8 January 2007

The upcoming series will be new for 2007 and it is based on the Letter to the Colossians.

In our prayer for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on you behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. (Colossians 1:3-8)

We must be able to see that the life of the faithful community is about life. It is not a mere intellectual agreement with a bunch of propositions about God. It is meant to be about life. I was not going to start with this section of Colossians but when I re-read the piece it was so life-filled, I had to do it. When I say life filled I want to pull us all from the word faith through the word love and into the word hope. I want to do that by saying that these must be seen as a part of the reality of the life of the community. These folk are considered to be people of faith because there is a life among them that demonstrates a foundation that is made flesh through the love that they have among them. Their love for one another - something that must have also been demonstrated by this guy Epaphras - points to something more than the usual kind of love that is seen in the world. This loving life points to their trust in the one who they were told - is on their side in all things...all things! The emphasis can be added here because the faith is in what is promised - what stands in front of us...pulling us...assuring us...bringing peace because of what will be. Hope pulls a community through the fumblings and stumblings of any community and does not let anyone stay stuck in the quagmire of despair over what can be seen. This love happens because of a faith in what is outside of our reality and our greatest expectation - hope. When a community is a witness to such a reality - a life - it is noticed and it becomes a witness that is greater than any words...and even becomes the living translation of such words of faith.

Connection: The mire of today can become thick and unforgiving. And yet, we are invited to lift up our eyes to that which is a part of our lives - no matter what...God's eternal "yes" for us...a "yes" in the face of every "no" that may try to tackle us.

By your love, O God, we find space to experience the fullness of life that is available to us and thus becomes available to others. We give you thanks for what you make of us. Amen.