Living in Community
Living in Community
7th August 2022
Colossians 3:1-17
Last Sunday we looked at this same reading,
But today I want to focus on the second half (from verse 12) – this is incredibly relevant and helpful for us, as we put our St John’s Vision into Action.
We explore and share the gospel with our dynamic neighbourhood.
We create safe spaces to be, to belong, and to navigate the tough stuff.
Getting to know God is a team sport – that’s why we do this together, not alone.
This reading today is about living in Christian community.
Living in Christian community is to experience the true freedom we’ve been given.
Free from limitations and distractions…
Free for living as fully human.
Once again, we have this metaphor of being ‘clothed’…
a. Clothed in :
i. Compassion
ii. Kindness
iii. Humility
iv. Meekness
v. and patience
b. Forgiving “forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (v13)
It’s what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer.
c. Love/harmony “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (v14)
d. Peace in one body “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.” (v15)
e. Being thankful - what does that mean? I have nothing further to add!
f. Teach/admonish “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom” (v16)
g. Sing! “with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” (v16)
Is living this way for wimps?
For people who are weak-willed/lily-livered?
To answer that,
think for a moment what it feels like to truly forgive someone who has hurt you.
Think how difficult it is to have patience and compassion in some specific situations, with some people…!
Living with Christ’s peace in your orbit,
Christ’s word in your orbit,
Christ’s name in your orbit
– takes real moral effort and, well …guts.
And lots of prayer!
And this staunch way of living makes you more human.
Following your impulses and prioritising self interest may feel fun for a while, but this will destroy you sooner or later.
Living this way is not weak.
It’s not sentimental.
It’s not low self-esteem.
It’s like when a wild horse has been tamed – all the same power, but now under control.
Living this way may be confronting for some;
they may respond with hostility or cynicism.
But, this way of living shapes community, society, and humanity.
The theologian William Willimon comments:
The dominant culture in which we live is that of expressive individualism…since the Enlightenment…People like to say, “Well, what the church says might be ok for some, but I think you have to determine right and wrong for yourself.”
But they’re not thinking for themselves.
They’re doing exactly what the culture tells them.
In reality they’re espousing the very way of knowing that’s been imposed on them by their culture…
The Gospel liberates us from cultural (and other) limitations to live freely and fully.
And so, can you see how living this way is a powerful counter-cultural witness to the world?
This is Good News for a world that needs God’s love, peace, forgiveness, and harmony.
FAR: a world with crises…
· Anniversary of Hiroshima (Aug 6)
· Indonesia warning the UN about Australia getting weapons grade plutonium for their new nuclear-powered submarines – fearing it could trigger an arms race with new weapons made from this nuclear material.[1]
NEAR: in our city…
· Loneliness
· busy-ness
· hopelessness
Living in Christian community is to experience the freedom we’ve been given,
and share the hope of this Good News with the world.
Here at St John’s as we have been discerning our Vision,
we have identified some principles for how we want to pursue our Vision…
· Experiment and trying new things
• One whanau - different expressions
• Multiple connection points
• Intergenerational
• Safe spaces to be and belong
• Intentionally connected (Covid has weakened connections)
• Be flexible and responsive
• Be permission-giving
[1] https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/indonesia-warns-of-perils-of-nuclear-powered-submarines-in-submission-to-the-un-20220728-p5b5cx.html