Pentecost 6C 2019
Fr. Dale Matson
Today I would like to focus on three
things. First, I would like to provide a short overview of Paul and his letter
to the Colossians. Then I would like to discuss the love of God and finally, I
would like to talk about part of today’s epistle reading from Colossians.
Paul was converted about AD 36. Colossians
is considered one of Paul’s later letters written while he was imprisoned in
Rome. That includes Philemon possibly written the same year in AD 62,
Philippians and Ephesians. Paul was martyred in AD 68.
Evelyn Underhill, one of the saints of the
Anglican Church, wrote the following in her book, The Mystic Way A
Psychological Study In Christian Origins, “There is a marked development in
the Pauline epistles, which also throws light on their author’s growth in the
new life. The series of letters from 1st Thessalonians to Philippians, from
A.D. 50 to A.D. 60 clearly reflect the changes taking place in the mind which
composed them: its steady process of transcendence, its movement on the Mystic
Way.” (1913, p.180).
The late Anglican Bishop of Durham J.B.
Lightfoot offered fascinating comments in his book Biblical Essays (1893) “1st
and 2nd Thessalonians reveals Christ as Judge and penance. Romans, 1st and 2nd
Corinthians and Galatians reveals Christ as “Savior-God”. Philippians,
Philemon, Ephesians and Colossians portray Christ as the “Indwelling Word”. “We
turn to the third group of Epistles and at once we notice a change of
subject-matter. The metaphysical, mystical, contemplative aspects of the Gospel
are brought out into special prominence.” (p.232).
The church has traditionally attributed all
the epistles mentioned here, to Paul. Modern scholarship has cast doubt on the
authorship of many of Paul’s letters but has not always considered the fact
that Paul was not the same person thirty years after his conversion.
This Sunday marks the second set of
readings from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Where Paul states both doctrinal
truth and proper conduct for the church members. As I was listening to the
Epistle reading last week, I was struck with how much God the Father participates in our salvation. “9 And so, from the
day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled
with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so
as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit
in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being
strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance
and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from
the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:9-14) While Christ is the means of our Salvation, God the Father is the author of our salvation.
One of the first songs children learn is
“Jesus Loves Me” but one of the first Bible verses they learn is from John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
We often talk about Christ revealing God
the Father but in Matthew we hear “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I
am?’ 16 Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’
17 And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and
blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’”
In First John we hear this, “Beloved, let
us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of
God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is
love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his
only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love,
not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God
abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:7-12)
People tend to think of God the Father as
the Creator, God the Son as the Redeemer and God the Holy Spirit as the
Sanctifier. But listen to what Paul stated about Christ in Colossians, “All
things were created by Him, through Him and for Him.” It is truly the Trinity that is always at work together.
This week, we hear about Paul's Ministry to
the Church. Which begins on a mysterious note.
“24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your
sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for
the sake of his body, that is, the church”. Let me begin with an attempt to
offer my understanding of what Paul is saying about suffering.
Over the years many great Bible
commentators have struggled, attempting to deal with verse 24. What could
possibly be lacking in Christ’s
afflictions? Wasn’t His sacrifice sufficient?
Formerly in our rite one service the priest
or bishop would say in Eucharistic Prayer I, “All glory be to thee, Almighty
God, our heavenly Father, for that thou, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine
only Son Jesus
Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption; who made
there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and
sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole
world…” I don’t think that Christ’s finished work could have been stated more
emphatically than this.
What Paul is saying is that
his own sufferings must be completed.
It is Paul’s suffering that is lacking and must be filled up. Suffering for the
sake of the church is holy suffering and few are called to this level of
suffering. St. Teresa of Calcutta once asked Christ to drink to the last drop
from His cup of suffering. Following that, her spiritual desolation lasted more
than 20 years. Her memoirs owned by the Church were published and describe her
terrible sadness and isolation even from God.
“According to tradition,
St. Francis of Assisi prayed the following prayer:
‘O Lord Jesus Christ, may I, as far as it is possible, feel in my soul
and in my body the suffering in which you, O gentle Jesus, sustained in your
bitter passion.”
In response to his earnest prayer, the Lord
appeared in the form of a seraph, or a six-winged angel (They are usually
considered the highest order of angelic beings, immediately above the Cherubim,
and their special duty is to love God) Then Jesus bestowed on St. Francis the
wounds of his suffering. St. Francis had been marked with the love of Christ,
the stigmata.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/all-saints-of-the-seraphic-order-feast-733
I believe we at
St. James were blessed to know a saint of the Seraphic Order in Danny
Fahrenbacher. After being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009, he passed into
the greater life nine years later in 2018. During that nine-year period, Danny
experienced several painful infections and endured X-rays, cat scans, pet scans
and several surgeries. His pain management had been ongoing and difficult.
Danny was hospitalized 10 times the final year of his life. In all of this Danny remained upbeat and
hopeful. Danny was God’s reminder to all that some are called to a higher level
of seraphic suffering, just as some are called to martyrdom. Our suffering
helps us identify with the suffering of our Savior.
Each of us is called into union with
our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. For all of us there will be suffering to one
degree or another and in one form or another The suffering may be psychological,
physical or spiritual. I have had struggles with depression and anxiety and my
age related chronic physical illnesses have made me more compassionate less
self-righteous and less judgmental. My
suffering is really co-suffering with Christ and His body the church. The
suffering has driven me closer to Christ. Suffering is the refiner’s fire.
Suffering moves us along the road to Sanctification. Christ is the only name we
were given. He is the only remedy we seek and He is the only hope we have for
eternal life where there will no longer be pain and suffering.
Finally, I want to conclude with Paul’s
statement about “…the mystery hidden for the ages but now revealed to his
saints.” 27 To them God chose to
make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this
mystery, which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory. Now, the Gentiles have access to God. It is in them that Christ
dwells. My prayer is that we
may be in Him and He in us. Amen
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