Seek the Things That Are Above

Seek the things that are above

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Preaching Text – Colossians 3:1-11

August 11, 2019

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 things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, 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.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 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, and abusive language from your mouth. 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. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

Sermon

Colossians 3.1 Seek the things that are above

I was at the Barbara C. Harris camp this last week.  The week’s theme was the Way of Love – the model of faith observance commended to us by our presiding bishop, Michael Curry.  We focused on the seven components of the Way of Love: Turn to Christ, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless (share our faith), Go (and reach out to help others), and Rest (Sabbath).  We immersed ourselves in this theme, sang upbeat worship songs, shouted a lot and danced.  It was very uplifting. 

Then I came home on Friday and decided to watch the news.  The reports ranged from murder, two mass shootings, racism, sexual harassment, general crime, climate change, natural disasters, the immigration crisis on the border, and finally after about 28 minutes in, after about 10 commercials from pharmaceutical companies promising to help you combat everything from psoriasis to deep vein thromboses, there was a nice human interest piece at the end about a wedding couple who asked for school supplies for the wife’s incoming first grade class which was made up of poor children.  It was very moving and I did, I must admit, shed some tears.

So, at camp, isolated from the ‘real’ world – it was easy to seek those things that are above.  At home, it is a far more difficult. There are just not enough school supply stories around us.

Before I ask you advice on how to keep yourself seeking those things that are above – let me tell you a little bit about the context of this letter:

This epistle is credited to Paul.  But it was probably not Paul who wrote it.  It was probably one of his followers who wrote it. There are various reasons to think this.  First of all, the syntax, word choice and grammar does not resemble Paul’s all that closely.  Second, it seems to be addressing a more developed church than the church was in Paul’s time. Third, the idea that Jesus was going to come in an imminent second coming has gone by the wayside.  Instead, the author of this epistle was encouraging people to live in a way that was worthy of Christ. Unfortunately, those who put together the lectionary left off the section of this chapter that tells you what that looks like.  The next five verses that follow our reading this morning are this:

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

So what I want to ask you today, is how do you keep seeking those things that are above?

To give you a little more time to think about your answer Kristen W. emailed me from Martha’s Vineyard to tell me what she does.  She said I could share it:

I have found that not only saying the Lord’s prayer several times a day, but breaking it down and meditating on each line is a great way to set my mind. Especially ” thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. A good reminder that it is God’s will, not my own that should rule my day, my life. Praying that God will use me this day for his purpose, not what I think that purpose is. And to remember that there is an opposing evil to God’s will and it can manifest in very subtle ways. 

What advice do you have?

Answers from the congregation included – being grateful, surrounding yourself with people who encourage you to seek those things that are above, to serve people & to try to connect with those you serve, and sing the Gloria, sing worship songs.

The acolytes are now going to distribute a handout. <see Handout below.>  The handout has some helpful advice from three different sources.  One of these sources may speak to you more than the others – but what they have in common is that their advice will help you seek those things that are above.

So – now to land this sermon – an invitation to some homework. One of the first ways to keep our mind fixed to what is above this week is to do just this:  read Colossian chapter 3.1-17 each morning.[1]  And just reflect, just notice, when you are not living up to this vision.  Also, read through the handout and see if there is something there that might help you in whatever you are facing right now.

And why this is important? It is not only important for ourselves – so that we are not overwhelmed by the pain of the world – although that is important.  But here is the other thing: if we are defeated by the world, we cannot begin to help alleviate the world’s pain.  There is a whole lot that is good about this world – but there are a whole lot of issues and problems that need our help, our prayers, and our love.  But we cannot do this when we are depleted by all that which is below – we can only do this when we are filled with those things from above.

The Handout:

Commitment Card
Martin Luther King, Jr, January 16, 1963:

I hereby pledge myself—my person and body—to the nonviolent movement. Therefore I will keep the following ten commandments:

1. Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.
2. Remember always that the non—violent movement seeks justice and reconciliation — not victory.
3. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.
4. Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.
5. Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free.
6. Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7. Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.
8. Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
9. Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10. Follow the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration.

I sign this pledge, having seriously considered what I do and with the determination and will to persevere.

Name __________________
Address_________________
Phone___________________
Nearest Relative___________
Address__________________
Besides demonstrations, I could also help the movement by: (Circle the proper items)

Run errands, Drive my car, Fix food for volunteers, Clerical work, Make phone calls, Answer phones, Mimeograph, Type, Print Signs, Distribute leaflets.

ALABAMA CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Birmingham Affiliate of S.C.L.C.
505 1/2 North 17th Street
F.L. Shuttlesworth, President

Other Advice:

From Girl Wash Your Face, Rachel Hollis, pp. 8-9

In the chapter addressing the lie we tell ourselves “Something Else Will Make Me Happy”

THINGS THAT HELPED ME (i.e. the author)

1. I stopped comparing myself

“…comparison is the death of joy, and the only person you need to be better than is the one you were yesterday”

• I surround myself with positivity

“…You become who you surround yourself with. You become what you consume. If you find yourself in a slump or feel as though you’re living in a negative space, take a good hard look at who and what you see every day.”

• I figured out what makes me happy and I do those things.

“…do more things that feed your spirit: more long walks with your dog, less volunteering for the thing you feel obligated to do but actually hate. You are in charge of your own life, sister, and there’s not one thing in it that you’re not allowing to be there. Think about it.”

Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer (summary from www.fourminutebooks with my notes added in italics)

“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind – you are the one who hears it?” – Michael A. Singer

1. There are two separate versions of you, and your personal self is just one of them.

the chatter and the judge in your head is not your real self. The one that you wake up the next day and you are thinking to yourself “what was that all about??”

1. Your inner energy is real, and the more you can let it flow through you, the better.

learn to let such negative thoughts just pass through, so they won’t block your inner flow of energy.

1. Think about death often to make sure your priorities are in the right order.

Helps you gain perspective – at the end of my life will this be that important?

---

[1] What follows 3 v.17 is the “Household Codes” which are largely borrowed from Aristotle (384–322 BC). That is another subject of a sermon but suffice it to say, as the church grew, the church fathers were worried about the church not resembling Gentile culture, so this order of behavior was added to make Christianity more palatable to a culture that valued strict hierarchy and patriarchy.