Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1-14 (NRSV)

 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³ In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ 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 ⁶ 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. ⁷ This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸ and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

Year C

July 10-16

July 10, 2016

Cross~Wind UMC

Title: Receiving Rest From Stress

 

Introduction

This passage has made me think about stress and adversity. All of us face them. They can make us tired and weary of life.

This week has made me feel tired and weary of the darkness and blindness of our world. Of course, I wish police officers were perfect. They are not. They make mistakes. Some of them, like some clergy, doctors, lawyers, and so on, are actually bad. Yet, I would note how quickly people were ready to jump to conclusions, rather than wait and let justice takes its course. I note how quickly politicians use the issue to stir up racial animosity. Now, officers, the very people the black community needs to protect them, have a target on their backs. So much violence today. Within the black community, if you are at the receiving end of violence, you have a 90% chance of it being another black person. If you are an officer at the receiving end of violence, you have a 40% chance of it being a black male.

Yes, I am tired and weary of politicians who seem to promote division and anger precisely at a time when we need a message of reconciliation.

If we are going to find any rest and peace, it will be in a world full of darkness and blindness such as we have seen this week.[1]

            It might be nice of politicians could solve this.

One citizen, Jeff Peckman of Denver, in the Fall of 2003, came upon a creative way of resolving his issue with stress in his city. Had his bill passed, it would have required the city to “ensure public safety” by utilizing “stress-reducing techniques or programs.” The anti-stress proposal was the first of its kind in the nation and attracted attention from media outlets such as USA Today, and national television networks. In Denver, the proposal was greeted with consternation by some, hoots and hollers by others and thoughtful consideration by a minority. Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriquez found the debate distracting and exhausting: “I’m getting stressed over this bill.”
            If only it were so easy. Why do we not just vote stress away?

            Yet, I am also thinking about adversity. “No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse.”[2]

            Shakespeare developed a simple phrase that many of us might have heard.

“Sweet are the uses of adversity …”[3]

Most of us wrestle with suffering, either in our lives personally or in the lives of family and friends. When young, it just seemed like life should be better than what I had experienced. Today, as I have aged, I have come to accept the reality that a world with suffering and evil is the world we have. In most things, I can honestly say that God has worked in everything for good (Romans 8:28). In some things, I have the hope that will be the case.  

Application

            This time, as I read this passage, I found some hints as to how Paul dealt with the reality of a blind and dark world, which will cause stress and adversity. It will not surprise you that he wants us to focus on Christ. It created a sense of “Yes, if I could make this more part of my life, I would find rest and peace.”

            Rest Point One: remember who you are.

            Paul addresses these words to “the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ” (Colossians 1:1).

When we are in tense situations, it is always helpful to remember who we are. When we have concern about what we read or hear on the news, we might forget whom we are. When we are arguing with our spouse, when we are sitting in rush-hour traffic, when we are walking through adversity, when we are dealing with the challenges that modern life and technology bring our way, when we are coping with the complexities of our job — we can easily forget whom we are.
            As “saints” and “faithful brothers and sisters in Christ,” God has set us apart and called us to live our lives “in Christ.” That means that we are not isolated individuals. If you truly see yourself as in Christ, then you are also in the Body of Christ. You have others with whom you journey in the path of what it means to be a follower of Jesus today. 
            To us, then, who are saints and faithful, Paul extends “grace ... and peace from God our Father” (Colossians 1:1). Grace is the unearned kindly disposition of God toward us. Peace is the sense of wholeness and inner health of mind and spirit. He offers his wish that all of this will be with us. Does that not sound like a restful place to be?

            Friends, remember who you are.
            Rest Point Two: remember what you have.
            Paul is often defending the gospel he preaches. Yet, Paul does so because he believed that through the gospel God would transform human lives. Paul refers to what Christian tradition will eventually call the theological virtues.

