Colossians 3:12-17 (NRSV) As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
We Lutherans can get uncomfortable with this section of Holy Scripture. We are big on being saved by grace and hanging on by faith until heaven. But we also have a quietistic streak within us. Leave “well enough” alone. Say nothing about worship and spiritual life? Say nothing in wisdom? Encourage no one? Do not build anyone up? We need not go overboard and get mean to be loving.
I am handcuffed by this way of thinking as well. Will something I say turn you off? How can I get through? I so much want every one of you to be at worship and Bible study every Sunday. Your children too, even in the summer! Are you that busy or uninterested in things eternal, so tied up in schedules, or just lazy about Christ? To what end? Will anything change? For what benefit? The substance is the same: Christ crucified and raised to save you. Do not use children or busyness as an excuse. Does Jesus really let you “off the hook” of worshiping and praising, forgiving and serving? Weariness comes from brokenness and rebellion and the foolish need to be our own God and in charge.
What happens when people who identify themselves as Christians have no desire to be with other Christians, no felt need to confess sin against the almighty God, or even to acknowledge that one is a sinner in need of redemption, when your children have no framework for worship as the foundation for their weekly life? Does God almighty release us from hearing about His mercy? How foolish! Christianity morphs into religion and spirituality and then it dies. He died so that we and our children do not have to die eternally. It is that eternally serious.
So I admonish everyone who is a member of Emmaus in Christian wisdom. Clothe your heart with new clothes. Be not foolish and dismissive. Be bound by His grace to confess sin and faith, be fed by your Savior, and welcome Him into the decisions of your life. His peace passes all understanding. Be admonished for your joy. Be ready to change by the power of the Spirit and grow in being a confessing Christian. Be willing to find the way to positively admonish others with an invitation to hear Good News.
Pastor Tom Trapp, Mission Pastor
Walking the Emmaus Road with the Risen Lord
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XVII, Number 1, August 2015)