Christmas, that even though we have liturgical seasons, our lives as Christians are bound up in the totality of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Our hymns contain theology (although I avoid militaristic ones), and so we have the adage that she who sings, prays twice. On this day of resurrection, we remember that the man who hung on the cross was the baby in the manger and is now our risen, wounded Lord. Our own lives are a song from birth to death, to life again,

with Christ. That is why, even at the grave we make our song: alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”

MOVING FORWARD: “What hymn sings to you about Christ’s life? Share it with us at #ForwardDaybyDay.”

[Note: the above-mentioned hymn is not in the Canadian Common Praise hymnal.]