Colossians 1:21-29

The Colossians thought that they had to escape this world to be reconciled with God. This belief grew out of the Greek philosophy. In this philosophy the material world and the spiritual world did not mix. They were like oil and water. You can shake them up but they always separate again. According to this Philosophy to experience the spiritual you had to escape the material; to experience the eternal you had to escape the temporal. The mystery religions of the Greek world contained mythologies of the spiritual realm. According to these mythologies people had to be lifted from the material world to experience the eternal and spiritual. To be reconciled with God the eternal, one had to somehow get out of temporal and material.

This philosophy influenced the Colossian church. People started trying to make the Christian message fit with this pagan way of thinking. Apparently the result was that people saw Jesus as another way of escaping the temporal world. He was one of the "elemental spirits" that people communicated with to find the truth. This idea of "elemental spirits" may have been similar to the modern practice of channeling. This is where people try to make contact with spiritual beings who see things from and eternal perspective. These beings can supposedly give them some insight that is not available to us in this world. That was the kind of thinking that was going on in the Colossian church.

Well, Paul wrote them a letter to straighten them out. And right near the beginning he stated, "You have been reconciled by Jesus' fleshly body by his death." Now the Colossians had no problem with the idea that humans were alienated from God. According to their way of thinking that was already assumed. We live in fleshly bodies and in a material world therefore we are separated from the eternal and God. But Paul told them, "You are reconciled by Christ's material fleshly body." Not by Christ's teachings that lift us above this world. Not by Christ's spirit which communicates eternal truths to our hearts. We are reconciled to God by Jesus' incarnation and physical death. God ordained that our salvation should be won through the material world. Not merely that, but by the most base and material thing that exists; death!

Many Christians today believe that salvation means escaping this realm to get to the next. I am not talking about the new age religionists who practice channeling and things like that. I am concerned about people who believe in Christ, but who believe that salvation comes only by escaping this life. This takes many different forms. Some people believe that being saved means never having troubles. Somehow when we experience salvation the troubles of this life go away. When troubles come they either doubt their salvation or they deny the troubles existence. We all know from experience that this is not true. There are others who view salvation as merely life after death insurance. They think that in this life we are separated from God and God's blessing, but those who believe will receive those blessings in the next life. It basically argues that contact with the divine in this world is not possible. We are alienated from the eternal by this temporal life. But once these earthly bonds are cut we will be free to experience communion with God.

Paul's letter to the Colossians speaks to us today just as it did so long ago to the Colossians. "And you, who once were estranged...he has now reconciled." It says, "He has now reconciled." It doesn't say, "He will reconcile us." It doesn't say, "He reconciles us in the by and by when we get to heaven." It says he reconciles us now, right now where we are in this temporal material world with all its trials and tribulations. God's loving presence is here with us in the midst of this life. We don't have to wait until we get to heaven to know the abundance of God's glorious blessings. Oh, we will see God's glory in an even greater way in heaven. But we now have earthly communion with our heavenly Father.

The ultimate sign of this truth is in the way that God saves us. I imagine God had the pick of an infinite number of different ways to save us. I can't possibly imagine what some of the others might have been, so don't even ask me to speculate. But because God is all knowing I am sure God can imagine a few billion other possibilities a second. And I believe that God picked the best option. How was that: First God became human. God united with the temporal and earthly realm and became part of it. God did not remain aloof from it. Then after living a human life, with all its trials, God chose to die a very human death. God ordained to use the material as a vehicle for salvation. God didn't bring the people out of the temporal to the eternal to be reconciled. God brought the eternal into the temporal. God doesn't say "wait until you get to heaven to know my blessings." In Christ God brought the blessing of heaven to earth.

A good example of this spiritual truth is the life of Paul. He suffered. Remember where Paul was when he wrote this letter? He was in prison. Back in those days there was no Amnesty International or ACLU to look after the rights of prisoners. If you were in prison you were at the mercy of the jail keeper. Paul was repeatedly beaten and imprisoned all through his life. On top of all that he had an ailment, or "thorn in the flesh," that constantly bothered him.

But he was blessed. He was able to speak of a Savior who heals. He was able to speak of Peace that passes all understanding. He was able to persevere against all odds. He was able to keep walking into trouble for the Glory of God.

Paul's suffering is a living example of the presence of God's salvation and reconciliation in this world. Through Paul's suffering people saw strength. And they knew that that strength came from God. While in prison Paul wrote some of the most beautiful tributes to the greatness of God in Christ. God wrought salvation through Paul's suffering and brought reconciliation to people in the midst of this life.

You are saved, right where you are. That is; if you have trusted in Christ, you are saved. We were all once separated and alienated from our Heavenly Father. That is the state that we are all born into. We live in a sinful world and we have all participated in its sinfulness. We are alienated from the love of our Heavenly Father and communion of His blessed Spirit by our sin.

