Living the Resurrection

Sermon for April 19 Colossians 3:1-4

“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Col 3:1 Do you want to live forever?  Really?  Humans have been chasing immortality for all of human history. There have been legends of fountains of youth and philosophers’ stones that conquer death and grant immortality. But when we stop to consider what we would do with such a length of days, we are often left wondering. In stories and novels and songs, I have heard immortality described as a blessing that turns into a curse, because eventually you run out of worthwhile things to do. Even as a young man, Alexander the Great is said to have wept when he reached the height of his power, because he had no more worlds to conquer. No, immortality is too small a dream, and a life after death that is just like this life except eternal would get old, fast. In today’s Scripture, Paul places before us a more excellent vision. Instead of immortality, Christ gives us resurrection and eternal life. In Baptism, we recall this truth by submerging people “in the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ” and then by raising them out of the water, “to walk in the newness of His life.” You see, when we come to believe in Jesus— when we believe what Jesus says about Himself, about us, and about what we are supposed to do, we become a part of Him. Paul, again and again in his letters, calls us to participate in Christ— to take part in the great unfolding of His narrative of world history— in the “newness of life” that He created us for. Participation in Christ means not only sharing in his cross, but also living a resurrected life with him. Living in the resurrection means that we have a new life, a new list, and a new lord. In order to gain in the resurrection now, we have to put some of our old passions to death. New Life- we must give up our present, worldly picture of what success looks like, in order to take up a “cross-shaped” life. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question we ask children all the time. We want to know their interests and there’s something about an innocent picture of the future that a child has that we find so inviting. But have you ever really listened to what children say they want to be? Many children want to be whatever their parents are. Some want to be soldiers or fire-fighters, teachers, or doctors. Some are obsessed with tractors and want to be farmers. Children want to do things that they can see positively impact the world. They have an innocent clarity about what making a difference looks like. Some time around the late teenage and early adult years, we shift in our focus. Somewhere along the way we acquire a taste for “stuff,” and income becomes one of our driving motivators. We might try to couch it in terms of “providing for our family,” but the truth is that somewhere along the way, many of us begin to accept that our value is in what we are “worth.” Our reported income on our taxes becomes a chief measure of our success. But at some point I hope we begin to realize that wealth isn’t the whole story. One phrase no one has ever put on their tombstone is “I wish I’d put in a few more hours at the office.” Worldly success is an elusive desire. Many is the millionaire who thinks they will be happy if they can have just a little bit more. Paul, like Jesus before him, calls us to a new life that is really life. A life that satisfies. For Christians, our main ambition should be to become as Christlike as possible. We should do the things that Jesus did. Paul, throughout his ministry, set up the cross as the chief model for Christian life. A lot of the things Jesus got up to were very particular to his time and place: walking from town to town, meeting and healing people by wells and in village squares. These things are great- but if we tried to do all our ministry down by the town in Altavista, we wouldn’t reach very many people; and many of the people we tried to serve wouldn’t be in a good mood for a chat. The cross, however, is the purest expression of what Christ’s love is. It is to give of yourself, down to the last ounce. And we can give even that ounce because we know that we who share in the cross also have a share in our Lord’s resurrection. And the new life that we find in Christ makes it possible for us to have new priorities. New List- we must allow some of our old passions to die, in order to make room for godly priorities in our new lives. “What’s on your bucket list?” It has become quite popular to have a list of things you want to do before you die. Tim McGraw captured this sentiment in his song “Live Like You Were Dying.” In the song, the singer asks a friend how he dealt with a possible terminal diagnosis, and the sick man begins by listing off a few of your typical bucket list items: “I went skydiving, I went Rocky Mountain climbing, I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu.” These are the type of things we so often prioritize as the things we must do before we die. And there is nothing wrong with them, but I ask you is all that you want to accomplish a vacation in Sicily? Learning to waterski? Seeing this or that tourist hotspot around the world? I’ve never heard of someone who said, “preacher I’m finally ready to die now that I went to the Grand Canyon.” Indeed, even the character in the song moves on quickly to “And