First Timothy

First Timothy, Second Timothy and Titus are together known as the “pastoral epistles.” Each of these letters claims Paul as the author and each is concerned with leadership and with teachings that seem to deviate significantly from the Christian teaching of Paul. All these letters have a similar content and style.

Those who argue for Paul’s authorship do so by arguing that Paul was released from prison in Rome and engaged in a second period of ministry unrecorded in any of our sources. It was during this second period of his work that he wrote I Timothy and Titus. When he was arrested a second time, he wrote II Timothy from prison. It was this second imprisonment which led to his execution.

In all likelihood, Paul never left Roman custody and imprisonment, and was probably executed in about 64 CE. The martyrdom of Paul about 64 CE meant that one of the most important leaders of early Christianity was gone, but the Pauline tradition was continued by his disciples and associates. According to Acts, Ephesus had been a center of Paul’s missionary efforts, from which he and his coworkers established churches in the surrounding regions of Asia Minor. There is considerable evidence that after Paul’s death a group of Christian leaders who looked back to Paul as the primary apostolic leader of the church continued to interpret and adapt his message to later contexts. (People’s New Testament Commentary)

1Timothy is a letter of exhortation designed to combat the dissident teaching of insiders and the suspicion of outsiders at Ephesus…. The letter is replete with conventional philosophical polemics, commendations on irreproachable behavior, and images of the church as the household of God. Like the other Pastoral Letters, the letter regards any deviation from its own counsel to be false teaching…. If the letter is pseudonymous, or written by someone using Paul’s name… the name “Timothy” may simply represent someone in a later generation entrusted with the responsibility of transmitting Paul’s theological legacy with care and accuracy. (New Interpreter’s Study Bible)

What arguments weigh in on whether or not Paul wrote this letter, and the other pastoral epistles? We have already mentioned the difficult chronology usually associated with arguing for Paul’s authorship. It is also to be noted that in the earliest lists of Paul’s letters, these writings do no appear. “The vocabulary and style are very different from the undisputed letters of Paul, but resemble that of the church fathers from the second century” (People’s New Testament Commentary). “The church situation depicted seems to be later than that of Paul. Church organization has become more institutionalized.” (same source)

More scholars seem to argue against Paul’s authorship than for it. If Paul did not write them, the date and circumstance of their composition are more in doubt. They were probably written anytime between 90 and 150 CE, from Ephesus and were intended to be read in public at church gatherings.

I Timothy 1

I Timothy 1:1-2: As with other letters purported to be written by Paul, this one claims his authorship and identifies an intended recipient. Ironically, the concluding greetings in each letter are plural. Paul has never referred to God as “savior,” but this writer does so six times. Paul refers to Jesus as “savior” only once (Philippians 3:20).

I Timothy 1:3-11: The concern is raised at the outset about persons teaching “different doctrine.” The Pauline understanding of the Christian faith was considered normative by the author and his associates. He understands his own reinterpretation of Paul to be legitimate, to stand in the authentic Pauline tradition, and that of his opponents (who also appealed to Paul as their authority) to be deviant. (People’s New Testament Commentary) Such statements about concern for different doctrine make us uncomfortable. Christian history is strewn with examples of doctrinal disputes that ended in violence, and we do not want any part of that. I have used the image of elasticity to describe Christian faith. Christian faith has an elasticity to it. It can admit of some variation. But it is not infinitely elastic. One would have a difficult time, I think, arguing that reincarnation, for instance, is a Christian doctrine. It is appropriate to draw some boundaries around what is Christian and what is not. Unfortunately, our history has often also claimed that only Christians are good, and only Christians can genuinely know God. Therefore when we drew the boundary around Christian we also drew the boundary around goodness and genuine relationship with God. I believe Christian faith is elastic enough to include the idea that people other than Christians can be genuinely good, and that people other than Christians can have a genuine experience of God and God’s grace and love. That is debatable to be sure, but it helps me deal with the idea that some boundaries should be drawn around Christian faith. The author here is arguing for such boundaries.

What the author is arguing against is not clear. To label something a myth in the first century was “a typical philosophical slur” (New Interpreter’s Study Bible). “Myth” can have positive connotations, as well, and did in earlier Greek philosophy, but not at the time of the Pastoral epistles. The author argues that those who teach a different doctrine are engaged in myth-making and idle speculation. Instead, true teaching is aimed at forming a whole person – nurturing love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Those who have other aims are engaged in meaningless talk and don’t even really understand what they say. The writer of this letter is not terribly generous to his opponents! In that, perhaps he fails in his own criterion of love.

These other teachers apparently appealed to the law, the Jewish scripture for their teaching. The author affirms the goodness of the law, in a way that indicates that some of Paul’s issues with the law were long past. The goodness of the law is found in its restraining function – it is intended to keep people in line. The writer lists a number of things that are shown to be wrong through the right use of the lay. The term “sodomites” referred to “the active male in a homosexual act” (New Interpreter’s Study Bible). It is unclear that the term used here has much relationship with what we understand to be homosexuality today. Sexual practices in the Greco-Roman world are still a matter of study and debate. Many early Christians shared Paul’s view that same-sex sexual expression was illegitimate because everyone was heterosexual. But what if this is not the case – would the early church writers have then had a different view of homosexuality? To condemn all homosexuality on the basis of this one verse seems an inappropriate use of the verse. The point the writer is making is that the law is oriented toward controlling behavior, and he supplies a list for illustrative purposes. Those teachers he opposes may have used the law in a very speculative manner.

I Timothy 1:12-20: The author uses the story of Paul to make some points about the Christian life and Christian leadership. The author expresses the wonder of God’s overflowing grace, recalling that this grace transformed the life of Paul – from one of opposing the purposes of God and of violence to a life of faith and love in Jesus. The initial section ends with a doxology. The author encourages a younger teacher, noting that some others have “suffered shipwreck in the faith.” Certain persons are mentioned by name. Apparently these persons were expelled from the community (handed over to Satan).

