Church

Soul Searching: We Are the Church, but Not a Mob

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Part 4 in a series of reflections on the Capitol insurrection and Christians’ participation Christians congregate in worshiping communities called churches. Some churches are small (in fact, most are) and some are large. Their purpose is to practice the sort of fellowship in which people worship God, learn the content of their faith, grow in love for one another, and pool their resources for ministry in the “mission field” around them. The Church (capital C) is the collective fellowship of all such groups and denominations of believers around the world and over time. The Church exists to embody Jesus to […]

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You Who Have Ears to Hear, Please Listen!

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I’ve had a weird week dealing with a plugged ear. At first, I thought wax had accumulated, so I started the drops and flushing routine for a few days, but heard no improvement. We’re talking totally blocked hearing in my right ear. My efforts now focus on reducing nasal congestion, and a strong decongestant seems to be breaking it up a little. I’m told it could be up to two weeks before it resolves! Meanwhile, I have experienced some of the oddities and embarrassments that hard-of-hearing folks have told me about in my pastoral travels. “Talk into my good ear—don’t

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Goodbye to the Colossians

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When I write a letter or newsy email to a friend or family member, I often spend more time at the beginning of the letter with lengthy highlights and then at the end scramble to include all the little tidbits of news. At some point I realize that if I keep going, the missive will be too long to digest in one sitting! I get the feeling that Paul was in that mode with this last passage of his letter to the Colossians: 12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always wrestling

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Colossians 3:22–4:1: Lessons for Workers and Employers

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A few years ago, in response to the drought conditions then (a chronic problem in California), we re-landscaped our front yard. It involved replacing our driveway and putting in a new walkway directly from the street to our front door. Things were torn up for weeks, but on concrete pouring day everybody’s spirits lifted. A crew of skilled laborers congregated in the middle of the now excavated dirt pathway for the 7 a.m. briefing. With water and tools at the ready, the team turned to welcome the big cement truck of your dreams, and an amazing procedure unfolded. Given wet

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Colossians 3:20-21: Family Lessons

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20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. Remembering that these two verses follow Paul’s exhortation to the church as a whole, it is a wonderful thing the apostle recognizes: children are a part of the church family, too. Previously, husband and wife were urged to demonstrate to each other the quality of relationship that is to pervade the church. Here, too, we see that children (and their parents) have a special responsibility even as they are given the privilege of participation in the household of

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Colossians 3:18: Marriage Lessons, for Wives

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As we come to the Apostle Paul’s very brief instruction on marriage, there is one point to be made in general. Whatever Paul has been teaching up to this point has direct application at home as well as the church. In one sense, the household is a mini-church, a community of believers centered on Jesus Christ. I picture this centeredness with the following analogy: Imagine a Chinese acrobat who spins a plate on the tip of a pole. Imagine that pole extending all the way through the plate to become the axis around which it spins. Think about your plate—your

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Colossians 3:16: People of the Word

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I have been reading Marilynne Robinson’s novel Lila this week, and am taken in by the character development of the girl without a home. Not wanting to spoil the book for anyone who has not read it (and I’m not even finished with it myself), let us just note a habit Lila started when she landed in Gilead. She pinched a pew Bible in order to gain some insight into what the preacher was talking about. To achieve her other goal—increased literacy—she opened the book at the beginning (Genesis 1) and started writing out verses one at a time, ten

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Colossians 3:15: “Peace! Peace!” But Is There Peace?

3 Comments / Church, Colossians, Current Events, Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity / By /

Spring training has started! The Giants are warming up their pitchers and catchers in Scottsdale, AZ, this week. Assessments are being made, recovery from injuries celebrated, starting lineups tried on for size. Next week the full team checks in. As of today, Major League Baseball has exactly forty-five days until opening day, April 6. What we do not hear much about, however, are the umpires. The roster of 68 umpires qualified for “the Majors” is a traveling band of baseball experts. Their calls are sacred—even with official reviews, also made by umpires—and they bear an authority that elicits respect from

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Colossians 3:12: Chosen, Holy and Beloved

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Finally I come ‘round again to the letter of Paul to the Colossians. I left off ten days ago with a general reflection on the idea that we are to clothe ourselves in Christ and his character. This week, I would like to use Paul’s list of admonitions as a springboard for discussion of the sorts of changes you anticipate Jesus might accomplish in you in today’s world. We’ll take this verse by verse through Colossians 3:17. Though it may seem like a thought coming from left field, I start by expressing my outrage at the anti-Semitism that is rising

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Colossians 3:5–11: “You Are Dead to Me”

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A few months ago, Andy and I spent the day with a group of singers who are going on tour in June and willing to take on a couple of oldsters as ringers. At the end of a very hard-working day, we gathered at a home for dinner. The banter and cultural references were beyond me half the time; it was the sort of party that makes you say, “I really should get out more.” Anyway, at some point during the festivities, one young woman said to someone who had been teasing, “Zorba, you are dead to me.” At the

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