Colossians 1:15-29 – “Christ in You”
“This mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but now is revealed to God’s saints… is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
—Colossians 1.27-28
A poem by Steve Garnaas-Holmes for Martha called “One Thing Is Needed,”
“There will be the clutter and clatter of pans
the rumble and jumble of traffic and trains
the brambles of papers and lists and calls
the beaten paths, the errands, the chores.
“You don’t have to rattle and run with them.
You can do one thing at a time.
“You can stop
and sit at the feet of the moment,
pay reverent attention to whatever it is,
and listen to the silence beneath the hum,
and simply be
in the presence of the presence.
“In all your doing that you surely must do,
you still can just be.
And your being
will become what you do.
“In the stillness within the action
sits the Beloved
who is not distracted by many things,
but only wants to sit awhile with you. ”
We have to look inside to see our own unique gifts that are a part of our community . These appear in soul searching as a result of our faith if we take the time to search them out. And we have to be ready to receive the gifts of others as well.
Martha as well as May has the opportunity to receive God’s grace through faith through their identification with Christ. Martha needs to see that she needs nourishment. She needs to be “renewed in faith and strengthened for service.” Jesus is the host with many gifts to give. We have to take the time to “get it.”
This scripture represents Paul’s dealing with those in Colossae who believe that obedience to the law through the Torah provided the basis for God’s promised blessings. Not so, says Paul. When a person believes in Christ, Christ enters into their being and they receive, as a gift, the full benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. Thus with “Christ in us” we possess the “hope of glory.” We can all share in his glory It was his effort to preach and incorporate the Gentiles into the body of Christ.