Second Thessalonians

In the New Testament, this is portrayed as a later letter of Paul to the Jesus community at Thessalonica, about which we have already been informed. However, the weight of scholarly opinion is that things are not as simple as that. Since the outset of the historical-critical study of the NT in the late 18th century… biblical scholars have become skeptical about Paul’s authorship of the letter. 20th century scholarship provided evidence that Hellenistic writers sometimes wrote “letters” in the name of revered teachers either to honor them or to enable their teaching to be applicable to a new situation…. Scholars have noted that the outline of 2 Thess essentially follows that of 1 Thess, including the oddity of both texts have two thanksgiving sections. The vocabulary of 2 Thess echoes that ft 1 Thess, but its style is far more wooden than the vivid style of Paul’s own letters…. There is also a clear difference between the expectation of an imminent return of Christ (the parousia)… and the expectation of the parousia in some unknown and apparently far distant future…. By the end of the 20th century the majority of biblical scholars had concluded that 2 Thess is a missive written in the style of 1 Thess by a disciple of Paul who wanted to update Paul’s teaching on the parousia, the future coming of Christ. (New Interpreter’s Study Bible) If this is the case, the letter “was not written to a particular congregation, but is written to the church at large in the form of a letter of Paul to Thessalonica” (People’s New Testament Commentary). As we have noted before, the fact that Paul may not be the author of this work does not diminish its standing as a part of our New Testament. “The church heard in it an authentic witness to the meaning of Christian faith and included it in the New Testament canon” (People’s New Testament Commentary).

II Thessalonians 1:1-2: This beginning is almost exactly the same at the beginning of I Thessalonians. The author does a good job of making this a letter of Paul.

II Thessalonians 1:3-4: As with I Thessalonians, thanks is given for a Christian community. If the letter was written to Christians more generally, these are the kind of things over which all Christians can be thankful – a growing faith, increasing love. The new twist to this section is mention of steadfastness in faith in the face of persecutions and afflictions. If the letter is a later letter from a disciple of Jesus and Paul, then persecutions likely increased since the originally letter to Thessalonians.

II Thessalonians 1:5-10: The thanksgiving is interrupted to reflect further on the situation of persecution, and it uses an apocalyptic perspective. Recall that apocalyptic literature had as its central conviction that God’s deliverance will arrive after a time of intense suffering. That is the most important theme. Beyond the symbolic language and metaphoric timetables, there is a deep conviction of faith “namely, what has begun in Jesus will triumph, despite the tumult and resistance of this world” (Crossan and Borg, The Last Week, 83). Here the writer sees persecution as evidence of God’s on-going work in the world. Enduring suffering will contribute to the qualities that belong to God’s kingdom. It is also common for apocalyptic literature not only to assert the triumph of the purposes of God but also the punishment of those who have persecuted God’s righteous people. The author uses vivid language to describe such retribution. “The description is not objectifying language about what God will do to unbelieving persecutors, but functions as encouragement and warning to the believers addressed by the letter: vengeance is a matter for God in the age to come, not something we may take into our own hands now” (People’s New Testament Commentary). This represents “reinterpreting Paul’s idea of the lordship of Jesus into that of an avenging Lord” (New Interpreter’s Study Bible). “The Paul of the undisputed letters does not dwell on the fate of unbelievers” (People’s New Testament Commentary). That says to us that differences of opinion on some of these difficult issues is o.k. It also says that the important point for our faith is hanging on in the midst of difficulty – living and witnessing our faith and inviting others to the Jesus way of life. We do that without spending a lot of time wondering about what finally “happens” to those who refuse our invitation.

II Thessalonians 1:11-12: The thanksgiving is continued. Prayer is offered that God will continue to work in the lives of Christians – that God’s power will help fulfill every “good resolve and work of faith.” When that happens, Jesus is glorified. This is the work of God’s grace.

II Thessalonians 2:1-12: The writer returns to the theme of the coming of Christ. Behind the letter seems to be a concern in the early church that Jesus had not come yet. Paul and many others expected the final coming of Jesus and Christ and Lord in their lifetimes. They expected that God would make the world right very soon. When it did not happen, it created concern. The author again uses apocalyptic language and thinking to respond to this “crisis of faith.”

Apparently, there arose a teaching that “the day of the Lord” had either happened already, perhaps in the experience of the believing community, or, given the intense persecution being suffered, was just around the corner (that all the signs were fulfilled and the coming was very near). The writer categorically rejects these options, instead uses typical apocalyptic thinking to argue that the parousia will come and that the current difficult situation is a part of the pattern. Apocalyptic descriptions usually affirm the idea that God has control of history. Thus human history falls into distinct periods, and there is a timetable to fulfill before the Day of the Lord comes. (New Interpreter’s Study Bible). We will encounter this again when we read Revelation.

Crossan and Reed note that this apocalyptic scenario stands in tension with Paul’s own thought in I Thessalonians 4 where he argues that the coming of Christ will be as a thief in the night. The apocalyptic scenario “is like saying that the night thief will not come unless there is first the sound of breaking windows and smashing doors” (In Search of Paul, 171). However, they note that the language here has a particular context. “It is probably the theology of Roman imperialism and the ideology of emperor worship that, one way or another, lies behind” this passage (p. 172).

The typical apocalyptic scenario included the persecution of God’s people, and an increasing power of rebelliousness and lawlessness. This is a faith interpretation of what the people were experiencing, and the author is convinced it will get worse before it gets better. In the end, however, Jesus as Lord triumphs. That is the basic message. Perhaps another important part of the message is the seductiveness of powers that work against God’s purposes. Consider how many evils have been perpetrated under the guise of good – Hitler claimed to be restoring the glory of the Roman empire (reich); Stalin claimed to be creating a worker’s paradise. These are extreme examples, but the point is important. Things which work against God’s intention for the world are often cloaked in power, signs and wonder. The message for that time and for ours is be discerning and stay strong in the faith.

II Thessalonians 2:13-16: The thanksgiving is continued and concluded. The Christians are those who are participating in God’s sanctifying Spirit work. The writer encourages the letter’s readers to hold on in the midst of troubled times. He encourages them to keep the traditions they were taught – taught by Paul in person and by letter. The thanksgiving ends with a delightful prayer, one that can be used for our own lives – that God might comfort our hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word; or in the words of The Message: put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.

II Thessalonians 3:1-5: Prayers are requested by the author for the work of the gospel. Then the focus is once again on the readers. God will be faithful in their lives and the writer asks, “may the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” Yet another nice phrase that we could consider for our own lives.

II Thessalonians 3:6-14: The writer addresses some situations that seem to be plaguing some early Christian communities. “Idleness” is better translated “disruptiveness” or “disorderliness.” One concern of the writer is that some in the communities which Paul helped found are departing from the faith as Paul taught it. Another concern may have been the presence of wandering Christian teachers who went from place to place claiming that for their teaching, the community should provide for their support. Paul worked and paid his own way, and so should others, according to this author. These disruptive people should work quietly and earn their own living. If they don’t work, they should not eat. Unfortunately, this passage has often been ripped out of context to argue against social spending to help those who cannot find work are unable to work. The text encourages wholesome work, and while that has applicability in a variety of contexts, we should not lose sight of the original context. We are not to grow weary in doing what is good, and sometimes that may include caring for those who do not have some of the resources at present to care adequately for themselves. The final concern expressed in this section is that some may not take the words of the letter seriously enough. Such persons are to be warned as believers, not completely shunned as enemies. Such an attitude toward those who read the Scriptures of our faith could be applied today, though I would use even gentler language than this author. We should see each other as fellow believers and be careful not to treat each other as enemies.