But now we have been united with the abundance of his blessings. They have been poured out in our lives right where we live. They are not merely promises for the future but present realities. The love and grace of God dwell with us. And God gives us the power to be reconciled with our fellow human beings.

Trials are still part of this life. The fear of not knowing is a part of this realm. But we have been reconciled to the source of eternal knowledge and strength. Those blessings have come to us in the midst of our trials. Trust in the living Christ right here and now! Remember he has reconciled you to God and you can know his blessings where you stand.

Luke 10:38-42

"Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only."(James 1:22) Martha was a doer. She was good at doing things and she did a lot. She was constantly doing. She was constantly taking care of people, feeding them showing them hospitality. And she did herself proud.

Mary, on the other hand, didn't do as much. She would allow her time to be taken up in small tasks. She would take a full hour to pick the flowers to place on the kitchen table. Martha would have completed the task in 10 minuets and she would have arranged them by color too. Mary would take all afternoon to return a borrowed rolling pin, Martha would have allotted just enough time to get there say, "Thank you. How's the weather?" and then politely leave. Martha often lost her patience with Mary. Mary would waste her time watching the children play and she would not get the laundry hung out to dry. One day Mary got busy reading a letter from a friend she let Lazarus' dinner burn. "If only Mary could serve people as well as me," Martha thought and then she would generally blow her top at her sister.

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to die on the cross when he met Mary and Martha. He had just finished telling a parable about a Samaritan who had stopped on the road to help a fallen Jew. He had told the crowd to "Go and do likewise." Martha invited him to dinner and he came hoping to share the Gospel with Martha and her family. When they arrived he met Martha's sister Mary and there was a whirlwind of activity. Before he knew it Jesus found himself in a chair and Martha was in the kitchen banging pots and such.

Then Jesus looked down and there was Mary sitting at his feet. "Master," she said, "Tell me about this kingdom that you say is coming." And Jesus began to share with her. He told her that the kingdom is like a father who forgives his son, that it will be a blessing to the righteous but a curse to the unrighteous. They talked and talked about the kingdom and his ministry and the places he had been and the people he had met. Once in the middle of a parable Jesus was startled by an especially loud clanging of pots.

Finally Martha emerged from the kitchen and in a irritated voice said, "Lord, don't you think my sister should do something and help me?" Jesus looked at Martha and said, "Martha, Martha, you do a lot don't you? You are busy with many things. But not everything is important. Mary has chosen the important things. I will not take it away from her." Then Jesus turned to Mary and said, "When you say your prayers, pray like this..."

"Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her." I must confess I am often a modern day Martha. I am distracted and worried by many things. I do a lot of doing and am often very busy. I often get busy before I know what I am doing.

So these words of Jesus ring in my ears. It's a matter of perspective I think. It's not that doing is bad in and of itself. After all Jesus told his disciples to go and do likewise. It is a matter of knowing when not to do as much as when to do.

Jesus was traveling around and his time was limited. The cross was awaiting him and he wanted to tell people the Good News of God's coming kingdom so that they would be ready. He didn't care about the fine feast Martha was so busy preparing. The only feast he had in mind was some bread and wine. Jesus just wanted to tell Mary and Martha about the eternal love of their heavenly Father, but only Mary was listening.

We often lose perspective in the church just as Martha did. We look at the world today with all its problems and it overwhelms us. People are dying because they have chosen dangerous lifestyles. People are killing each other and themselves with drugs because they don't know that only God can fill the emptiness in them. People are killing each other because of racial or tribal hatred. People are dying of starvation and curable diseases in a world that can send men to the moon.

Jesus said, "Go and do likewise." So we roll up our sleeves and start doing. And we do and we do and we do some more. We sponsor that crusade and this effort and the other mission. Until it seems we hardly know what we are doing.

And all those efforts are good, but sometimes we lose perspective. There is a time for doing and a time for listening. We all need a time to sit at the Master's feet and learn. A time not to do study but to simply commune. A prayer, a thought, a sunset watched, a rose smelled in the business of the day, an opportunity to stop doing to listen to God.

We are all modern day Martha's from time to time. I know that many of you are busy "Going and doing likewise." You drive the Wheels Van, you work at Vacation Bible School, you volunteer at the hospital or Sharing God's Love, you help with the senior citizens, you care for your families, you take care of business at work. And as a Christian you are doing it all for the glory of God.

But don't forget to stop and listen to the Master's voice. What Jesus really wants is for you and everyone to share the Father's love. Yes the Bible says, "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only,"(James 1:22) But you have to hear the word first before you can do it.

I confess that I am a modern day Martha too often. Are you sometimes a modern day Martha? If you are just tell Jesus. Then sit at his feet and listen a while and he will tell you of a father who forgives his wayward son and a kingdom that is a blessing to all who accept it. And he may say, "And when you pray, pray like this..." Wouldn't that be nice!

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