Tough, Loving, Smart and True

Colossians 2:2-7
Preached at Shavertown United Methodist Church
Farewell Sermon
June 16-17, 2007

When you read Colossians, you begin to realize why it can be so hard to do Biblical study, sometimes. You get the feeling that Paul is arguing against something, but it's really hard to figure out what it is. It's like hearing only one side of a phone conversation, but not being able to hear the other side. So we are left to piece together what Paul is arguing against.

I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

The Bible commentaries that I read suggest that the church at Colossae was listening to some teachers who had a bit of a strange take on the Gospel. Modern presumption of the argument of the strange teachers in Colossae comes down to this-- Jesus is one of many appearances of the divine, and that Jesus himself is not divine, nor perhaps was he human.

So, in response, Colossians was written. And what Colossians says is that Jesus is sufficient for Christian faith. There is no further knowledge of God necessary, Jesus was God's full self-disclosure all by himself. Paul reminds the Colossian church to stand together, remember what they have been taught, and be reassured that they have the full knowledge of Jesus, and that there are no further secrets to learn.

This is good enough for me. Not because I am not open to new revelation, but because we all need something definite to hang our hats on. The goal is a relationship with God, so it is enough for me to believe that Jesus IS the son of God, that he WAS fully human, and that he DID die in order to save humanity from itself, and that God DID raise him from the dead, to show us his power over everything, including death, injustice, and oppression. There is where I start, that is the base from which I explore.
And as believers, our response is to be tough, loving, smart and true.

I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

It's not easy to be a Christian. It never has been. There are always these moments where we re-think ourselves because of something we have heard in church, or read in the Bible, or been taught. Plus, there's all this work; study the Bible, fellowship dinners, our conscience demanding that we speak up when it's probably wiser to hush. Oh and there's that irritating back-of-the-mind thought you've had for three weeks about going on that mission trip. Do you really want to blow vacation time to build a hospital in the tropics, instead of sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them?

Oh, and the people at church. Speaking of being a Christian being hard work! Some of them make you so mad you could just. . .

Ugh. It would be a lot easier not to be Christian.

But you are. You've heard the story of Christ, you've been baptized, you are in.

Tough, loving, smart and true.

I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

It has been my privilege to walk with you for two and a half years. I am a pastor. It is what I am called to do by God and by the United Methodist Church. And now the time has come for me to move on to other congregations.

But as I leave, I will take with me memories and useful experiences. I'll remember summer nights out on the Anselmo's deck talking about faith and church in the Back Porch Jesus classes. I'll remember sitting in worship with you hearing Pastor Doug announce that he and Jan had separated. I'll also remember the joy of their reconciliation as Doug moved to Central Endicott. I'll remember a pastor who was already a friend, Lynn, coming here.

A huge chunk of my memory will be filled with the youth group, especially the young women who were as constant as the northern star. Through thick and thin, weather, homework, and jobs, I saw you all the time. We IM'ed together, you got me into MySpace, we played mandolin together, we crashed the Beetle together at Sky Lake. I can tell you now that my nickname for you all was "the Beguines". I went and finally looked that word up this week, so I could make sure I wasn't calling you something terrible, and I discovered that there are two meanings. One is a dance that originated in the Caribbean, and the other is the name for a religious sisterhood that started in the 13th century. No lie, I didn't know that, but it is perfect.

Those of you who have helped with youth group over these two years will be the model of how to develop people as disciples together for God's purposes. Through you, I know what can be done when God leads.

We have lived together as a family, with all the attendant loving, fighting, and bad and good behavior. You will continue to live together as that family. Colossians tells us that Christians are to be united in love, that our hearts should be encouraged, and we should remain firm in the faith of Christ. You will continue this journey together, with Lynn as your pastor. I will start a new journey with my new church families. Both of us will continue to seek God, root our lives in him, build up our faith in Him, and abound in thanksgiving. This will keep us in Him, and keep us together as a church, with our purpose clear--that we will make disciples of Jesus Christ.

And may we be tough, loving, smart and true, too. May our hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that we may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery. God's mystery is Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And belief in him is all that we need. There is no further knowledge required. There are no more secrets.