II Thessalonians 3:16-18: The author’s final words contain words of blessing and an assertion of Pauline authorship. Its strong assertion may, ironically, be an indication that the letter is not from Paul. Paul’s own letter to Thessalonica did not include the note mentioned here. May the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. May it be so.

I Thessalonians 2

I Thessalonians 2:1-16: Paul has given thanks that the Thessalonians received their preaching and God’s Spirit and are now living lives of faith, hope and love. Here he recounts something about his ministry there. It required courage, for Paul had encountered difficulty and opposition in his ministry. The courage Paul displayed he uses as an indication of his integrity. His work did not come from deceit, trickery, or impure motives. Paul and his companions worked to please God. Whereas in some of Paul’s letters, such assertions of his integrity are to be seen as a response to criticism, here there is no indication that he has encountered such opposition. Other Hellenistic writings from the time include defense of one’s work as a usual part of the rhetoric of a teacher. Here Paul may simply be using that form to assert the genuineness of his work and ministry.

The manner of life consistent with pleasing God was a gentle one. Paul worked among them “like a nurse caring for her own children.” This is a surprisingly tender image, maternal and nurturing. It certainly goes against many of the caricatures of Paul. Paul shared not only a teaching, as many traveling teachers of the time may have, but he gave his very being to the Thessalonians “because you have become very dear to us.” Such care and affection should be an important part of Christian community in any time and place.

As teachers and apostles, Paul and his companions may “have made demands,” that is, they could have asked for financial support. They chose not to so as not to burden the church. Paul assets that their conduct was “pure, upright and blameless.” It was like a father with a child – another warm and caring image. Paul encouraged them to “lead a life worthy of God.” This is a phrase we have encountered a few times. “Be who you are as God’s people.” These are encouraging words for us as well. Like the Thessalonians, we are people of God’s kingdom, invited to live by “kingdom values.”

Paul now adds another word of thanks. He is grateful for the Thessalonians faith, hope and love, for the way they are leading lives worthy of God as a response to Paul’s own example and his tender care for them. Now Paul gives thanks that when they heard his preaching they received it as more than human words, but could hear to word of God in the preaching of Paul. They received that word, and it was continuing to work in their lives. I once heard a pastor say, after reading a Scripture, “May these words be for you the word of God.” I have always been fond of that. Scripture is read, and our hope is that the words there become word of God for us, words that make a difference in our lives, that draw us closer to God. When we hear a sermon or are a part of Christian conversation, we hope that in the words shared, we will also hear God’s word for our lives.

The response of the Thessalonians to the gospel has not led them into an easier life. Instead, like the first Christians in Judea, they have suffered persecution for their faith. The illustration used is problematic, and some doubt that verses 15-16 are from Paul’s own hand. Here Paul issues a criticism issued by other first-century Jews, that some of his own were responsible for killing the prophets. Now Paul includes Jesus among the righteous who have been killed by their own people. Nowhere else does Paul, however, accuse the Jews of killing Jesus, so the language seems un-Pauline. The idea that God’s wrath has overtaken the Jews may reflect a theological interpretation of the fall of the Temple in 70 CE, and if that is that case, then this is certainly a post-Pauline addition. However, Paul could simply be expressing frustration with some of the ways his ministry may have been opposed by some synagogue Jews, and using dramatic language in doing that. Given the tragic history of Christian anti-Semitism, these are deeply unfortunate words.

I Thessalonians 2:17-20: This chapter ends with more tender words from Paul. He calls his separation from the Thessalonians an experience akin to being orphaned, though not in heart. He longed to return but was prevented from doing so. Whatever prevented that return visit, Paul interpreted it as the work of Satan, that is, as something that was opposed to the work Paul was doing. Paul calls the Thessalonian Christians the source of his joy and his reason for boasting – not a personal boast but a shared rejoicing in the work of God in their lives.

Just as at the end of the first chapter, Paul alludes to the coming of Jesus at the end of this chapter. In chapter one Paul talked about how the Thessalonians were waiting for God’s Son from heaven. Here he uses the phrase, “the Lord Jesus at his coming.” The Greek word for coming is parousia which is a Greek term meaning “presence,” used as a technical term to describe the visit of an official, including an emperor, to a city (New Interpreters Study Bible). “Paul looked forward to presenting his churches to the returning Lord Jesus in the near future” (People’s New Testament Commentary). As the letter will deal with this subject in much greater detail later, I will reserve further comments until then. Suffice it to note here, that at this point in his ministry, Paul seemed to expect an imminent return of Jesus as Lord in some way or another. In other words, he expected God to complete the reconciling and transforming work that he had already begun in Jesus. Years later, that work is not yet complete and the Christian church is filled with persons who spend a great deal of time and effort in discussing timetables for a “second coming” of Jesus (which is a term that Paul never uses).

I Thessalonians 3

I Thessalonians 3:1-5: Paul had longed to see the Thessalonians, but could not go. Yet he could not bear the thought of not knowing how they were doing or of their being without some encouragement in their new faith. So Paul sent Timothy to Thessalonica to find out how they were doing, and to encourage them in the midst of their persecution. Paul reminds them that they were aware that the road may not be easy. Paul had never promised them a rose garden! Nor are we promised that all will go well with our faith.

I Thessalonians 3:6-13: Timothy returned to Paul with good news about their “faith and love.” Paul has taken encouragement from that. His work has not been in vain. He is grateful to God for their continued faith. He deeply desires to see them again. Then his words become rather odd, given the context – “to restore whatever is lacking in your faith.” He celebrates their faith, but also implies that there may be points at which it is lacking. Perhaps that is not so strange after all. In our own lives, we can celebrate our faith, yet know we can grow more into it. Paul ends this lengthy section of thanksgiving with a hope that he might, by God’s grace return to Thessalonica. He asks Christ to help their love abound and to strengthen their hearts in holiness. Again, Paul’s words for these early Christians might be words for our lives – that we may abound in love and have our hearts strengthened in holiness. Holiness is a God-like quality of life. It implies wholeness and well-being. Paul hopes that love and holiness will abound until “the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” Again, we have that theme, and the word “coming.”