Paul notes that these Christians have faith “in Christ Jesus.” This is faith as both a noun and a verb. They have the faith, the core Christian teaching centered in Christ. They also exercise faith as trust in Christ. They are willing to surrender control, falling into the hands of God, crashing exhausted if they have to, as into the depths of an overstuffed chair.
            They also have hope. That is, they are not just living for this world, but for the world that is to come. Theirs is a different mindset from others who live day to day for themselves, with obsessions for possessions, turning a god out of sports, thinking political ideology will solve all our problems, thinking the rest of society owes them a living, or trying not to be fired and kicked out of the boardroom. They are in the world, but not of the world, and their behavior, anchored in this hope, reflects itself in the third grace he sees operating in their community.
            They have love. Such love as they have, they “have for all the saints” (Colossians 1:4). Their love is “in the Spirit” (Colossians 1:8). The entire region is aware of their love. It comes from God and is a sign that God is at work among them.

            Friends, remember what you have: faith, hope, and love.
            Rest Point Three: remember what God wants for us.

            Now, Paul can share what God wants for us in his prayer for these who are “saints” and “faithful brothers and sisters in Christ,” and who have faith, hope and love. He prays that they might:
• “Be filled with the knowledge of God’s will”
• Have a knowledge of the will of God “in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,” as opposed to a wisdom that relies only upon the knowledge we have of this world.
• Have this wisdom into order to “lead lives worthy of the Lord”
• Live a life “fully pleasing to him”
• “Bear fruit in every good work”
• “Be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power”
• “Be prepared to endure everything with patience”
• “Joyfully [give] thanks to the Father”

Today, I think, we might say that regardless of your growth in biblical knowledge, theological knowledge, spiritual wisdom, and understanding, it needs to bear fruit in the way you live your life together as a community and as a witness in the world. Paul is not interested in knowledge that is abstract, but knowledge of God that affects the way you and I live.

Conclusion

            Many outside forces conspire to afflict us with pressure, temptation, stress and dis-ease. These pressures are enormous. Frankly, our difficulty is sometimes with what we see happening in political life, sometimes in popular culture, sometimes in what we see at work, and sometimes the stresses we see in our community and with our friends. Churches can go through times of struggle. We feel the stress and adversity. People can just get that tired feeling.

            For some of us, racing forward to do the next thing has so captured our imagination that we do not know how to slow down. We have compassion fatigue. We end up going through the motions, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, as the saying goes. We might be tempted to crawl away and forget the whole thing.
            Paul’s words to the Colossians, however, help us to refocus on what is ultimate in our lives as followers of Jesus.
            Perhaps grace and peace — rest-ful and stress-less living — is something we can vote for! In this case, though, our vote is in how we live our lives. We can choose to live this life by reordering our sense of who we are, by remembering what we have and by actualizing what God wants for us. 

Going deeper

Paul likely dictated the letter to the Colossians sometime in 57, if he was in prison in Ephesus, or around 62 AD if he was in prison in Rome. Paul was one of those people who could turn the stress and adversity of imprisonment into a creative moment. The city would experience a devastating earthquake that destroyed it within just a couple years of this writing. Like the letter to the church in Rome, Paul did not establish the church or even visit there. Apparently, while Paul was at Ephesus, Epaphras traveled to Colossae and established the church. However, Ephaphras has come to Paul with the concern that a teaching has entered the churches that de-emphasizes Christ. The area would become a form of Gnosticism, a philosophy that de-emphasized the material world and emphasized the spiritual. It disconnected creation from the will and purpose of God. This view had an impact upon Christian practices and ethics that Paul will address in this letter. This area would become a center for this philosophy after the death of Paul. Thus, in the short-term, they did not listen to Paul. However, in the long-term, the church would listen to the way Paul re-focuses our attention on Christ.

