Colossians 2:20-3:11 Sometimes you think you know someone. And then you stumble upon their CD collection or, in my case, my record collection. Though I’ve been branching out a lot in recent years, if you looked at my record collection you might come away with the idea that it revolves around two poles: Baroque classical music of the 17th century and psychedelic music from the 1960s. The most valuable record in my record collection is an album by the 60s... Read more
Colossians 2:6-19 I don’t think we really understand the magnitude of this New Life that we have in Jesus Christ. Growing up, sometimes it’s easy to hear about how to be a Christian and to even continue going to church and praying and reading our Bibles, and yet still the spiritual truth of our life in Christ is remote and weak. But some of the things St. Paul says here in Colossians 2 help me to understand how dramatic and... Read more
Colossians 1:18-2:5 When I was a kid, I was bewitched by valuable coins, eagerly collecting any I could find in loose change and spending some of my very limited supply of money on collecting them. Through a mail order company I had received 4 coins as part of a “Giant Grab Bag” of coins. One of them was ½ dollar gold piece, which my friend’s Redbook coin guide said was worth $100. When I got up the nerve to take... Read more
Colossians 1:1-17 History is full of the rich and wealthy who have showered themselves and others with expensive luxuries. In flipping around, I’ve noticed several VH1 shows that go into exquisite detail about the prodigalities of the extremely wealthy. But for pure extravagance, it would be hard to beat the Roman emperor Elagabalus (or Heliogabalus), who ruled Rome from 218-222. The Rome of Elagabalus has been called a dream aflame with gold, a city of triumphal arches, enchanted temples, royal... Read more
Ephesians 4:1-16 When I grew up in Champaign, Illinois for the first 10 years of my life, I had this incredible sense of being home and of being at peace. Though I’ve lived away from Champaign for more than 30 years now, there is a sense in which it is still the measure of what life could be. I’m convinced that one of the main reasons this is true is that my family, consisting of my Dad and Mom, two... Read more
Ephesians 3:14-21 There are many kinds of Christians, but among those I’ve known are Lone Ranger Larry and Sunday Susan. Lone Ranger Larry has been taught that the church is an invisible collection of individuals who happen to meet together on Sundays. He believes that God can be worshiped just as easily in one place as another and that churches are too institutional. He’s been taught as well that all that matters is an individual’s relationship with God. He claims... Read more
Thursday of Epiphany 1 – Ephesians 3:1-13 “Wonder what mystery Dad’s working on now?” Joe asked. His brother Frank looked eagerly down the platform of the Bayport railroad station. “It must be a very important case, the way Dad dashed off to Detroit. We’ll know in a few minutes.” Both boys were wondering about a certain surprise their father had hinted might be ready for them upon their return. Waiting with Frank and Joe was their best friend Chet Morton. ... Read more
Ephesians 2:11-22 Open almost any page of almost any newspaper and you can’t help but be struck by the fact that the world is in chaos. We sent 1000s of our troops to Iraq because Saddam Hussein threatened the peace of the region and of the entire world. We have 1000s more troops in many places around the world – all to keep the peace. In our own neighborhoods, we read of robberies and murders, and in the Episcopal Church... Read more
Tuesday of First Sunday after Epiphany – Ephesians 2:1-10 What would you give to a doctor who told you, when someone you love is at the point of death, that he could cure him? That he would give him back his life – and not just for a few months hooked up to a roomful of machines and monitors – but that he would give back life in all its fullness? Of course, our first thought is not to wonder... Read more
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Friday of Epiphany 4 – Colossians 3:12-17
Colossians 3:12-17 St. Paul’s sustained teaching through chapters 2 and 3 has been that because we are buried and raised with Christ in baptism, we are to keep our mind on things in heaven by taking off the Old Man and putting on the New Man which is Jesus Christ. The work that God began in baptism, and often before baptism, is a work that we must participate in by daily taking off the Old Man and putting on the... Read more