I Thessalonians 4

I Thessalonians 4:1-12: Again, Paul invites them to continue to follow the Jesus way of life as they were taught. God desires their sanctification. This is another way to speak of holiness, whole life in relationship to God. The theologian Paul Tillich once wrote about sanctification as increasing awareness, increasing freedom, increasing relatedness and increasing transcendence. While this language may not appeal to everyone, I find it helpful in describing the kind of life God calls us to live. The other definition of sanctification I really appreciate is John Wesley’s idea of Christian perfection. “By perfection I mean the humble, gentle, patient love of God and our neighbor, ruling our habits, attitudes, words and actions.” Paul goes on to write that holiness of life involves having control over ones body and desires. Paul’s language makes one wonder what sorts of sexual expression he encountered in Thessalonica and other places in the Roman empire. Paul here follows the stereotypical image Jews tended to have of Gentiles, regarding them as dominated by lust and sexual immorality and perversions. There were of course immortal Gentiles, just as there were immoral Jews, but there were also many Gentiles who had a high standard of sexual morality (People’s New Testament Commentary). However, there was often a divide between religion and morality in the Greco-Roman world. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, religious commitment, relationship to God, is reflected in one’s treatment of others and in one’s self-discipline. God has called them to holiness, and to think otherwise is to misunderstand God, and the Spirit of God at work in the lives of Christians.

Love remains central, and the Thessalonians did not need anyone to teach them more about this. They had been taught by God about loving! Though they know it and live it, there is always more room to grow in love. In love, they are too live quietly – that need not preclude working for change in the world, but should be a quality of work for such change. For the Thessalonians, though, their focus would not have been on social change, except as that happened in Christian community. They had virtually no power base within the empire from which to effect change. In addition, most expected a dramatic change in the near future, an overturning of the existing social order with the coming of Jesus Christ as Lord. Some had taken this expectation to extremes, shunning necessary work. Paul admonishes them to work.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18: Apparently a question had arisen about those who had died. The expectation of the coming of Jesus as Lord was so high, that many believed no Christian would die before it occurred. But some have died, perhaps even as part of persecution of some kind. As this passage has been used in some interesting ways by certain groups within the Christian church, it would be good to look more closely at them.

Some members of the new congregation in Thessalonica had died. The church had apparently understood that Jesus would return while all believers were still alive. Paul expected to be alive at the Parousia (verse 15), and his new converts were shocked that some of their members had died before the return of Jesus. Did this mean they were not true believers, or that they would miss out on the salvation bestowed by Christ’s triumphal return? (People’s New Testament Commentary)

Paul was concerned because some of the Thessalonians were grieving over the death of some of their fellow Christians, perhaps resulting from mistreatment on the part of non-Christians. For believers who were expecting an imminent return of the Lord Jesus, this was difficult to accept. To alleviate their grief, Paul cites a Christian creed: Jesus died and rose again. He then affirms that what God has done for Jesus, God will also do for those who die in Christ. They will live with Jesus. Paul cites the authority of tradition to support his message and uses the imagery of the entry (Greek –“ parousia”) of a victorious king into a city, together with Jewish apocalyptic motifs, to present an imaginative “idea” of how the future resurrection will take place. (New Interpreters Study Bible)

Paul’s intention is pastoral, to assure the Thessalonians that the death of members of the community did not in any way mitigate against the hope that was an integral part of their Christian faith. He wanted to encourage them, and wanted them to encourage each other (verse 18). He may also have been subtly reinforcing the anti-imperial side of Christian faith, Christian faith as a counter culture to the imperial culture.

Any important visitor coming along the major road to an ancient city would first meet the dead before they greeted the living…. The “parousia” metaphor means that Christians do not ascend to stay with Christ in heaven, but to return with him to this transformed world…. The metaphor of “parousia” as state visit would presume that those going out to greet the approaching ruler would return with him for festive rejoicing within their city. So also with Christ…. The “parousia” of the Lord was not about destruction of earth and relocation to heaven, but about a world in which violence and injustice are transformed into purity and holiness. (John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan Reed, In Search of Paul, 170)

Paul – like Jesus before him – believed that God’s great Cosmic Cleanup had already begun. He also believed – quite incorrectly – that it would be consummated within his own generation. But just as a visiting emperor is greeted first by the dead and only then by the living as his entourage approaches an imperial city, and just as the citizens go out to meet him and escort him “back into” their city for festivity and celebration, so also will it be with Christ on his return. First the dead Christians and then the living Christians will be taken up to meet Christ not “in heaven” but “in the clouds” or “in the air.” And they will meet Christ to return to an earth totally transformed, utterly transfigured, and fully completed in nonviolence and holiness, justice, and peace. That is Paul’s vision…. What the Left Behind series has actually left behind is Jesus’ faith in the Kingdom of God, Paul’s hope for the Lordship of Christ, and God’s love for the future of the earth. (Crossan, God and Empire, 208)

Too many have taken this pastoral and metaphoric passage and tried to turn it into a full “rapture” scenario. Often such rapture theology mirrors imperial order. Christ comes, takes Christians away and seven years later war ensues. Paul is assuring Christians to keep on in faith, telling them that the Jesus way will triumph in the end, will overcome the ways of empire.

I Thessalonians 5

I Thessalonians 5:1-11: While Paul probably thought a final consummation of God’s purposes would happen in his lifetime, he is also concerned about persons setting dates and timetables. That can be a distraction. Instead, focus on being who you are, Paul writes, “children of light and children of the day.” “Although the final Day had not yet come, Christians have already oriented their lives to the fulfillment of God’s kingdom at the end of history” (People’s New Testament Commentary). Such people live lives that are awake and sober. They live lives of faith and love and hope (again!) Such lives are to be lived together so that we can encourage one another. Paul’s words, written to a Christian community so many years ago can be translated pretty directly into our lives. We do well to avoid getting caught up in end day speculation and focus on living in faith, hope and love, encouraging each other along the way.

I Thessalonians 5:12-28: Paul brings this letter to a close with a series of short exhortations to the Jesus community at Thessalonica. He encourages the community to respect their leaders in love. He tells them to be at peace with each other. Some may have taken the idea of Jesus immanent return to mean that they could coast until then. The community is to encourage those who are idlers. They are to encourage the faint hearted and help the weak, all with patience. Echoing the words of Jesus, Paul tells them to avoid paying evil for evil, but instead do good. Rejoice, pray, be thankful. Be open to the Spirit and be discerning. Avoid evil do good. Paul prays that the God of peace will sanctify their lives, and trusts that God will do this. Again, Paul’s words need little embellishment to become a part of our own way of living the Christian faith, the Jesus way.