Paul will offer a few words introducing himself and his companion Timothy and identifying the recipients. Here is a good reminder that Paul was never alone. He was always part of a team. It also reminds us that Paul wrote to specific congregations with specific needs. Yet, the way he addresses them, they became letters to every congregation throughout the history of the church. He will then offer a thanksgiving prayer that suggests that he continued the Jewish practice of morning, midday, and evening prayer. He will thank them for their faith, love, and hope, which is bearing fruit in the world and among them. He will remind them that they learned of the grace of God from another member of the team, Epaphras, who is a fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ. He will then offer a prayer that they will have knowledge of the will of God, wisdom, understanding, all of which will lead to lives worthy of the Lord. Quite honestly, here is a reminder that our prayers are often so self-centered and shallow. I hope you will ponder the depth and breadth of that for which Paul prays here. He then reminds them that in Christ, God rescued them from darkness and blindness and brought them into the kingdom of the Son. God has redeemed in forgiving their sin. Of course, we long for the redemption of this world from its blindness and darkness that God promises for the future. Yet, we can reflect that liberation through life in the Spirit today.  

Colossians 1:1-14 (NRSV)

 1: 1-2 contain the opening salutation or address.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, Paul refers to his apostolic authority. Paul distinguishes his unique authority as an apostle from all other faithful "servants" and "ministers" that preach Christ. It is almost certain that Paul himself had not visited the Colossian Christians. His relationship with them has been through other ministers of the Word he had witnessed to and sent out on the road. Perhaps because this congregation does not personally know him, Paul feels it necessary to present himself in this letter's salutation with clear credentials. He renounces his own personal worth and trusts in God's calling.  Paul refers to apostleship because he intends to refute false teaching, not because they question his apostolic authority.  Paul spends considerable effort in this letter upholding the validity of the teaching the Colossians had received from their special preacher of the gospel, Epaphras. Paul quickly goes on to acknowledge the presence, participation and, in fact, partnership of the others with whom he worships, prays and works to spread the gospel. The mention of Timothy would lend support to what he will say.  Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon seem to have some historical ties. However, only in Colossians and Philemon refer to the companionship of Paul with Timothy.

² To the saints “saints” are Israel of the new covenant.  Paul uses this term in Romans, Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians.  God summoned Israel to separate itself from others and brought it into covenant relationship with the Lord.  The church is successor to Israel.  In the Apostles’ Creed, “the communion of saints,” referred to its connection to Israel as well as to the present community. Luther would stress the meaning of this part of the creed as “congregation of believers,” which would stress the notion of believers as saints, that is, as Pannenberg points out, means those separated by God from the world for fellowship with God.[4] Paul will emphasize in this letter the need for faithfulness in the midst of false teaching. and faithful The reference to faithful brothers and sisters may suggest hints of defection, designating not the whole community but only the faithful ones.  The faithfulness of such persons is "in Christ," contrary to the heresy. The phrase does not occur in the undisputed letters of Paul. brothers and sisters in Christ The family metaphor for believers, which is found in various places in the letters of Paul, becomes part of the address here. in Colossae: One should note that the “in Colossae” and “in Christ” reference as quite relevant to every age. The church is always in a particular time and place, but also connected to Christ, who transcends that time and place. Every local church, and in our setting, every denomination, is accountable to its historical setting, but is also accountable to Christ present in the church throughout the ages.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father. The fact that he has just referred to Christ may explain why, in the next phrase, “Grace and peace from God the Father,” does not include “and our Lord Jesus Christ,” supplied in some manuscripts. However, examples in I Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, and II Thessalonians 1:1 does not prevent the inclusion. John Calvin urges upon his readers the idea that Christians can only acknowledge the God who has shown divinity in the Son. “This is the only key for opening the door to us” if we desire access to the true God. This God is a Father, because this God has also “embraced us” in the Son.

Paul conveys his personal character, he seeks to put the audience in a suitable emotion frame of mind by mentioning his prayers for them and his suffering and imprisonment, and he seeks to convince them by an appeal to the reason.

Verses 3-8 are the opening thanksgiving. The thanksgiving in Paul’s letters gives the major themes of the letter.  Paul believes there will be continued acceptance of the apostolic teaching. In the original, vv. 3-8 constitutes one sentence. As the "thanksgiving" section makes explicit, the prayers offered up on behalf of the Colossians are a communal appeal. The plural Paul uses here may simply indicate prayers that Paul and Timothy offered.  It also suggests a regular gathering for prayer and thanksgiving by a contingent of colleagues who offer thanks for brothers and sisters "in Christ in Colossae" (v.2).

