Colossians 3:16-17
by Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop
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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.
Someone discussing the ELCA’s Book of Faith initiative made a
marvelous insight that became an invitation. She said, “let us become
fluent in the
first
language of our faith – the language of Scripture.”
In his words to the Colossians, I hear Paul extending a similar
invitation: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
I am forever thankful that I was raised in a family in which we dwelt
richly in the word of Christ. Long before I cou
ld
read the Bible, I heard the Word as it was read to me, as we sang and
prayed the Scriptures.
As excited as I was when the car was packed to go on a trip, before
leaving we would gather in the living room reciting together the 121st
Psalm. After supper, before going out to play or do homework, we would
sing the names of the New Testament books. Yes, the language of
Scripture was becoming the mother tongue of my Christian faith.
As I am with people throughout this church for whom English is
perhaps their second, third, maybe, even fourth language, it is
fascinating to observe what happens when that person meets someone who
speaks their mother tongue. There is great joy, lively and animated
exchanges, expressions of gratitude, the sharing
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In addition to questions found in this
study, here are some general questions that can
be used:
1. What is God saying to us through this
passage?
2. What does this passage tell us about
God?
3. How does this passage speak to us as a
community?
4. What does this passage teach us about
our neighbors and our world? |
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of memories and hope.
Could that be similar to what Paul is describing occurs when the word
of Christ’s dwells richly in us and we dwell
richly
in the word? Paul’s invitation is profoundly personal — spoken to each
of us. Yet it is also communal — a description of our life together as
the Word of Christ dwells richly in us. Together we will be singing
spiritual songs and expressing thanks to God, together we will be
sharing our joys and struggles as we will teach and admonish one another
in all wisdom. And everything we do will be in the name of the Lord
Jesus.
Did you hear that — everything in word and deed done in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him? Oh, my,
that means my parenting and preaching and response to those in poverty,
our marriage, our money management, our gathering in worship around the
means of grace, and our caring for God’s creation will all be in the
name of Jesus and in gratitude for God’s grace and mercy in Christ
Jesus.
It can sound like a daunting command. But I hear it as a description
of what occurs when through the Holy Spirit we accept the gracious
invitation to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.”
Mark Hanson is the Presiding Bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Questions on Colossians 3:16-17
- How do we dwell in the Word?
- Is Scripture our first language of faith?
- What would we like to see happen in our community to help
Scripture become our first language of faith?