Here are verses 12b-19 from The Message: Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out. Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. Don’t suppress the Spirit.

Paul’s First Letter to the Christian Community at Thessalonica

Written in about 50 CE, some 20 years after the death of resurrection of Jesus and 20 years before the Gospel of Mark, Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is the oldest extant piece of Christian literature. This letter is the first proclamation of the gospel, the good news, in written form (New Interpreters Study Bible). There is strong scholarly consensus that this is a genuine letter of Paul’s. There is less consensus about Second Thessalonians. Thessalonica was the capitol of the Roman province of Macedonia, and is today known as the Greek city of Thessaloniki. It was named for the sister of Alexander the Great. Macedonia became a Roman province in 146 BCE, with Thessalonica as its capital. It was a prosperous and diverse community with a population of about 40,000 at the time of Paul’s ministry there. The diversity included religious diversity. There was a temple for the Egyptian god Osiris. There was a synagogue. The imperial dynasty was worshipped here as well.

While Paul’s stay in Thessalonica was brief, he developed a deep affection for this Jesus community, as will be seen by some of the language he uses in his letter. The community was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, though predominantly the latter. Paul wanted to return to visit, but had been unable to do so. He sent Timothy instead to support and encourage this developing faith community. Timothy has returned to Paul with a report about the community. It was generally a positive report, but Timothy also seemed to find some things of concern. So Paul wrote this letter. The letter follows the general form of Hellenistic letters with opening and closing salutations and expressions of thanks for the recipients.

As with most of the letters Paul writes, there are some issues to be dealt with in this Jesus community. There was also some trouble for the community itself. Paul’s stay had been brief because he had been seen as an agitator. Luke attributes this to opposition from some of the synagogue Jews. Others argue that Paul had run afoul of Roman authorities (Crossan and Reed, In Search of Paul). The Christian community Paul leaves behind also experiences opposition. Beyond the troubles they were experiencing, the community also had some questions and issues. Some of the people in the community had died, and this caused concern. Wasn’t Jesus supposed to return soon? How is it that some have died? Some of the community leaders may have been setting themselves apart, and that may have been creating troubles. Some in the community may have wanted to withdraw from the life of the world, and the life of work, and that, too, presented a problem. While addressing issues, Paul also asserts positive community values and tries to describe important features of the Jesus way of life.

I Thessalonians 1

I Thessalonians 1:1: This is adopted from a typical Hellenistic salutation, with Christian content. While the words used seem commonplace to us, in the context of Thessalonica, they are rather remarkable. Paul’s letter comes from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the “church of the Thessalonians.” The Greek word translated “church” is ekklesia. The word, while usually translated “church,” originally meant the citizens of a free Greek city officially gathered to make self-governing decisions. Is Paul hinting that the church is an alternative community with an alternative citizenship? Paul pushes the point further by calling Jesus “lord.” “Kyrios was also the Greek term used to refer to the deified Roman emperor. By using this term to refer to Jesus, Paul was making a revolutionary political and religious statement.” (New Interpreters Study Bible). In referring to the church also as in “God the Father” could be seen as counter-imperial. Deity was associated in the Roman theology with the emperor and the emperor’s family. Perhaps the trouble the Thessalonian church was experiencing had something to do with some of these counter-cultural, counter-imperial emphases.

I Thessalonians 1:2-10: As is typical of Roman letters and of Paul’s letters, the initial salutation is followed by a thanksgiving. Paul has transformed the traditional form by expanding it considerably. Here the thanksgiving section really doesn’t end until 3:13. In verse 2, Paul already links faith, hope and love, a link he will make again and again, most famously in I Corinthians 13. Paul tells them that they are loved by God and that he knows they have been chosen by God because they received the message that Paul brought. Because of their openness to God’s grace, the word had power, and because of their openness, God’s Spirit touched their lives. The initiative is God’s, but the response was theirs. Paul is thankful to God for God’s initiative and for their response.

The Thessalonians had not only been open to Paul’s message, but also to Paul and those who worked with him. They observed the behavior of Paul and Paul’s co-workers, and imitated it. In imitating Paul, the Thessalonians were also imitating Christ. It was typical of the time that teachers of wisdom offered their lives as examples of what it meant to follow their teaching. We are often uncomfortable with making our lives part of our message. We know our own fallibilities and failures. Yet we need to strive for some compatibility between our teaching and our lives. If we proclaim good news of hope, joy, and love, but live angry, bitter lives, our words will not ring true. If we proclaim good news of justice and a different world, but do nothing to try and make a difference, our words will seem hollow. The Thessalonians received Paul’s preaching with joy (inspired by the Holy Spirit). They lived in a way they learned from Paul and Paul’s associates, and they, in turn, became examples of the Jesus way of life to others. In living the Jesus way of life, they had turned from idols “so serve a true and living God.” This is an indication that the primary audience for Paul’s letter were Gentile Christians. To be Christian is to be transformed. In our day, we don’t often move from “idol worship” to the worship of another God, but from lives centered on something less than God (the very definition of an idol), less than a sense of comprehensive good, to lives centered in God as the comprehensive good.

In serving God, the Thessalonians are also waiting for a more comprehensive fulfillment of God’s dream for the world. The language used to talk about the fulfillment of God’s dream is language about the coming of God’s Son from heaven. This figure is Jesus who was crucified and whom God raised from the dead. In following this Jesus the Thessalonians are saved from living lives that in the end would come to little, that would not have contributed significantly to God’s dream for the world. The sense that in the end, God would set the world right was a powerfully attractive feature of early Christian proclamation, especially for those for whom the peace of Rome offered little hope for their lives. When God sets things right, there would be a judgment of what had been truly good and evil in history. Does such judgment necessarily entail some kind of punishment? Some Christians would say that it does, and the traditional answer to this question is that the punishment is eternity in hell. Others argue that judgment need not entail such a punishment. Perhaps the punishment is the realization that one wasted the precious gift of life on things that did not contribute to the good. In Jesus our lives can turn toward the good, and in Jesus we understand that we can be forgiven for those times when we have failed the good.

Colossians 3

Colossians 3:1-17: As is typical of Paul’s letters, we move from theological argument to ethical reflection – how should we live? It is not as if the theological is abandoned, but the focus shifts toward the more practical. “So if you have been raised with Christ” – that is who we are as Christian according to the author, and this implies living in certain ways and not in others. In general, we are to seek the things that are above. This should be taken metaphorically. It reminds one of Jesus words about the location of the treasure of our lives. “The spatial categories are often used in the New Testament to indicate contrasting realms of value and meaning” (People’s New Testament Commentary). As those whose lives are found in Christ, we should seek values consistent with God’s kingdom, God’s dream for the world.