³ In our prayers for you we always [reflects the daily rituals (morning, midday, evening) of prayer carried over from traditional Jewish piety, revealing the close ties that yet remained between the synagogue and the church.] thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [In verses 4-5, note the triad of faith, hope, and love, a recurrent theme in the letters of the Paul. ⁴ for we have heard [because he did not have direct knowledge of the church. Epaphras gives the information to Paul.] of your faith in Christ Jesus [refers to the realm in which faith lives and acts rather than the object or content of faith.  Thus, he immediately makes clear the exalted Lord is the giver of new life.  The Colossian Christians were apparently facing some challenges to their faith and to the correct theology they had received from Epaphras from some unidentified group. These errant believers stressed the right knowledge of certain "philosophies," focusing their energies on the correct performance of externals such as ritualized worship, sacrifices and laws. These believers also taught that angel worship and recognizing the existence of other spiritual beings were essential to correct faith.] and of the love that you have for all the saints,[the way in which faith expresses itself in relationships.] ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, [the basis of hope is the word of truth] the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. [we could see a contrast between the true Gospel that Epaphras brought with their present false teachers. The true gospel is the same everywhere and thus universal, especially as preached in the mission conducted by Epaphras.  The false gospel is conditioned by local aberrations and limited circles. The inference is that the false teachers were trying to rob them of their hope.  Paul's emphasis on "hope" in this prayer of thanksgiving reinforces for the Colossian faithful that what they hope for through their faith in the gospel -- salvation, righteousness, resurrection, eternal life -- is not vain or unfounded. Christian hope has its basis on Christ, not on knowing the right philosophy, following the right rules, giving worship to other powerful heavenly beings, etc.]

[Faith rests upon the past, love works in the present, and hope looks to the future. Faith, hope, and love sum up the experience of the church. Thus, the thanks Paul offers ties together three highly recognizable attributes that inform Pauline discussion of the gospel -- faith, love and hope. In one long phrase, Paul tightly binds together these three crucial elements whose bundled presence at Colossae form the basis of Paul's thankfulness. Yet, as Paul praises the Colossians for exhibiting these traits, he makes a experiential point. Followers of Christ must work out these three elements of faith, hope, and love in their lives if they are to serve as witnesses to the gospel. Within this triad of virtues, Paul seems to emphasize the quality of hope even more than faith or love.]

Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, ["Fruit" suggests the gospel is a productive organism.  The winter does not stop this fruit, for it continues its reproductive energy. The true gospel offered by Epaphras is an offer of free grace.  The false gospel is a system derived from people. Paul declares that the "truth" in the gospel is self-evident from the "fruit" it has borne -- both in Colossae and "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. ⁷ This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant [offering further reassurance]. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸ and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. [Epaphras represented Paul there and was a valued colleague. Epaphras' report was that the community was thriving and prospering.  They had affection for Paul. As further reassurance, Paul soundly proclaims Epaphras as a "fellow servant" with him. Under Paul's authority Epaphras is designated a "faithful minister" -- a diakonos -- of Christ. In the Pauline letters the diakonoi appear to be a specially recognized class of coworkers with Paul who were preachers and teachers, such as Timothy (1 Thessalonians 3:2) and Tychicus (Colossians 4:7 and Ephesians 6:21). Since some in Colossae contradict Epaphras' teachings, Paul gives him clear credentials and authority.]

[Verses 9-12 contain the prayer of Paul for the church.]

