 |
Mark Twain famously said that “Clothes make the man.” With that in mind, there’s a nonprofit called “Dress for Success” that provides appropriate clothing for job seekers. So, even in this much more casual era, clothes still stand for something.
The Colossian letter speaks of life in terms of “before and after.” Once upon a time, the majority of Colossian believers were pagan Gentiles. Then, when they received the Gospel of Jesus, they in essence put on new clothes to represent their new status as children of God. Although they once lived in darkness marked by sinful idolatry, now that they have clothed themselves with Christ, they live in the light. These new clothes represent the new, transformed self (Col. 3:9-10).
In our reading this morning, we see Paul contrasting the difference between the old and new clothes by providing the reader with a list of vices and a list of virtues. The list of vices represents their old life, their old clothes. These vices include sexual immorality, evil desires, greed, anger, malice, lies, and much more. According to Paul, when we’re baptized, we strip off these old, dirty, tattered clothes, so that when we come out from the waters of baptism we can put on new clothes that represent our new status as children of God.
Even as the old clothing is represented in the list of vices, the new clothes are represented by a list of virtues. These virtues include compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Col. 3:12). Yes, clothes speak to our identity as children of God.
Now, I expect most of us gathered here today grew up in a church setting. When we’re asked about our religion, we’ll probably answer Christian. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had our struggles or doubts. It doesn’t mean we’ve lived perfect lives. But whatever “changes” we’ve made to our lives because of our faith in God probably haven’t been as drastic as the changes made by the original recipients of this letter. Nevertheless, some of the signs of darkness listed here could’ve been or currently are present in our lives. So, we may be holding on to some of those old clothes that need to be exchanged for new ones. The reason we hang onto those old, dirty, and tattered clothes is that we’re comfortable in them. While that might be true, it’s time to strip them off and receive the new clothes that Jesus provides through the Spirit.
As I noted earlier, Paul links this exchange of clothes with our baptisms. Using another image that supports his message of before and after, he speaks of spiritual circumcision. In this spiritual circumcision, the flesh that is our old life is cut away. This spiritual circumcision that is experienced through baptism marks us as members of God’s covenant community. In this act of spiritual circumcision, we receive from God forgiveness of our trespasses, which have been nailed to the cross of Jesus (Col. 2:8-15).
So, now that we have received this new set of clothes, which symbolize our status as reborn children of God and members of God’s covenant community, the expectation is that we will take on a new way of life. That means the nature of our relationships will change. That’s because to be in Christ means that there is no longer Jew or Greek, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian (and by Scythian, Paul means something like hillbilly or ruffian), slave or free. Instead, we are all one in Christ. The one grouping that is missing from this list, that’s present in Galatians 3, is the pairing of “male and female.” We could add other identities to this list, but I think we get the point. To be in Christ means that the social and cultural identities that mark our earthly lives don’t carry over into the body of Christ. The old divisions that society sets up are set aside as we experience union with God.
Of course, even though we may have been clothed with Christ in our baptisms that doesn’t mean that our lives are instantly transformed. This act of exchanging old clothes for new ones isn’t as quick and easy as we might wish. In fact, this process of transformation is a gradual one. That’s why the fifteenth-century monk Thomas á Kempis wrote in his devotional classic, The Imitation of Christ, that we need to be patient as we face temptation.
Patience is necessary in this life because so much of life is fraught with adversity. No matter how hard we try, our lives will never be without strife and grief. Thus, we should not strive for a peace that is without temptation, or for a life that never feels adversity. Peace is not found by escaping temptations, but by being tried by them. (Devotional Classics, Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith, eds., San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1993, pp. 185-186).
Although this process of transformation lasts for a lifetime, Paul invites us to see ourselves in a new light. Full maturity may not yet be in reach, but if we clothe ourselves with Christ then we have become new persons. That should express itself in the way we live in the world as we “clothe [ourselves] with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:14).
How do we clothe ourselves with love? Paul offers a clue in the opening verses of Colossians 3. In those verses, we hear a call to “seek the things that are above.” That is, if we’re going to clothe ourselves with love and live in perfect harmony, then we need to seek heavenly things rather than earthly ones.
We hear something similar in this week’s lectionary reading from the Gospel of Luke where a man asks Jesus to rule in his favor regarding a dispute over an inheritance. Jesus responds to this request that he act as a judge by telling a story that deals with greed.
According to the story, a rich farmer brought in such a successful harvest that his storage units couldn’t contain the bounty. He could sell it or give it away, but he decides to hoard this bounty by building bigger and better storage units. Then he could kick back and relax. Ah, the good life! Doesn’t that sound appealing? Unfortunately, for the man who wanted to “eat, drink, and be merry,” his life was required of him that very night. So he didn’t get to enjoy his bounty. He might even identify with the preacher in Ecclesiastes, who proclaimed that all is vanity. Yes, “what do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?” (Ecc 1:1-2). The answer may lie in Jesus’ call to store up treasure in heaven (Lk 12:13-21). In other words, focus on spiritual things and not material ones. Then your treasure will be in heaven!
Here in Colossians 3, the focus is on looking up at the one seated on the throne at the right hand of God, so that our lives might be hidden in God. In other words, don’t get caught up in worldly things, but instead, focus on the things of God. Paul writes this word to the Colossians and to us because it’s tempting to return to the old life. That was especially true for this group of relatively new Christians who lived in a cultural context that was not conducive to living for Jesus.
The Colossian letter serves as a reminder, a wake-up call, to people who are tempted to stray from the things of God. To do so is to fall victim to a life of vanity. As for us, now that we’ve taken off the old clothes and put on Christ through our baptisms, let us now grow into spiritual maturity by keeping our focus on the one who sits in heaven at the right hand of God, so that our lives might be hidden in Christ.
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Pulpit Supply
Starr Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
Royal Oak, Michigan
July 31, 2022
Pentecost 8C
Comments