The Jesus way of life rejects certain values. The list in Colossians 3:5-9 is rather traditional. It is not exhaustive, but illustrative of the kinds of behaviors and attitudes that the writer feels are incompatible with Christian faith. In verse 5, the focus is on inappropriate sexual behavior and on greed. Here is the list as rendered in The Message: “sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy.” It is not sexuality itself that is the problem, but giving it undue place in one’s life. Lust is not the fleeting sexual thought, but dwelling on that thought. It is not desire itself that is the problem, but dwelling too long on desire and giving into it without thinking about the web of relationships in which one lives. Such behavior comes under the judgment of God. One need not interpret this in a punitive fashion. It is simply a way of saying that these values will be judged negatively in God’s dream for the world.

The Colossians are to move beyond these values, and then the writer adds to the list – anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive language. These kind of values are also destructive of community, of the web of relationships in which we live. So is lying, which is also seen as a part of the old life, the “earthly life.” The writer introduces another metaphor that may be linked to baptism. To become a person of Christian faith is to take off the clothing of an old life and put on new garments. The writer has already linked baptism, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and new life in Christ. Now he perhaps makes use of the tradition of changing garments at baptism as a symbolic gesture. The point of all this is to encourage a certain way of life, in contrast to ways of living that may have characterized some of the Colossian Christians before they became disciples.

The new self that is “put on” is a self that is continually renewed in “the image of its creator.” That renewal is not just an inner reality, but it breaks down dividing walls that previously separated people. New life is life in a new community.

The values that are to characterize this new life, in contrast to those that are rejected, buried, taken off, are often values that enhance community. There is a very strong streak running through the New Testament indicating that how we live life together in Christian community is an important indicator of how we are doing in our relationship with God. The transforming power of God’s love in Christ changes how we live together as human persons.

Keeping with the clothing metaphor, the writer encourages the Colossian Christians to clothe themselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.” This is reminiscent of Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians and of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They are to support and forgive each other. “Above all, clothe yourselves with love.” Here is Colossians 3:12-14 from The Message: So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s you basic all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

This new life is to be a new life of peace in Christ, a life in which the word about Christ fills us abundantly. It is a life of thankfulness, gratitude, song – a life in which we do everything in the name of Christ.

Colossians 3:18-4:1: Now the writer takes these more general principles and applies them to three sets of relationships: husband and wife, parents and children, slaves and masters. Remember that this is an attempt to apply more general principles, and it is the principles that are primary, not the application. Many of us would find the words used here inconsistent with the values and principles just articulated. We have encountered a similar passage already in Ephesians, and will again in other places. The writer has drawn from Jewish and Greek moral teachings to draw out the implications of what he has written for these specific relationships. The author assumes much of the social situation of the time and does not radically challenge it, much to our chagrin. At the same time, within the social structures of the day, the writer hints, ever so softly, at more mutual relationships. Husbands are to love their wives and not treat them harshly. Fathers are to take care so that their children do not lose heart. Masters are to treat their slaves justly and fairly. If you push each of these, it leads to an undermining of the submissive language of the first part. A loving husband does not want a “submissive” wife but a loving partner. A father who cares about his children not losing heart will be less concerned about obedience than about the children growing and developing as human persons. For a master to treat a slave justly and fairly would lead to the end of the master-slave relationship. We would not want this language to stand simply as is as advice for persons living the Christian way today.

Paul is not at his creative best here. If he ever questioned the power structure of male/female relationship or even those of master and slave, he shows little sign of it, leaving many of his modern readers disappointed and unsatisfied. The trajectory described by Paul’s theological thought still soars, while that of his ideas on slavery and other power relationships has long since fallen to earth. Fortunately, there are places in his writings where his theological insight is bright, challenging, and inclusive enough to force us to weigh his ethical statements in light of these passages, where he speaks of Christian freedom and the equality of all believers. (New Interpreters Study Bible).

Colossians 4

Colossians 4:2-6: Instructions on the Jesus way of life continue, more in continuity with 3:17 than with the verses in between. The Jesus way of life is a way of prayer, and Paul invites them to pray for his ministry. The Jesus way is not simply concerned with building a certain kind of community, it also affects all ones relationships. “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders.” Part of conducting themselves wisely is to take care in speech. “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.” In our day when speech is ubiquitous and often quite ungracious, these are powerful words. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. (The Message)

Colossians 4:7-18: This section contains words about many people and offers greetings from others. This is unlike Ephesians, which shares so many similarities with Colossians. It adds a touch of genuineness to the letter, and may be part of the argument for its authenticity as a letter of Paul. He ends with a simple good wish. Grace be with you.

Colossians 2

Colossians 2:1-5: Paul (or the author in Paul’s name) has written that he continues to struggle on their behalf, even though he has never met them. His purpose in sharing this is to encourage them. He would like their hearts to be encouraged and united in love – what a delightful phrase. This is something we could pray for our own church communities. In addition, the author desires not only that their hearts be encouraged but that their minds be enlightened. I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God (The Message). Also, not bad words to pray for the church. The deep things of God, God’s mysteries, are to be found in Christ. The author is arguing that in Christ one can find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He does this to prevent them from falling prey to teachers who argue that Christ is incomplete in some way. Such teachers can offer “plausible arguments,” but they are misguided.

This is an important passage to ponder in our time of religious pluralism. The author’s clear intent is to help the Jesus faith communities he is writing to. He wants them to deepen their Christian faith. He is concerned about some teachers who claim that the faith as they have been taught it is not enough, that there are other powers to worship, other forms of wisdom which are needed to complete one’s faith quest. So the author argues that one need look no further than Christ to find the wisdom and way of God. Do his words also suggest that it is only in Christ that we find wisdom and knowledge, only in Christ that the mysteries of God are revealed? While some may interpret these words in this way, I think it pushes the purpose of the author too far to say this. He is trying to make Christians stronger, not denigrate others. He is not saying there is no wisdom to be found in other traditions, only that you aren’t required to look elsewhere for the kind of wisdom that will bring you into a transforming relationship with God. This perspective frees us for some important conversations with others. We can learn from other traditions without giving up our own. The Dali Lama was once asked by a Christian seeker whether or not she should become a Buddhist. The Dali Lama replied (paraphrasing): “No, become more deeply Christian; live more deeply into your own tradition.” (Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity, 223). I have heard that the Dali Lama’s response went on to say that if persons could not find what they needed for their spiritual life within their Christian tradition, don’t be surprised if they indeed become Buddhist (I haven’t been able to recall that reference – no doubt, some day, when I least expect it, it will come back). He was encouraging Christians to be better at exploring the deep heart wisdom of our own tradition. The author of Colossians wants the Christians there to do that, too.

