“A question of focus”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, May 7, 2022
Colossians 3:1-17 (Forward, p. 9) CEV p. 1234
Never was it so apparent to me how important a sense of long-distance focus was. We were travelling on Germany’s autobahn from Frankfort to the Black Forest and our driver was taking us there at speeds well beyond 200 km. per hour. Of course, that meant that he had to be incredibly alert and observant, even to the point of noticing and understanding traffic patterns many kilometers distant—for instance, if there was a slow-moving vehicle in our lane or some roadway congestion up ahead.
The matter of focus, or what we focus in life, is the theme of today’s Scripture passage. This is evident even in its opening verses:
“You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side. Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory” (verses 1-4).
The rest of the passage spells out the implications of just what that means. Here Paul begins with the ‘shall not’s’, the things to avoid. These may be grouped under several headings:
a) The sins of the flesh (bodily appetites):
“Don’t be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex” (verse 5a);
b) The sins of the mind (our thought life):
“Don’t be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts” (verse 5b);
c) The sins of desire (our goals and ambitions):
“Don’t be greedy, which is the same as worshipping idols. God is angry with people who disobey him by doing these things” (vs. 5c-6);
d) The sins of the feelings (our emotions):
“You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil” (verse 8b);
e) The sins of the tongue (our words):
“You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits” (verse 8c-9);
As you might guess, these constitute massive changes in their lives, in their behaviour. And no wonder. As Paul says, “Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better” (verse 10). And really, it doesn’t matter or depend upon who you are, or what your background happens to be, as he explains in some detail in verse 11. No matter who you are, “God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people” (verse 12a).
And not only does this have some implications in terms of what they are not to do, it also says something about what might be considered the positive side of their lives. They are to be gentle, kind, humble, meek, patient, compassionate, loving and forgiving in their relations with each other. After all, Paul says, Christ has chosen you to live together in peace (verse 15). And so that peace is to be exhibited in every part of their lives, in their thoughts and words, and especially in their sense of gratitude and their care for each other. Their focus is to be on things above and their lives are literally to be filled with and controlled by Christ Jesus, and that will make all the difference in the world. But it is that focus, that perspective, that changes everything. Amen.
Forward notes: ”Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against one another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (verse 13).
“Perhaps the greatest challenge in raising our kids was teaching them to apologize and forgive. With their shoulders hunched up, backs turned, and scowls on their faces, they would spit out, ‘I’m sorry,’ and ‘You’re forgiven,’ even though it was clearly lip service. As they grew into adults, they have come to understand that true forgiveness forges lasting bonds. When we forgive, we hold the relationship to be more important than whatever evil has come between us, and we make that love present again.
“In this Eastertide, the Lord has much to forgive. He was abandoned to the whims, fears, and vanities of this world and its powers and murdered in the most cruel and painful way. His closest followers stood idly by or fled, even denying association with him. More than 2,000 years later, we do the same things, betraying our Lord in our words and deeds, things said and unsaid, done and undone. Yet Jesus offers forgiveness, again and again. And through that ultimate gift of love, Jesus makes manifest his peace.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Is it harder for you to apologize or forgive? Why?”