⁹ For this reason, [refers to the report from Epaphras concerning the situation in the churches.] since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge suggest [a contemplative element that seems greater in later letters, a fact that may be due to his own experience.  The false teachers used words like knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.] of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, [Paul lists the effects of the three moral dispositions in three areas.  Chrysostom notes that with Paul, “he speaks of life and its works, for so he doth also everywhere: with faith he always couples conduct.” The separation of faith and works, in certain circles, is not one Paul promoted. He saw them as coming together. Worthiness is a favorite word of Paul, providing moral incentive, pleasing refers to satisfying God, fruit in good works, and knowledge of God.] fully pleasing to him, [Paul clarifies in verses 10b-12 using four participial phrases, will consist in developing four qualities.] as you [ First] bear fruit in every good work and as [Second] you grow in the knowledge of God. [While using the words of the special philosophy of those who are false teachers, Paul stresses "knowledge" that is coupled with "spiritual wisdom" and "understanding." This suggestion is not some philosophical footnote one must master that then has no bearing on behavior in daily life. The "knowledge" the Colossians are urged to acquire is always made manifest in right action and conduct - a connection first forged in the faith of the Hebrew Scriptures. True knowledge, in the Hebrew sense, is relationship with God - not some special knowledge about how the divine plans and works. Only because they are in relationship with God through Christ are believers able to bear the fruits of faith. The fruits of faith Paul lifts up that will reveal to the world a Christian with "true knowledge" include strength, endurance, patience, joy and thankfulness. Human character is too frail to produce these fruits on its own.] [Third] ¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, [the power communicated to the faithful corresponds to the divine might from which it came.  "Glory" is the majesty, power, and goodness of God.  God's revelation to us is the highest strength.  Theological virtues grow directly out of God's "glorious power," and the strength that Christians seek relies entirely on divine assistance. The reference to “endure everything with patience” suggests power to face trials, distractions, and opposition in faithfulness. They will need divine resources.] [Fourth] while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. [Paul will emphasize the duty of joyful thanksgiving. Pannenberg notes that in Paul, gratitude for the saving action of God in Jesus Christ forms the starting point and context of all Christian prayer. Therefore, with special emphasis, Paul here calls on believers to thank God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.^[5] The preceding refers to individuals.  That continues here as he speaks of patience and joy.  Some would suggest that this verse should go with the following verse.  "Inheritance" suggests promises to Abraham and nation. Note that this strength is not for displays of wonder-working; it is so "you may be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father."]

 [I would note that as Paul reflects on his prayer for this congregation, it should cause those who follow Christ today to reflect upon the nature of our prayers for the congregation and for individual. Too often, prayer becomes about some immediate physical need or some specific direction in life, or a problem in relationships. Truly hearing Paul at this point may suggest to Christ-followers today what the focus of their prayers could be.]

[Verses 13-14 are further examples of the prayed for “knowledge” and “spiritual understanding.” They continue the reasons for thanksgiving. This is what informs Christians and urges them toward virtuous behavior -- "fruits" that reflect their thankfulness. Gospel "knowledge" reveals that the Father has delivered believers from darkness and brought ("transferred") them into "the kingdom of his beloved Son." Paul closes a prayer of "thankfulness" by citing the greatest possible gifts from gospel faith -- "redemption" and "forgiveness of sins." In contrast, some scholars view verses 12-14 as the introduction to the “Christ-hymn” in verses 15-20, probably an introduction to an exhortation on baptism.]

¹³ He has rescued us from the power [tyranny] of darkness [Barth notes that the “kingdom of darkness” is the conclusion in disobedience of humanity, while those translated by the Father into the kingdom of Son addresses the future. The fall of humanity, for Barth, places all human beings within the kingdom of darkness.^[6]] and transferred [at baptism] us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, [Barth reflects on the notion of the kingdom of the Son as not being glorious in itself, but only as it becomes so in the Father. The kingdom is serviceable in a way that cooperates with providence. We do not know the totality of divine rule, and so we cannot fix the limit of sovereignty. It does not have a limit, neither in creation nor in our knowledge of it.^[7]The deliverance was not by angels but by God's own Son.  The mission of the Son is the revelation of the Father's love.  Note that the reign of Christ has already begun and the Father will perfect it later.  Note that individual Christians are those whom God has already rescued, and yet, are potentially saved.  The twin possessions of the church: a) negatively, rescue from reign of darkness, b) positively, transferred to the kingdom of the Son.  The phrase refers to a spiritual migration.] 