The Catholic nun, Joan Chittister’s most recent book is Welcome to the Wisdom of the World. In it she writes: Every major spiritual tradition – Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam – brings a special gift to the art of living the spiritual life. Her book seeks to look at these traditions for the wisdom they offer. But she looks at these traditions as a deeply committed Christian. When our own faith is deep enough, we can deepen it even further in conversation with other wisdom and faith traditions. There are those whose spiritual lives consist of jumping from one tradition to another (I am not speaking here of persons who have deep experiences of converting from one faith to another), or of pulling off the shelf this bit of wisdom and that bit of wisdom. We do better to be who we are, to deeply immerse ourselves in our own Christian tradition. We have what we need within it, as Christians. When we know that, we can often find some hidden riches in our own faith as we converse with other faiths. Some of my own recent conversations with Buddhism confirm this.

A word should, then, be said here about outreach. What do we make of the encouragement to share our faith with others and of the conversion of persons from one faith to another? The possibility that one finally finds ones original faith tradition lacking is always a live, existential possibility. There may be any number of reasons why one is unable to be spiritually fed from the well one grew up with. Sometimes the institutions that carry the faith message forward don’t do an adequate job of helping persons plumb the depths of the faith. Sometimes one has a deeply negative experience with a faith, an experience so negative that its symbols can no longer convey the grace of God. In order to connect with God, another path may need to be found. As Christians we witness to what we have found in our faith, inviting others to join us as they choose, encouraging those of other traditions to become more profoundly a part of their tradition. Who knows what might happen as persons of deep faith from differing traditions open themselves to one another in love and care and profound listening.

Colossians 2:6-23: Here the author deals directly with the threats of these other teachers. He encourages the Colossian Christians to live their lives in Jesus Christ as Lord, rooted, established and built up in Christ. He warns them not to be led away from this fundamental task by persons who offer what the writer sees as empty words. That we don’t know very much about the troublesome teachers makes these verses difficult to interpret. Some read in them a justification for a Biblicist theology, that is, don’t take anything you can’t find in the Bible very seriously. Again, I think that pushes the author’s words in directions he does not intend. Throughout history, Christian theologians have made good use of works of science and philosophy to help plumb the depths of Christian faith. Augustine used Plato. Aquinas used Aristotle. Harnack made use of Kant. Process theologians use the thinking of Whitehead and Hartshorne. Liberation theologians have been aided by the thinking of Marxist social analysts. There are legitimate criticisms to be made of certain uses of philosophy, but Christians can find helpful dialogue partners in many fields. The author’s concern is whether or not people are being deepened in their lives as Christians or distracted in other directions. Sometimes we can become so enamored with our wonderful thoughts that we fail to grow in faith, hope and love.

The author reiterates the fullness of Christ. The fullness of God is found in Christ, you need not look anywhere else. You need not think your faith incomplete. Apparently some form of this bothersome teaching involved encouraging circumcision, and so Paul/the author argues that the Colossian Christians have experienced a spiritual circumcision already. In a unique move, Paul compares circumcision to baptism, and links baptism to the death of Jesus. What once held us captive has been buried. The flesh, the disordered life, has been cut off in baptism. We have been made alive as Christ was in the resurrection. Any powers that could hold us back from being the people God would have us be have been disarmed.

This wonderful poetic riff is followed by more concrete advice. Don’t let people bother you about food and drink and solar festivals. Whatever teaching the Colossian Christians were troubled by, it seems to have combined elements of Judaism with astrological beliefs – human traditions about elemental spirits. These teachers argued that Christ was not enough, that the Jesus way they had been taught was deficient, so they needed to be circumcised, keep kosher (probably an anachronistic term here!) and celebrate the solstice. It was not as odd as I have made it sound. It had “an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, a severe treatment of the body.” Notice what the author says, however. “They are no value in checking self-indulgence.” In other words, even good spiritual values can be corrupted. That is something we all need to be aware, and beware, of!

The Letter to the Jesus Community at Colossae

Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis were ancient cities located close together on the Lycus River, some hundred miles upstream from Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). This letter, addressed to Christians in Colossae, was intended to be read by the Laodicean church as well. There are also links with the letter to Philemon and connections in content, word order, and wording with Ephesus. These matters are involved in the unsettled question of authorship. Many scholars believe that Colossians was written in Paul’s name after his death. If that is the case, the address to the Colossians would be only a literary device, since an earthquake devastated the area in 60 CE, about the time of Paul’s death, and there was probably little left of the city. (New Interpreters Study Bible).

Thus, we have here another New Testament letter ascribed to Paul which may or may not have been written by him. Whether or not it was written by Paul, it is a part of our Scripture and we need to grapple with it. Authorship would help determine date and circumstance for the letter, at least Paul’s circumstance. If written by Paul, it would probably have been written from prison, about the same time as Philippians, Philemon and Ephesians (if that was written by Paul). Even if the letter was not from Paul, it is certainly in the Pauline stream of Christian faith, taking primary cues from Paul’s understandings of that faith. While there are concepts found here that are missing in the undisputed letters of Paul (a focus on the cosmic Christ, the church as a universal community, more than a local community, a focus on the language of principalities and powers), those who argue for his authorship find continuities between Paul’s work and this letter. Many of the themes found here are also found in Ephesians. It should be noted that Paul never visited Colossae, and that might be an argument against his authorship.

While the authorship and date of this letter are matters of debate there is agreement that the letter was written to address “a serious theological and ethical problem that has gained a foothold” in the community. A different spirituality was making headway in Colossae, one offering “perfection and spiritual fulfillment through a mixture of visions, worship of angelic beings, festivals, and rituals based on the calendar, dietary restrictions, and asceticism” (People’s New Testament Commentary). Another characterization of the problematic teachings are that they were “more astrological than theological, involving a belief in the control over human destiny by the stars…. This belief was probably grafted onto a calendar of Jewish holy days: popular religion in the Mediterranean world was nothing if not eclectic.” (New Interpreters Study Bible).

