Spiritual Compost

(At yesterday's healing service I reflected on this passage from Colossians 3:1-3.  

I tried, as best as I can, to reconstruct the homily in writing to share with you here.)

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

 + Grace and Peace to you.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the young church in Colossia, is encouraging the community of faith to recognize and embrace not only the good news of the resurrection, but also the impact that this good news has on their lives in the faith. Things have changed. God has acted in Christ.  

When we are baptized, we participated in the only death that really matters.  We have already died, we have been put to death, we have been joined to the death of Christ in the waters of baptism.  And we have been raised with Christ in the resurrection.

Therefore, Paul can say:  So, if you have been raised (up) with Christ (and you have!) seek (or keep seeking) the things that are above...

This is all well and good.  We hear these words of encouragement that exhort us to look up and seek things above. But how are we doing with this, say, when we are walking the aisles of the grocery store and we have to concentrate on whether to buy Cheerios or Grape Nuts?  We live our lives in the midst of the here and now, the nuts and bolts, the down and dirty of earthly life. How can we go around seeking the things that are above?

When we were baptized, God took the initiative to give us a new identity, an identity that will outlive our diagnoses and prognoses.  We are children of God.  We have been clothed with Christ’s righteousness, we have put on Christ, our lives are hidden with Christ in God.

The thing is, our lives have become cluttered. It’s sometimes difficult to recognize these blessings of God in our lives because there is so much stuff in the way.

Consider for a moment the image of an overgrown backyard.  Without weekly and regular tending, trimming, and uneventful maintenance, things quickly become complicated and confused.  Our soul is a lot like that backyard. It is out of sight for most of us and most everyone looking in at us.  Yet we know that we need a bit of care (to put it mildly).  It seems so overwhelming. Where do we begin?

Probably the most effective and efficient way to proceed is to compost.  Just start gathering all the debris, detritus, and trash in the yard together. Pile it high and turn it over.  Allow it to ferment, breakdown. Permit the rain, the Sun, and the clock to turn this pile of waste into something beautiful. Compost.  It can eventually be used to feed and nourish, to bring and encourage life where only death and decay seem to prevail.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  Don’t waste this life on trash and clutter that brings you down and makes a stink of things.  De-clutter, take out the trash, pile it up high, turn it over and let God... 

Meanwhile, clothe yourself in God’s garments of righteousness, light and life, in Christ.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen