Keep It Simple
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Colossians 1:24-29
24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25. of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26. the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. 27. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28. Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. 29. For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.
During the time Paul wrote this letter, the Gnostics were pretty prominent. They believed that one needed to acquire a “secret knowledge” in order to be saved. And that knowledge was only granted to a select few. This is, in part, what Paul is addressing when he talks about the “mystery.” For Christians, God reveals his purpose through divine revelation. The information is available to everyone – Jews, Gentiles, everyone! And this truth is to be widely proclaimed – shared with everyone and anyone who will listen and believe!
I was brought up in the Catholic Church. There will always be a part of me that remains Catholic. I love the ritual and the traditions and the beauty of the religion. Watching all the masses and ceremonies on television as the Bishops prepare to appoint a new Pope has been wonderful! But Paul cautions us not to get hung up on the pomp and circumstance. Don’t be distracted by the rituals. Don’t make your purpose for worshipping, to recite the creeds and go through the familiar prayers and actions that make up a “worship service.”
Paul wants us to extend our “worship” to every aspect of our lives! We participate in communal worship, with others “in community” when we go to services at church. And it is important to maintain and strengthen that communal sharing of our faith and our faith traditions. But the “secret” now revealed must be broadcast outside the walls of our churches. We must spread the Good News to everyone. And we shouldn’t complicate things with too many flowery words, or try to “show off” what we know. Keep it simple: Jesus! That’s it. No big mysterious truth that is incapable of being grasped. No secret society, members of the elect, who know, but will not impart their knowledge to others.
We are all the body of Christ. Just as we care for our entire bodies, we must care for each other. The best way to do that is to share the truth of the risen Christ. And when we think we’ve done all we can to advance the gospel in the world, we are to go one step further, strive for one more hour, work to save one more soul – relying not upon our own limited strength and stamina, but upon our Lord and Savior—the source of all strength.
Keep it Simple. Say it plain. Jesus is Lord. When you are in a crisis, or need to make a quick decision, fall back on the perhaps trite, but oh so true, question: What Would Jesus Do?
My prayer today is that you keep it simple and say it plain to all who will hear your voice. And that you’ll find the strength only available through Christ, to speak the truth one more time, to one more person in need of hearing the Truth.
Mary
