Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Colossians: Grace & Peace

sermon notes from the Vineyard Church of Milan 03/13/2011

Invitation to turn to Colossians…

Colossae, a small town in Phyrigia, one of the Greek states under Roman rule. Previously an important city, but had diminished in significance. Probably founded by a pastor named Epaphras, who it seems traveled to visit Paul, imprisoned in Rome. Paul wrote this letter from prison, and sent it with Epaphras to encourage the church in this rural town.

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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Col 1:1–2

Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (prefer translation that places “to you” after “Grace”)

Grace. Charis. A variation on the Greek greeting, “Chaire,” meaning “Greetings.”

Grace meaning favor. A heart inclined towards. That which affords joy, pleasure, sweetness, delight, charm, loveliness. That which a mother has towards her newborn child as he is placed upon her chest. Grace. What the local Olympic hero feels from the town when every place he goes, he is told, “Your money is no good here.” Grace. The way the bride’s gaze lands upon the groom as he receives her from her father. Grace. The light that comes to your friend’s eyes when you visit her in the hospital room, a light that says, “I’m glad you’re here.” Grace. The unexpected and hardly conceivable thing sometimes communicated in the unforced words, “I forgive you.” Grace. That which is present in every freely given gift. Grace.

Coupled with the Jewish greeting, “Peace.” Eirene, the Greek word standing in for the deeper Jewish word, “Shalom.” Everything right between and within persons. That which is experienced (in its most concentrated form) in a welcoming embrace, in a true homecoming. It’s like the embrace between the Father and the prodigal son. It’s a husband and wife reunited in long lost love after being estranged from one another. It’s a bear hug between brothers. Shalom. It’s Han and Chewie exchanging the look that says no matter what kind of hard time we give each other, I’d die for you in a heartbeat. It’s the feeling you get when you walk into a home filled with a family’s love, and you’re a part of that family. Shalom. It’s the kingdom of God at work in the human heart, it’s mercy triumphing over judgment, it’s the forgiveness of sins, it’s swords being beaten into ploughshares, it’s lions lying down with lambs, and it’s the new heavens and the new earth, fully integrated in God-breathed new creation. Shalom.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Charis and Eirene.

Favor and Shalom.

Paul, a delegate of King Jesus serving at the pleasure of God, has a message to deliver to those others who are set apart as belonging to King Jesus, those who are made family together, brothers and sisters, by their faith in the King. This is an authorized message, bearing the seal of the King. It is a blessing, the weight of the Holy Breath behind it. It is the agenda the whole letter seeks to further.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Paul is in prison for his service to the wrong King. Unwilling to declare that Caesar was Lord, and holding fast to his allegiance to Jesus as Lord, the Romans imprisoned him. Grace and peace are the furthest things from him in this world. He is out of favor. He is the one those in power have their heart inclined against. He is in forced exile, cut off, isolated; Shalom, it might seem, put out of reach.

And yet,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Charis and Eirene.

Favor and Shalom.

Of all that could be said, of every hope that could be offered, why this brace of blessings? Why grace to you and peace from God our Father?

Because the very things stripped from Paul in the natural world are the very things God is doing on the face of the earth in and through his growing family. And Paul will gladly suffer the loss of what this world has to offer if it shines a light on what the light of the world has to offer. (Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.)

Grace is the essence of the good news of Jesus the King. And Peace – the Shalom kind of peace – is the salvation that it brings. If the grace of which Jesus conceived is truly received, and grace in its turn is announced by its recipients in every conceivable way, then the heavens will grip the earth with unshakeable shalom, and unshackled love will have its way once and for all.

Grace and peace. This is the salvation unique to Jesus among all other figures in religious and spiritual history.

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Consider: What if the universe is fundamentally relational in nature? Quantum physicists even suggest that, at the very core of matter and energy, are mysterious and unexplainable relationships. That particles can maintain relationship with each other over vast distances of space, despite having no mechanism to communicate with each other. And that every observer has an impact on what is observed, simply by engaging in observation. If the basic building blocks of the universe are relationally charged, might that not be a sign pointing to a deeper reality?

What if what matters, ultimately, is how we stand in relation to the gifts and responsibilities we have been given, how we stand with one another, and how we stand with God?

Imagine I have wronged you. Imagine I thoughtlessly cut you off in traffic, causing you to spill hot coffee all over your freshly detailed car, and perhaps even burning your hand. And imagine you pull up alongside of me, and give me a “hey, dude, what’s up with that!?” look. And imagine I attempt to show you my ring finger, but instead its neighboring and longer finger takes its place. And then you wave me off, disgusted. And then we both arrive here at the church parking lot, getting out of cars, face to face. Something has happened to our relationship. It has taken a hit. Whatever Shalom might have been present when our alarms went off is disrupted. Something stands between us and embrace, does it not?

