Thoughts for the Day

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The Lectionary allows us to celebrate Bible Sunday today rather than the Last Sunday after Trinity, and our reading is from the Epistle to the Colossians, likely written by Paul and Timothy. Colossae was a small city in modern day Turkey, and the primary purpose of the Epistle is to address false teachings that were threatening the church. Paul writes to affirm the pre-eminence of Christ in all things, countering any teaching that diminishes His role, and gives sensible and practical advice on how to live the Christian life.

In today's passage Paul says "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly". Unlike the early Christians in Colossae we are blessed with instant copies of the four Gospels online (see Bible Gateway) in every language needed, and we often possess more than one New Testament. But do we really know the 'Word of Christ'? For instance there are (as far as I can tell), about 70 parables in Matthew, Mark and Luke's Gospels, some are short sentences and some long stories. Jesus used parables to make a point; we often say they have 'heavenly meanings'. Many parables appear in more than one Gospel although John's Gospel has none. Some writers have their own parables told by Jesus, not found in the other gospels. Luke has 10 of these. For those who haven't much time, how many parables (ie stories) in the Gospels can you think of by the time you go to bed?

Note the Collect for today says we are to 'read, mark, learn and inwardly digest' scripture and that's one of the purposes of these Thoughts!

Lord Jesus Christ,
You taught Your disciples
through the medium of story
about our relationship to the Father.
You taught us how treat others,
and how to be forgiven.
May we learn to apply these stories
to our life now and in the future;
may we revel in enjoying their messages;
and may we enjoy reminding ourselves
of those we have forgotten.
Amen.

Collect for Bible Sunday

Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy scriptures
to be written for our learning
help us to hear them,
to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast
the hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.