Meditation on Colossians 3:12-17
First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown
Pastor Karen Crawford
Nov. 19, 2023
I had the joy of presiding over an outdoor wedding in Sayville on Friday. More than 200 people came. The bridal party included 8 women and 8 men, plus children: an 8-year-old ringbearer named Anthony; two flower boys- 4-year-old Oliver pulling a wagon carrying 9-month-old Lukas; and babe of honor Ariya; the tiny daughter of the bride and groom wore a long, white gown.
The wedding garb was elegant, exquisite down to the tiniest detail. It was perfect except for the part about it being a cool, breezy fall day. Women in strapless and short-sleeved gowns shivered in the cold.
I had this feminine moment when I felt plain, in the presence of the wedding party’s finery. I felt different. And I was. Knowing that I would be presiding over an outdoor wedding in the late afternoon on a cool fall day, I wore a long-sleeved blouse, black sweater, slacks, long socks, and black ankle boots. Then, I pulled on my long, white alb and stole—on top of all the other clothes.
But that moment of discomfort passed. I felt comfortable in my different-ness, as I usually do. I knew my role in the wedding. My particular calling was needed that day.
So much more has changed in me than the clothes that I wear, since being ordained to ministry. And I am so grateful to God for this calling. So grateful that the Lord has chosen me. Words cannot express my gratitude! I get to walk beside people in some of the most important moments of their lives. I am honored to be the one to offer Christ’s peace and spiritual comfort to those in need.
More important to Christ’s followers than our choice of clothing to wear to a wedding is the decision about what we choose to wear as our spiritual clothing every day. While Paul uses the metaphor in Ephesians of putting on the full armor of God to fight spiritual battles, the writer of Colossians uses the language of clothing ourselves with a closet of holy garments that are beautiful gifts of the Spirit. This closet is open and accessible to everyone. These holy garments are free to us, but they must be desired, requested, and received. They were bought for us with a price—our Savior’s own sacrifice.
.Not only do we wear the gifts of the Spirit, our first clothing as the redeemed of God is the clothing of Christ himself. Clothed in Christ, we are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. Then we choose to put on Christ’s “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” All of these empower us to do what we aren’t able to do in our own strength, including forgiving one another. Colossians says, “Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Earlier in this letter, the writer urges new and longtime believers of the first century, some who may be falling back into the old, unregenerated ways when they are encountering hard times and suffering, that they are living in a new situation, which calls for new thinking and a new way of being.
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died (the you you used to be), and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”
The writer goes on,“These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, ..abusive language…. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.”
The most important spiritual garment? We are called to put on LOVE, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Only then are we able to allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts, a peace that makes us One in Christ’s Body.
The next teaching seems to be as important as everything else we are called to wear, although you might think the phrase is almost an afterthought because of its position in the passage. But something at the end of a sentence or passage is placed there for a reason– so it will stand out. The other ideas lead to this one instruction: “And be thankful.”
Notice, gratitude isn’t something we wear. It’s something we become. Something we ARE. We ARE grateful when we allow Christ to reign in our hearts and over our lives. When we let go of the control that we think we have or that we want to have. When we allow Christ to lead us on this journey of faith—or it’s not really a journey of faith. We’re just taking a walk. And while we journey with Christ and each other, we give him thanks and praise for the things that God is doing in and through us. We are doing things we never thought we could be doing.
Gratitude comes from a kind of revelation that every good gift, as James tells us, every good thing in our lives comes from God above. Gratitude is something that we hold in our hearts; it’s an essential part of our new identities. Gratitude and joy strengthen us to walk and keep on walking the right path every day.
When I let go of gratitude—maybe this happens to you, too–it leads to all kinds of awful feelings and thoughts and sometimes bad choices. It slows me down. When I let go of being grateful, I open the door to so many sins in my heart and in my life. If I stop being grateful, then discontentment, dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment have an easier way in. Once they come in, they are not easily removed; and they bring a kind of misery. Gratitude protects our hearts from all sorts of misery that is the fruit of ingratitude.
Today, the nominating committee is meeting after worship to ask the Lord whom God is calling to serve our church family as spiritual leaders: elders, deacons, and trustees. My job is to encourage the committee in their work of discernment.
I want to share this with you. The one thing that everyone who says yes seems to have in common isn’t that they are less busy. Everyone who serves IS busy. And those who say yes aren’t necessary more experienced or more confident of their gifts.
How do we know when God is calling us? The reality is that God is calling ALL of us to serve; the question is, “To what particular ministry is the Lord calling us?”
These are some things that I believe are needed when discerning a calling to a particular ministry. First, it takes trusting that the Lord is in the calling—that it IS a calling that has come from God and that God and your brothers and sisters in Christ will be there with you, till the end. And we will.
Also, you have to want to serve the Lord by serving the Church in whatever the Lord is calling you to do. Sometimes the Lord has to help change our hearts and minds, when we don’t really feel like doing the work—or we are fearful of the work that God is calling us to do. Don’t raise your hands, I don’t want to embarrass people, but has anyone ever asked you to do something and your immediate response is, “No, I don’t want to do that!!” Remember Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Finally, those who say yes have at the root of their decision a grateful heart. They are grateful for what the Lord has done—for every good gift they have ever received from a good and gracious God. Gratitude leads us to say YES to what God asks us to do, even if we are a little nervous about what serving as a spiritual leader will mean for our lives.
The groom was anxious at the wedding in Sayville on Friday. The service was about to start; the guests were all in their seats. I had to go look for the groom. When I found him, I said, “Hey, C’mon, let’s go get married. Come with me.”
In a few moments, his life would not be the same—nor would he. Just before the bride and her father began to walk down the aisle toward us, the groom looked down at me and said that he was glad that I was there, that I was doing the wedding. I knew, at that moment, the Lord had this planned all along—that I would be there when the couple needed me, needed Christ’s peace. When the groom said, “Thank you,” I knew he meant it with all his heart.
Dear friends, you and I—we are God’s chosen— holy and beloved. God chose us; now we choose to wear our spiritual clothing every day so we can serve the Kingdom. We don’t wake up fully dressed, do we? We take from the spiritual closet the garments of “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”
Forgive one another. Don’t let unforgiveness ruin your spiritual life.
Put on Jesus Christ; clothe yourselves with his Love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Let his peace rule in your hearts.
And be thankful.
Let us pray.
Holy One, thank you for choosing us to walk beside your children in some of the most important moments of their lives. Thank you for trusting us with your work. Help us to trust you—that the callings that each of us have as your holy and beloved are truly from You. And that you and our brothers and sisters in Christ will always be with us—till the end. Thank you for the closet of spiritual garments open to us every day, from the moment we awake and give you glory and praise. Clothe us with your compassion, dear Lord, with your kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Help us to forgive as you have so graciously forgiven us. Clothe us with your love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Grant us your peace. Help us to be truly thankful for all you have done—for every good gift you have given us from above. In the name of your Son we pray. Amen.
Sharing God's Love and Grace 