DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Colossians 3:12-16
(01/08 or 01/21)
The Thirtieth Sunday after Pentecost
Put on Christ: Colossians 3:12-16, especially vss. 12,
13: “Therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another....even as
Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” At
great Feasts instead of the hymn, “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal
One,” we sing the Baptismal antiphon, “For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). In writing to the Christians at
Colossae, Saint Paul breaks open the meaning of that festal hymn to show us the
virtues we are called upon to acquire, as members of the Body of Christ, the
Church, “...the elect of God...” (vs. 12). How graciously the Apostle teaches
us! It is one thing to receive an
invitation to the heavenly banquet (Mt. 22:2-10), but it is another to be
attired in the required wedding garment (Mt. 22:11,12). In this reading, he provides the design
for the prescribed garment for us to weave and put on in order to prove
ourselves worthy.
Saint Paul points out that we already have the true model
in ‘The One’ clothed in all virtues - Christ our God. What He did we “...also must
do” (vs. 13). Being united
unto Christ, we are now to spend the hours, days, and years of this life to
‘put Him on.’ He
reveals the garment. But who does
not need much tailoring of his life?! - to let out a
great deal here and take in a little there? Getting the right fit is what this life
is about. To put on Christ, we have
to lay the fabric of our self on the cutting table against ‘The
Pattern’ and go to work, snipping and sewing.
In this passage, all the virtues, from
‘tender mercies’ (vs. 12) to ‘love’ (vs. 14) are meant
to translate into action. As a contributor to the Dictionary of
New Testament Theology has observed, “...humanity and neighborliness
are not qualities but action.”
Yes, these must first be affirmed in the heart as qualities. This is why the Holy Fathers drive us to
purify our hearts as Saint Symeon the New Theologian
asserts: “For someone who desires spiritual rebirth, the first step
toward the light is to curtail the passions, that is to say, to guard the
heart; for it is impossible otherwise to curtail the passions.” Psalmody, of which Saint Paul speaks
(vs. 16), can help inflame our hearts noetically; and
attentiveness and prayer can ward off “...all distractive thoughts that
encircle the heart...,” through “....the invocation of the Lord
Jesus Christ.”
If we desire to show even a modicum of compassion or of
tender mercies toward others an aspect of putting on Christ, then our desire to
help others requires us to act and use every good and appropriate means the
Master makes available to us. We
have to risk acting like the Good Samaritan, just to meet the most basic needs
of any one whom God places in our path.
Kindness is expressed naturally when we exercise the
inherent tenderness that our Lord displayed when He came across the widow of
Nain following the funeral bier of her only son. “He had compassion on her” (Lk. 7:13); then He spoke to her, came to the coffin and
touched it.
Humility, or lowliness of mind, is the unique
Christian virtue as Saint John Chrysostom asserts, “This is the basis of
all virtue....not lowly toward one, and rude toward another; be lowly toward
all men, be he friend or foe, be he
great or small. This is lowliness.”
Similarly, “Meekness is an immovable state of soul
which remains unaffected, whether in evil report or in good report, in dishonor
or in praise” - so Saint John of Sinai reminds us.
To ‘put on Christ’ one must meet loss, insult,
bruises and wounds, and yet forgive.
“Yea, and therefore is he called
long-suffering...” says Saint John Chrysostom. With each virtue, may we “...put
on love, which is the bond of perfection” (vs. 14). Such is the way of the Master.
I have put Thee on, O Christ our God; in Thy mercy make me
a victor, even unto the end.
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