I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter, and I gave the forgiveness I’d been denying.” I’m thankful Tim and the songwriters didn’t leave us with a couple of fun and beautiful but ultimately meaningless activities. Resurrection life in the kingdom means that our main priorities will come from looking beyond ourselves. Rightly ordering our desires means putting others’ needs ahead of our wants. Alongside and over our bucket list, we need a “Trumpet List.” Paul says that we are to seek “things that are above, where Christ is.” With 2000 years of spiritualizing behind us, we can be forgiven for thinking that Paul is here encouraging us to ponder “streets of gold” and what heaven will look like, or develop our rapture theology and get a clear picture of what the move from earth to heaven will look like, but that’s not what Paul is talking about at all. Rather, Paul takes aim at some very timely goals, that will reshape our lives into resurrection lives. Paul says Christians should kill earthly pursuits: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed. He even reminds us that greed is a form of idolatry— what a challenge for us today, when some are willing to sacrifice so much for economic prosperity. He says that we are to put to death all the things that divide us. The new life is a life of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, forgiveness, and to tie it all together: love. The same  meek, patient, humble love that Jesus showed for us on the cross. We spend the rest of our earthly lives building in ourselves these heavenly things. This not only prepares us for when the Lord calls us home, but also begins our eternal life now, working for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Paul concludes this section of the letter in verse 17, with one of my favorite of Paul’s exhortations: “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 can still go sky diving and Rocky Mountain climbing, but because we do it with a new life and a new—more important- list of priorities, we do it in a different way. We do these things in the name of the New Lord of our lives.  New Lord- we must give up on trying to please people who don’t ultimately want what is best for us, in order to serve the One who gave his life that we might have life more abundant. “Who are you working for?” Anyone who has to work for someone else and wear a uniform knows that their behavior reflects on their company’s values. There are certain things you can’t or shouldn’t do when you are wearing your corporate logo or driving a vehicle with your boss’s name on the side. As Christians, we wear the name of Jesus wherever we go. What we do and how we behave reflects on him. In the ancient world, carrying someone’s name meant having their power. The symbol of this was often a seal or a signet ring that could be used to sign documents on behalf of the person who had given you their authority. Christians living in Jesus’ name have a share of His power and His responsibility. The Christ who we serve, since His resurrection and ascension, is seated at the Right hand of God. By pointing this out, Paul reminds us that the Jesus we serve has been restored to the power he gave up for our sake. Our job as Christians is to reveal Jesus’s power by making him the Lord of our lives. This means doing the things that he told us to do, living the truth that every other power is below Him. That we have no allegiance equal to our allegiance to Him. In reevaluating our lives and changing our priorities, we begin to live out our calling to “bring all things under the Lordship of Christ.” But we can’t do that if we don’t bring our own selves—our very lives— under Christ’s lordship. John RW Stott, a great New Testament scholar, wrote that we can’t say “Jesus Christ is Lord” if we can’t also say “Jesus Christ is smart.” To worship Jesus authentically is to accept His guidance for our lives. We are to take our orders from Him. Conclusion We Christians are Easter People. We are Resurrection people. This does not only mean that we believe and proclaim the real bodily resurrection of our Lord. Nor does it only mean that we believe that we will be resurrected after we die. No, being Easter people means we are called to live in the Resurrection today. We are called to a New Life, characterized by a New List of priorities, under a New Lord. To have faith in Christ is to pledge allegiance to the new government that will overtake all earthly governments. We make our Gospel pledge real by living heavenly lives here on this earth, living with faith in Christ— living faithfully in Christ. We must live as though we believe what we say when we sing:  All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all! O seed of Israel's chosen race now ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all. Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all! Let every tongue and every tribe responsive to his call, to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all. To him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all! Oh, that with all the sacred throng we at his feet may fall! We'll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. We'll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all.  The Christ who died is crowned in glory. Let Him be crowned in your life. And join the Christians throughout the ages in calling our neighbors and the nations to crown him lord of all.