Live thankfully in the peace of Christ.

 

Sermon for Christmas 1, New Year’s Eve, 2023

Mercy and peace to you all, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.”  Amen.

Colossians 3:12-17  ¹²Therefore, as God’s elect, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  ¹³Bear with one another and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint against anyone else.  Forgive, just as Christ forgave you.  ¹⁴And, in addition to all these things, put on love, which ties things together in perfect unity.  ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, to which you were also called, in one body.  And be thankful.  ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.  ¹⁷And everything you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (EHV)

Live thankfully in the peace of Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus,

            In this first Sunday after Christmas, we have also reached the end of the old year, while looking forward into the new.  At times like this, it is commonplace for people of all walks of life, and all backgrounds, to examine themselves in light of the past year and resolve to improve themselves in the coming new year.  In a way, this is similar to what happens when an unbeliever is transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit granting faith in that new believer’s heart.  Once faith in Jesus takes over, the sinner is ashamed of many of the ways he or she formerly lived, and the desire to live for and like Jesus grows as the faith in Jesus grows.

Now, you and I may not remember what it was like to be completely alien to God, but Paul wrote this letter to former pagans who needed and desired instruction in Christian living.  If we are honest with ourselves, we all need this instruction for as long as we remain here on earth, we remain sinners even while believing in Jesus as our Savior.  Therefore, while the old man battles against the new, our new man of faith desires to Live thankfully in the peace of Christ.

It can be easy to read these instructions and despair at how often we fail to live up to them.  As we look at ourselves over the past year, how often don’t we find times when we didn’t have compassion in how we reacted to others?  How often haven’t we been boastful instead of humble, rude instead of kind, obnoxious instead of gentle, and easily annoyed instead of patient with our fellow man, or even our own families?  How often have we found it hard to forgive someone who was rude to us, or perhaps took advantage of us somehow?  How often didn’t we find it hard to love, that is to put someone else’s needs fully ahead of our own?

I expect that many of us, if not all of us, can find times when we fell short of what Paul instructs here.  More than that, if you don’t find yourself guilty of any of these things, you are likely deceiving yourself.  However, the point here isn’t to belittle or shame us, nor that we must do all these things to be a Christian.  Instead, Paul’s point is to show us Jesus and how He has already lived these things for us.  Then, having faith in Jesus, and being united with Christ through faith and baptism, we not only want to live this holy lifestyle, we are already counted as such by God for Jesus’ sake, and in that connection, we earnestly desire to turn from our old sinful ways to live in the holiness joined together with us through faith.

As I said, at times such as this, we want to examine ourselves, and finding shortcomings, we desire to improve.  Therefore, as Christian believers, we return in daily repentance to our baptisms and are again cleansed of our sin for Jesus’ sake.  Then having that perfect cleansing, we go about our days living for the Savior who lived and died to make us holy.

The center of Paul’s instruction says: “Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, to which you were also called, in one body.”  Christ Jesus came into this world in exactly the same birth that brought us into the world.  To do so, Jesus set aside His divine glory to live as one of us.  The Son of God put on human flesh so He could live in the same sinful world that causes us so much grief, yet He remained sinless.  As one of us, Jesus endured the taunts of sinners, the unkindness of strangers, and the impatience of even those who loved Him.  He suffered the shame of watching His heavenly Father’s words be mocked, and God’s commands be ignored or twisted to fit the desires of the wicked. 

Jesus owned the right to strike down every sinner for the offence they show to God, yet instead of entering our world to judge, Jesus lived to save.  Where we might get angry at some perceived slight, Jesus was patient.  When He was cheated of the glory He deserved, Jesus remained silent before His accusers.  And when cruel soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross, He prayed to His Father in heaven for their forgiveness, and for ours.  Everything Jesus did, everything He suffered, Jesus did so that you and I would have peace with God.

It is in knowing all that Jesus lived so that we might be declared holy, that we read the words the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write,

Therefore, as God’s elect, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with one another and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint against anyone else.  Forgive, just as Christ forgave you.  And, in addition to all these things, put on love, which ties things together in perfect unity. 

You and I may find it hard to live up to this instruction, but Jesus already did for us, and being united with Him, how can we turn against the Son of God who made us whole?  Yes, the battle often rages within.  What our old sinful nature wants goes against our new man of faith.  At the same time, Jesus remains with us to lead and guide us in living according to His will.  As the Holy Spirit pours out the gospel of our Lord Jesus upon us, His love ties us to Him in perfect unity.

Notice that we who believe in Jesus are God’s elect, chosen from eternity to receive God’s love and forgiveness, not because of anything we have done or deserve, but because of God’s grace.  Paul confirmed this in his letter to the Ephesian congregation when he wrote, “God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses.  It is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Here, Paul wrote, “Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, to which you were also called, in one body.  And be thankful.”  Imagine how rude it would be to be ungrateful for the greatest gift ever given.  Anyone who rejects this peace with God, that Christ has won for us, spits in the face of the God who so loved the world that He sacrificed His own dear Son so that we might live.  To the believer, this seems unthinkable.  Still, our sinful nature is a strong enemy, so we need God’s help to overcome its selfishness.  Therefore, St. Paul advises, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

Why do you think we are gathered here this morning?  We gather in worship, not just so that we might praise and honor God, but primarily so that the Lord of heaven and earth can serve us with His Word and the power of His Spirit.  Here we teach and admonish one another, confessing our sins, hearing both our shortcomings of sin and the healing power of the Gospel which brings us into fellowship with God.  Here, Jesus pours out His body and blood in the bread and wine to feed our souls and strengthen us for living in His likeness.  Yes, here we also sing praise with gratitude to God because anything and everything good about us comes only from the Lord.

After Jesus entered Jerusalem early in the week in which He was to endure the suffering and death that won life for us, He contemplated what He was sent to do, and He prayed, “Father, glorify your name!”  A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.”  (John 12:28)  The Father is glorified by what Jesus did to save you and me, and by how the Holy Spirit moves us to believe and live for Him.  Thus, it is by faith in Jesus that you and I glorify God when we live according to God’s instructions.  This is the grace God gives us.  It is even by grace that the Holy Spirit brings us these commands.  Without His guidance, we would still wander in the dark, but with the Word of our God we walk in the light of Jesus.  Therefore, we hear again Paul’s admonishment, “And everything you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Dear friends, we know that on our own we will always fall short of the glory of God.  However, Jesus lived perfectly for us, in perfect kindness, meekness, and loving service.  Through faith, He now connects us with His perfection, and by His Word, He empowers us to live in His likeness.  We know we will never be perfect in this life, but here we train for our everlasting dwelling place.  There, God will cover our corruption with incorruption and our mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:53)  Meanwhile here, we live in thankful obedience to the One who gave His life to glorify God by setting us free from sin and death.  Therefore, in gratitude for the love God showed us, Live thankfully in the peace of Christ.  Amen.

Now to Him who is able to strengthen you—according to the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, . . . to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ.  Amen.