“Living as God’s Chosen People”
Colossians 3:12-17

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
December 26, 2021—First Sunday after Christmas

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen

Our text is from today’s Epistle Reading in the third chapter of Colossians:  “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds you all together in perfect unity.”

Several years ago Reader’s Digest issued a condensed version of the Bible.  Garrison Keillor joked that in this version God creates the world in four days instead of six, they pared the Ten Commandments down to just seven, and a tithe is now only 6% instead of the traditional 10%. 

Our text is actually like a Reader’s Digest version, a succinct summary in just a few verses, of the entire Gospel.  For, in this list of virtues, instructing us how WE are to act toward others, there is also a progression of thought in each word, telling us the story of what GOD has done for us.  These verses tell us not only what your attitude should be toward others, but also the Good News of what God’s attitude is toward you.

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with COMPASSION.”  Compassion is that inner feeling of empathy you have for others who are in a sad situation, the DESIRE to do something to help them.  As the Lord declares in Isaiah, “‘With everlasting love I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord, your Redeemer.”

There have been a number of movies based on the premise of how a human being might act if put in God’s place, with God’s powers.  But, if you really were in God’s place, what would your attitude be toward the world, toward humanity, toward yourself? 

God in his goodness created us to worship him, to serve him, to give him glory in our lives.  But, as Genesis says, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  Because of our sins we deserve not compassion but damnation.  As the Apostle Paul says in Romans, “For the wages of sin is death.”

But, Paul also tells us in Romans the Good News: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God looked down upon our sinful world and instead of the anger that we deserve, that we would feel if we were in God’s place, he had compassion on us.  As the Psalm says, “You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, KINDNESS.”  Kindness is the next step, putting your inner FEELINGS of compassion, your DESIRE to help, into practical action.  On television you may see some tragedy where people are suffering, and it sparks in you empathy, a desire to help; that is compassion.  When you then send a donation, or volunteer, or take some other practical steps, that is kindness, putting your feelings of compassion into action.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  As the angels announced to the shepherd’s the night of Jesus’ birth: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” 

God put his compassion for you into action by sending his Son to be your Savior. As Paul says in Ephesians, “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God.”

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, HUMILITY.”  This is the next step God took for your salvation, as we confess in the Creed: “Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man.”  Jesus demonstrated the ultimate humility by coming down from his heavenly throne, being born of a woman, setting aside his divine powers and prerogatives, and living here as a human.  “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Jesus humiliation began at his birth, when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came into our world as a “Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.”

His life in this world was a journey from the wood of the manger to the wood of the cross.  For, some 33 years later the climax came of Jesus’ humiliation for your salvation, when he “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.”  As Paul says in Philippians, “Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, GENTLENESS.”  The Greek word for gentleness was used in courtroom settings for a judge showing “leniency.”  We confess in the Creed, “He will come to judge the living and the dead,” and Paul says in Acts, “He has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.” 

Of all the articles of faith in our Creeds, Martin Luther said that the most important is the declaration: “I believe in . . . the forgiveness of sins.”  “For if that is not true,” Luther said, “what does anything else matter?” 

The Good News is, at the final judgment the Judge will show you gentleness, leniency, “the forgiveness of sins.” Because, the Judge himself has already suffered in your place all the penalty your sins deserved.  As Psalm 103 says, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquity. . . as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and PATIENCE.”  In 1st Timothy, Paul says that God has “unlimited patience.”  Like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, your heavenly Father shows unlimited patience toward you, always forgiving you and welcoming you back when you go astray.  As the Apostle Peter says, “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and FORGIVE whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Paul says in Philippians, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” and in Ephesians, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.” 

As we enter the New Year, the example of Christ’s compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness shown toward you is both your MOTIVATION and also your PATTERN to follow.  In the New Year and throughout your life show toward others the same Christ-like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness that Christ has so graciously shown toward you.

“And over all these virtues put on LOVE, which binds you all together in perfect unity.”  This Christ-like attitude you will show toward others is summed up in one word: LOVE. The Apostle John puts it this way: “This is how God showed his love for us: He sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we may live through him. . . he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.”  This list of virtues in Colossians, instructing us how WE are to act toward others, is also a succinct summary in just a few verses, of the entire Gospel.  For, there is a progression of thought in each word, telling us the story of what GOD has done for us.  These verses tell us the Good News of God’s attitude toward you, and in response to that Good News, what YOUR attitude will be toward OTHERS—because YOU are “God’s chosen . . . holy and dearly loved.”

Did you know we’re coming up on a two-year anniversary next month?  It was on January 20th, 2020 that the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the first case of COVID in the United States. Perhaps it is because after two long years we are so weary of it all, or the political controversies and economic uncertainty that we face—for whatever reason people right now seem especially prickly, irritable, easily angered.

In 2022, step back from all the tension, the bitterness and hostility.  Make this beautiful verse YOUR MOTTO for the New Year: “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds you all together in perfect unity.”