Christmas Take-Away
Dis-Cordia
Colossians 3:12-17

 † In Jesus’ Name †

May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Chirst reveal to you the unity that exists between all those God has called to be His family, and whom He loves!

• The Preponderance of Discord

Back in the 1990s, there came into existence something called chat boards, and message boards. ChurchChat and ChurchUSA were places people would “gather” online and discuss their faith, in what was called “realtime.” You type your comment, someone else posts a response, or 20 others do. Similar boards were set up where the messages weren’t live, but one thread included messages responding to another—allowing t                                                                                   he messages to stand forever.

It was soon realized that both types of communication needed referees called moderators. Why? Because some people came in and were determined to cause trouble, and others simply Christianity with a much narrower lens, saying that only their “brand” of Christianity was acceptable to God.

Those desiring to cause division or those who caused it in ignorance had to be dealt with, and I was occasionally put in that role. I hated it, as it often meant I had to kick people out that had become “friends.” But sometimes the discussions proved so emotionally laden and divisive that it was reduced to name-calling, cursing and even condemning each other.

The modern versions of these programs, called social media, can are often this contentious. Twitter, FB, and other forms of social media seem to be prevalent with this, and one of the biggest is actually called “discord!”

Hear a few comments recently from social media,

“he recognizes no god and he prays for no one, he’s a vile decrepit (next words erased) crawling with the diseases of corruption”

“burn in hell (explicit)!”

“For sure it could not have been just for praying. (He’s) trespassing, embarrassing staff, threating people and the usual “b.s.”

And the one that scares me the most,

“I don’t pray for him”

All of these comments coming from “good, committed, every week church going people. No wonder the place    where these were posted by Christians is named after the mark used to tell you an answer is wrong on a test…

Ironic, a place to exchange ideas is titled with a word that means “disagreement” and “a lack of harmony.”  Discord is the opposite of a word we use around here all the time… Concordia.

And it is the opposite of what Paul writes to the church in Colossae, “⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.

That harmony, that peace is Concordia… and it is who we are!

• Dealing with faults

I think the discord we have to let Jesus remove from us is caused first by a lack of love. If we are not clothed with Christ’s love, we aren’t dwelling in mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness or patience.

Without that love, and all its companions, all that is left is pride and envy, which quickly turns to discord, and hatred. What does that result in?  Well, what’s your first reaction to these words of Paul?

¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others!

If your reaction is “what about them?” or to ask what Paul means when using the phrase, “anyone who offends you” or even to try and define “faults” asking if that includes this and that sin, then we’ve got a problem!

A problem called sin!

And left undealt with, it will continue to rob us of God’s peace, and destroy and  sense of Concordia, of harmony.

The problem is that we can balance having mercy with tolerating evil or sin. We struggle with that division, and rather than gently correct in love. In frustration with the error and we struggle with having the mercy, kindness, humility , gentleness and patience.

Yet those are what we are to be clothed in, that is what is supposed to define out life life, and that is where we find our harmony. Ity is not something that can be forced, anymore than a tree can force itself to bear fruit.

So where does Concord come from? And how do we delete discord?

• Chosen, and called to
  • The Message filling your lives

The key is not in our effort, but in the work and glory of Christ, and the transformation that the Holy Spirit works in you while clothing you in Christ Jesus.

Verse 12, ^“ Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves…”

Verse 14, “. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Those sort of sound like we are responsible for the work, don’t they? After all – most of us dress ourselves – in my case, ethat’s easy to tell!  😊

But these are the work of God who calls us into this relationship and forgives our sin, literally separates or strips us of it. He takes us of our filthy rags, and we are clothed instead in Christ. It’s the same concept as Ezekiel’s words that promise the Spirit replaces out stony heart with a heart of flesh, or Paul’s words that talk about the transformation of our mind – the concept of repentance which the Holy Spirit gifts us with…

This is where harmony, where Concordia is created, by God in His presence as He transforms us. As the message of His love fills your life and your praises, as His peace fills your hearts and mind…

This is what your baptism is about, what communion is about, what prayer and Bible study is about, helping you do more that hear these words, but experience the truth of the love…

Paul instructs us to sing songs and hymns and praise songs to God, the more we  take His message in, the more we are bound together, the more we sing with all the harmnony and with all the abandon we have!

For we are His…