Once again, we encounter a developing Christian faith trying to draw some boundaries around itself. Christian faith is not infinitely elastic, though it has some elasticity. We are often uncomfortable with the idea of drawing such boundaries today. We have seen the difficult history of Christian triumphalism, where those defined as non-Christian were persecuted, forced to convert, sometimes killed. We have no wish to perpetuate such ugly chapters of Christian history. We need not argue that those outside the Christian faith are also outside the grace of God. Nevertheless, it is helpful to understand where the boundaries of Christian faith exist, not to look down on others, but to develop our own faith more deeply. What are some current “spiritualities” not easily incorporated into Christian faith? I wonder if the idea that we attract all the things that come into our lives really fits Christian faith. Does the victim of a rape “attract” such behavior? Has the homeless person put herself in that situation, by the law of attraction? While our attitudes and openness affect our lives, shape our lives, they are not the sole causal factors, and we are not forever bound by our mistakes. Christian faith trusts in a God who can make things genuinely new. An iron clad law of attraction would deny this.

What are the struggles of the Christian community in Colossae, and what can we learn from them and the response to them offered in this letter?

Colossians 1

Colossians 1:1-2: Here we have a characteristic greeting.

Colossians 1:3-14: Also typical of Pauline letters, we have a section of thanksgiving. As with other letters, themes to be developed elsewhere in the letter are introduced. Here, the author will write expansively of the comprehensiveness of Christian faith. Remember, Paul is writing to a church community he has never visited, but writes with some knowledge of them. He has heard about them, about their faith and love and hope. It is important that these be kept together – hope and faith are to be lived in love for others. The gospel, the good news, is seen as a word of truth and hope – a hope that the whole world will eventually be set right - that justice, peace, forgiveness, reconciliation, beauty, all of God’s dream for the world will prevail. When people have that hope, they live in a way consistent with that dream for the world. The deepest truth about the world is that God’s dream for it is alive and active and will eventually prevail.

Hearing of the faith, hope and love in this community, Paul assures them of his prayers. He prays that they might continue to grow in faith, hope and love. He prays that they might be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they might lead lives “worthy of the Lord,” lives that “bear fruit in every good work.” Notice the continued emphasis on the development of the inner life (growth in wisdom, understanding, knowledge) and on good works. The Christian life involves both inner development and good works. Paul prays that they might be strengthened by God’s own power. God’s saving work is written of in terms of being rescued “from the power of darkness.” Again, it is important to see the variety of New Testament images used to try and describe what it is that God does in our lives in Jesus. Here we are transferred from one kingdom to another. This must have seemed subversive language in an imperial society. Forgiveness is an important part of what God does in Christ.

Colossians 1:15-23: The author now shifts from a focus on how God is working in the lives of the Colossae Jesus community, to a focus on the cosmic work of God in Jesus as the Christ. Verses 15-20 are often considered an early Christian hymn about Jesus as the Christ. Paul used such material in his writings, as did other early Christian writers.

A central conviction of Christian faith is that in Jesus the Christ, we know God, we see what God is like, God’s image is refracted in a decisive way in this life. There was a developing sense that if Christ was the image of God, that image had some existence from the very beginning. The idea that some reality reflective of God existed since creation can also be found in the Word-Wisdom tradition of Judaism, most clearly seen in some of the Apocrypha. In The Wisdom of Solomon 7 we read about wisdom: She is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty. In Sirach 24 we find these words spoken by wisdom: I came forth from the mouth of the Most High and covered the earth like a mist. I dwelt in the highest heavens, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud. The early Christians used the traditions at hand to try and understand how God’s Spirit was at work in Jesus as the Christ, and how the Spirit of God in Christ was at work in their lives. Shouldn’t we use some of the thought-forms and languages of our day to describe how it is Christ’s Spirit continues to work in our lives?

Not only was Christ the image of God, but being such, there are no other powers that can overcome him. The author is laying groundwork for contradicting those he considers false teachers. All things make sense only when seen from the perspective of God’s love in Jesus Christ. In Christ “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” and through him, God “was pleased to reconcile… all things… making peace.” Eugene Peterson puts it nicely in The Message. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe – people and things, animals and atoms – get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies.

In the sermon I preached on February 10, I said this: The strange, cosmic language used in Colossians is the language of the day meant to tell us that there is no place where God does not bring God’s healing work in Christ. Nothing created, whether visible or invisible, is beyond the scope, beyond the reach of God’s healing power in Jesus Christ. There is no reality too large and distant (thrones, dominions, rulers, powers) or too near and intimate (our own inner lives and minds) where healing is not possible. That is what God is up to in Jesus Christ. God desires the healing of the world. God desires healing in our hearts and minds and lives. And God desires our participation in that healing work. This is the good news being celebrated.
One phrase has not yet received comment, that God has effected reconciliation through “the blood of his cross.” Such imagery is difficult for us. We often think of it only in terms of Jesus death as a sacrifice for sin, understood in light of Old Testament sacrificial theology. That is not the only way the death of Jesus was understood in the early church, as we have noted countless times already in reading through the New Testament. In this context, the phrase about Jesus death is most significant in that it keeps us grounded. The Jesus who is the cosmic Christ was the Jesus put to death by the Romans. What might have been seen as a defeat, has been turned by God into something that fosters peace and reconciliation. That is remarkable.

The writer continues on with the theme of reconciliation. Once the Colossians were estranged and of hostile mind, caught up in evil deeds. We know what it can be like to feel alienated from ourselves, our world, our life and feel caught in patterns of living that are frustrating and border on meaninglessness. Reconciliation has taken place, and the Colossian Christians are invited to continue on in their good work, continue to grow in faith, hope and love. They are encouraged to keep on, and so are we.

Colossians 1:24-28: Paul understands himself to be a messenger of the good news he has just written about in such glowing language, and now we receive a report about his condition, along with theological reflection on his life and ministry. Paul is suffering, and understands that suffering to be of a piece with the suffering of Jesus. This is tricky ground for Christians. We should not welcome suffering lightly, and should be dedicated to alleviating suffering when we can in the world. But sometimes working to alleviate the suffering of others creates suffering in our own lives, and we accept that suffering for the sake of the good work we are doing. In such cases, we might see ourselves suffering as Christ suffered.

Paul’s work has been to make the hidden mystery of God “fully known.” The mystery is that God’s work is an inclusive work. God is not willing to simply work in the lives of one group of people, but wants all to be a part of God’s own work in the world. God wants to make Christs of all. Paul desires that all continue to grow in Christ. For this he will “toil and struggle with all the energy [Christ] powerfully inspires within me.” I remember reading the verse about working with all the energy God powerfully inspires within while I was attending training to be a district superintendent. I took those words to heart and saw my ministry as a district superintendent to work with the churches in my district with all the energy God powerfully inspired within me. When I came to be pastor at First United Methodist Church, I renewed that vow, to be in ministry here with all the energy God powerfully inspires within me – and I am grateful for that inspiring energy.