In ancient times, a king decided to find and honor the greatest person among his subjects. A man of wealth and property was singled out. Another was praised for his healing powers and a third for his wisdom and knowledge of the law. Still another was lauded for his business acumen. Many other successful people were brought to the palace, and it became evident that the task of choosing the greatest would be difficult.
Finally the last candidate stood before the king. This woman had white hair and her eyes shone with the light of knowledge, understanding, and love.
“Who is this?” asked the king. “What has she done?”
“You have seen and heard all the others,” said the king’s aide. “This one is their teacher!”
With this the people all applauded and the king came down from his throne to honor her as the greatest of his subjects.
Those at court learned that while worldly success might initially be perceived to be of greatest importance, the true formula for life is learning from others and teaching others to be successful. Contemporary society measures success by the number of things we possess, accolades and awards received, significant positions attained, or the amount of influence or power we wield. Yet, Jesus Christ, whom we follow and whose birth we continue to celebrate during this Christmas season, came among us as a poor man. He achieved few if any of the marks that today are labels for “success,” yet more people follow him and his teaching today than any other religious leader. Why? Jesus was the teacher who taught us the formula for life.
Today we hear how Saint Paul, writing to the Colossians, gives the community a “recipe” for success, not in this world necessarily, but more importantly for eternal life, the goal to which his readers and all of us must daily strive.
In today’s reading, Paul lays out in systematic order the qualities, virtues, and characteristics that when knitted together become a fabric, a garment that when worn and used properly becomes our garment that makes us followers of Jesus. First, he says we are God’s chosen ones. From the beginning we have been given the privilege of being chosen by God. The message has been given to us; we have been entrusted with a special and magnificent gift. We then have a responsibility to clothe ourselves in this message and to bring it to others. Christ is our teacher and we must continue his work by teaching others, not only in words, but in our actions, attitudes, and in general the way we live our Christian call to holiness.
Because we have been chosen, Paul says we are seen as holy and beloved in God’s sight. We are special to God; we are his children. To be seen as special in the eyes of the creator is certainly another great privilege. If God considers us holy, then we must respond and act accordingly. We must be holy people, demonstrating by our actions and our words that we desire to follow the pattern of Christ’s life. Jesus clearly gave us a pattern for life, a way to live not only for ourselves but for others.
In order to live a life of holiness, patterned on the life of Jesus, Paul presents us with basic qualities that we must weave into the fabric of our own life. He says we must be people of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and to bear with one another. Quite obviously, especially in our fast-paced and self-autonomous society, these are lofty and possibly utopian goals. Yet, if we seek to be holy and follow in the footsteps of Christ, we must do our best to not back away from the challenge that these virtues bring, but charge head on and do what is necessary to make these qualities part of our fabric of life.
Compassion and kindness are lofty goals. One of the basic qualities we seek in others is their ability to demonstrate kindness, but often we ourselves are anything but kind. Rather, we are often “at each other’s throats,” talking little of kindness or compassion, but rather seeking our own ends. Too often we view others as competitors; too much kindness or compassion toward them will place us at a disadvantage. To be kind and compassionate requires us to go beyond ourselves and our limited purview. We must seek to satisfy the needs of others. Kindness and compassion are not easy characteristics to exemplify; yet they are part and parcel of Paul’s formula.
Today humility and meekness are often viewed as signs of weakness. Society tells us we must always appear strong, in control and command of any and all situations. Jesus’ teaching in the gospel to sit at the low end of the table and wait to be called up higher (Luke 14:10) is inconsistent with today’s message for success. We are always told to put our best foot forward. While we must maximize our potential and use God’s gifts wisely to demonstrate to others our talent and potential, it should never be done at the expense of others. When applying for a job or entrance to college or other educational endeavors, our resume must be superior and stand out from others. Still, if we take the time and use our wisdom, this can be done in ways that demonstrate Christian humility. Meekness and humility are not weakness, but rather part of the fabric of holiness to which Paul, through his mentor Jesus Christ, calls us.
Patience is also an important virtue that is part of the formula for life. We have all heard the prayer, “O Lord, grant me patience and give it to me now!” Our society wants things instantly. We want instant gratification and success and the wealth and power that go with it. We want instant resolutions to problems, whether it is some type of significant business negotiation or simply the alleviation of personal pain through medication. We often say our internet connection is too slow and seldom think about the rapidity of our world and our day-by-day movement toward globalization. We do not like to wait for anything. We hate to be in lines, whether it is at the bank, the grocery store, or the queue to purchase something in the store.
Yet, if we think about it, many if not most of the great things in life actually take some time. We cannot rush the seasons; they come each year as the calendar dictates. You cannot rush your favorite recipe; great food takes time to prepare and, therefore, a certain sense of patience. Unless we receive a windfall, fortune, success, and prestige also take time. We do not build relationships overnight, but rather over a long period of time. Clearly, the important things in life are earned by some type of patient endurance.
Paul next asks us to bear with one another and to be forgiving. Too often we hold grudges and will not let the past go — past problems, hurts, or injuries, those we have initiated and those perpetrated against us. We use these events of the past as tools to “hammer” people today for the things of the past. Yet, holding onto a grudge and pain from the past actually holds us back; it slows us down. Past hurts are like a ball and chain shackled to our leg. Unless we cut the chain we will always be hindered in our ability to move forward.
Saint Paul says at the climax of the reading that we must envelop all of these virtues and qualities of his message in love, “which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (v. 14). Love is much more than eros, romantic love. It is also fileo, the love of brothers and sisters, and the greatest form of love, at least from the perspective of the Greeks, agape, the concept of service to others. We must bind our compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience together in love through service to others. If we can do this in the peace of Christ, then the love Paul calls us to manifest will most assuredly reign in our hearts. Paul goes on to say that we have all been called to find this peace for it unites us as one body. We can never be a true community of faith if we do not live in harmony. Christ calls us to be one. As Jesus says in John’s gospel, “That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).
Paul also calls us to be grateful for all things. Our gratitude to God is obviously paramount and primary. We must demonstrate our gratitude and thanksgiving by leading lives that are consistent with his word and message. We are called to proclaim that thanksgiving in “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” Our whole life must be one of thanksgiving, however. We must give thanks for the many ways God blesses us — the people who help us along the path of life, for the opportunities that come our way, and for the talents we possess. We should also be grateful, believe it or not, for the weaknesses we possess and the failures in life as these can help us to learn invaluable lessons including adjusting our actions and thinking when necessary.
Paul in short exhorts the Colossians to learn from Christ, the master teacher and take on his persona. We, too, need to take Jesus seriously; we are called to learn the formula for eternal life, to be the Christ to others. A short prayer, first articulated by Saint Teresa of Avila, the Carmelite mystic and religious reformer of the sixteenth century, illustrates the challenge: Christ has no body on earth but yours — no hands, no feet, but yours. Yours are the eyes with which Christ looks with compassion for the world. Christ has no body on earth but yours.
Having a resume that will give us the desired job, entrance into a more well-respected college, or other life opportunity is fine, even necessary in our world. However, if we do not work equally as hard in learning and seeking the formula or resume for eternal life, then all worldly success will have little value. Jesus says it well, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” (Matthew 16:26). Let us take this challenge seriously and learn from Jesus what we need to complete our resume for life. Our efforts will bring success and prosperity today, but more importantly, eternal life tomorrow. Amen.