[Barth discusses “the active life” as a task laid upon every human being. The primary task is that of service. What God wants of humanity is the active life of their presence in the Christian community. To enter into the Christian community is to step out of blindness and neutrality into the reign of God. They do not view the reign of God as a spectacle in which they are spectators, but as an action related to a divine summons. They bear witness that it concerns them in such a way that they must confess its occurrence by their existence. It involves an inner decision of faith that tears away their souls from a mode of existence as darkness and in which now they come into the light. As total individuals, and in relation to the cosmos, they partake of the inheritance of the saints in light by the Father, who has delivered us from darkness and translated us into the reign of the Son. The inward becomes outward, the physical corresponding to the spiritual. One must step out of neutrality, of the position as a spectator that seemed possible for the moment, and with others appear on the stage as a necessary member of the chorus that accompanies the action of the God who acts. One then participates with understanding and therefore differently from the rest of the world, opposing the world and yet addressing it. The individual decision of faith includes this public and binding committal.^[8]]

[Barth discusses the love of God, meaning in this case that to love God is to seek God. Those found by God are the ones who must seek God. Human beings are those in need, but also have a consuming desire to know. As long as we are clear about divine lordship and therefore divine love, and our lovelessness and unworthiness of love on the other, we are no longer autonomous. God has taken our existence into divine life. We still have our existence and do not cease to be ourselves. We are still free. Yet, we have no root, soil, or country, transferring to the reign of the Son of the love of the Father, who has now become our root and soil. The Son as assumed human nature, has united the human nature to the divine person, in a way that our existence no longer has any particularity of its own, but belongs only to God. The reconciliation and justification effected in Christ belongs only to Christ, for we were not obedience and we did not keep the faith.^[9]]

¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, [we find the imagery of bondage continues but now rescue comes through the philanthropist who ransoms by payment.  A false notion of freedom may be present with the false teachers, as later Gnostic teaching shows.] the forgiveness of sins. 

[As John Calvin reflects on the theme of these verses, he emphasizes that only the grace of God can bring one from darkness and light. He stresses that “our deliverance from the slavery of sin and death is the work of God, so also our passing into the kingdom of Christ.” Paul calls Christ the Son of the love of divine love, because in the Son “alone” that the soul of the Father takes pleasure. He refers to Matthew 17:5, the Mount of Transfiguration, where the Father calls the Son “my beloved.” Significantly, he then offers the opinion that in the Son “all others are beloved.” Human beings are not acceptable to God, in his view, except through Christ. Personally, I am not convinced that the passage bears the weight of such an interpretation. It may well be that God loves creation simply because God has created it, and not only because the Father loves the Son and us in the Son.]

[Pannenberg reminds us that the church is not identical with the kingdom of God, but rather is a sign of the future of salvation in the kingdom. Yet, this is so in such a way that this future of God is already present in the church and is accessible to people through the church in its proclamation and its liturgical life. Considering these verses, then, the Spirit of the Father in verse 13 already translates followers of Christ into the kingdom of the dear Son of God, so that he already redeems them from sin in verse 14.^[10]]

 

---

[1] Joyce Kilmer, early 20th-century poet, wrote many poems before dying in action in France in July 1918, but people remember him for only one: “Trees.”

I THINK that I shall never see         

A poem lovely as a tree.    

                Ogden Nash, another poet writing about 35 years after Kilmer, wrote:

“I think that I shall never see

a billboard lovely as a tree

Indeed,

unless the billboards fall,

I’ll never see a tree at all.”
                He is summing up one of the struggles of us modern folks. Technology surrounds us, and the city determines much of our lives. Trees and their accompanying lakes and rivers conjure up a restful place for most of us.

[2]  --Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.

[3] --As You Like It, Act 2, scene 1, 12-17 

[4] (Systematic Theology, Volume 3, 100)

[5](Systematic Theology Volume 3, 207)

[6] (ibid, IV.1 [60.3] 502)

[7] (ibid., III.3 [48.3] 42)

[8] (Church Dogmatics III.4 [55.3] 491)

[9] (Church Dogmatics I.2 [18.2] 391)

[10] (Systematic Theology Volume 3, 37)