Things of this nature, less severe and more, less ill intentioned and more, happen across the face of the earth, day by day, year by year. Shalom between us and one another is disrupted – we have hurt one another by sins of commission and omission. Shalom between us and our gifts and responsibilities is disrupted – we have not stewarded them well, or abandoned them, or exploited them for selfish purposes, or failed them. Shalom between us and God is disrupted – we blame him for things we cannot control, or we’ve cursed him to free ourselves for other pursuits, or we’ve gotten bad information about him and turned our backs on him for one reason or another. And grace, grace seems in short supply. Bitterness, anger, judgment, envy, hate, jealousy, disappointment – there is plenty of that to go around.

Now back to you and me standing outside our cars.

The Koran suggests an image of the scales of justice. That what matters, in the end, is the sum total of our actions, good and bad. And that if, in the end, the scales tip towards the good, all will be well. We will be received into Paradise to enjoy our reward. Which is a notion that holds a great deal of intuitive appeal to us.

But in a relational universe, it falls a little flat. What if I recount to you some of the wonderful things I’ve done…? Is that enough to restore Shalom…? Not likely. And if Allah lets me through the pearly gates, you perhaps might take issue with him and his scales.

What about Buddha? Here’s a story of Buddha’s approach to sorting out broken Shalom. [read story of the spit…]

There is, no doubt, great wisdom and challenging perspective present in that teaching. But it doesn’t set things right in a relational universe. It does eliminate a whole heck of a lot of sin – the sinful responses to sin sin. But part of the reason that Shalom is broken is that I am broken, and in my brokenness, I caused a rupture in Shalom between you and me. You may not have made the tear worse, but the tear is still there. Buddha gives a way forward, but Buddha’s way – at least, as best as I can understand it – doesn’t seem to attend to the disrepair left behind. And disrepair is a difficult foundation upon which to build an incorruptible new creation. Which is what we are all longing for, is it not?

Enter Jesus.

Grace to you and peace from God the Father.

Charis and Eirene.

Favor and Shalom.

Grace, Charis, Favor. This is the good news Jesus announces to us, demonstrates for us, embodies. Our present circumstances and condition do not indicate the Father’s heart towards us. Nor can we project his posture towards us by our posture towards him. The kingdom of God is near, at hand, here. In Jesus, he is inclined towards us, with goodness and mercy. Even in our distress, our mourning, our pain, our sin….

When Jesus is incarnated... (peace on earth, goodwill towards humankind…)

When Jesus heals…

When he invites…

When he dines…

When he blesses…

When he dies… (no greater love has anyone than this, than he lay down his life for his friend…)

This is the grace available to me in the nearness of God’s kingdom announced by Jesus, standing outside of the car. Grace that I trust by repenting… And this is the grace available to you in the nearness of God’s kingdom announced by Jesus, standing with me outside of the car. Grace that you can trust by extending forgiveness.

Grace, Charis, Favor. This is what we receive by trusting it. By trusting Jesus. This is what we place our faith in as we follow Jesus in giving it away to others. By repentance. By forgiving. By serving. By generosity. By practicing self-giving love. By loving our enemies. By speaking words of encouragement. By healing the sick. By casting out demons. By serving the poor. By working for justice. And on and on.

And what grace makes way for is peace. Eirene. Shalom.

First with the Father, of course. As we receive the grace of Jesus, we are delivered from exile. We become his brothers and sisters. We become adopted children of his Father. His Spirit is deposited in us, testifying with our spirit that we are God’s children. That all is right between us. That we are at home at last in his Kingdom.

And as we give grace away, expressions of exile all around give way to peace as well. To Eirene. To Shalom.

Forgiveness…

Service…

Generosity…

Repentance…

Just to name a few.

And this is how the Kingdom comes. This is how the heavens establish a foothold on the earth. This is how the gospel takes root. This is the good work begun in us that Jesus will bring to completion.

Peace. Eirene. Shalom. In every incarnation. Jesus, all in all, holding all things together, reconciling to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

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Practical Tips:

1. Repent to somebody. Do you perceive a lack of Shalom in a relationship? Perhaps you sinned. Perhaps you had a sinful response to sin. Own your bit and repent. It will be a step of trust in the Grace of God. Watch the kingdom come and make new foundations for shalom.

2. Forgive somebody. Perhaps somebody sinned against you. Perhaps somebody had a sinful response to your sin. Recognize the debt you are owed, and cancel it, in your heart at least. Watch the kingdom come and make new foundations for Shalom.

3. Give the Prince of Peace a chance. Trust the salvation Jesus offers for the disrupted Shalom between you and God, and you and yourself… Take note of the absence of peace in both of those areas, and decide to surrender your best attempts to make those things right and instead become his follower, responding to his invitation to come to him so that he can give you rest…

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