The View of Things from the Heavenly Horizon

Reflecting on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: One Day after Sunday (Year C)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 44

Old Testament: Hosea 2:14—3:5

Epistle: Colossians 2:16—3:1

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 55:16-23

Old Testament: Esther 5:1-14

Epistle: Colossians 2:16—3:1

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Prayer

Father in heaven,  in your goodness  you pour out on your people all that they need,  and satisfy those who persist in prayer.  Make us bold in asking,  thankful in receiving,  tireless in seeking,  and joyful in finding,  that we may always proclaim your coming kingdom  and do your will on earth as in heaven. Amen.

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Reflection

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

Several years ago, I was in Cuba on a teaching mission. One afternoon, during some free time, our hosts took us to a mountain on the Isle of Youth. There was a path up the side of the mountain, and those of us who were able and willing, were invited to climb the mountain. It was a tough climb; some who were not in the best physical condition were unable to continue for long. But for the four of us who made it, when we stood on the top of that mountain and looked down at the landscape below, we were treated to a view of the world that one can get only from the horizon.

Paul and Timothy write, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (3:1-4).

The earthly things of the world look quite different when viewed from the vantage point of heaven. Our writers to the Colossians are not advocating a withdrawal from the world, but an involvement in the world from a divine vista. Focus does determine reality; perspective interprets what we see. The other-worldly does not nullify the things of the world; it reinterprets them through the eyes of God.

We must not miss the verb tense in verse one: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ.” Notice that Paul does not say, “Since, then, you will be raised with Christ.” Resurrection is not something that will happen only when Christ returns; we participate in the resurrected life of Christ right now. In this world we are to live the heavenly life in the present. We are to bring to pass the words of The Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The heavenly life in the midst of earthly existence looks quite different; it looks redeemed. This is why Paul and Timothy tell us to take off the vices that characterize the ways of the world and to clothe ourselves with the virtues of the Christ-like life.

Living as God’s chosen people means walking the road of discipleship in a manner that will attract others to the gospel, so that those who are “earthly” will desire to live in a “heavenly” way, setting their minds on the things of God and thereby seeing over the horizon to view the world in the way Christ does from the summit of the cross.

PRAYER: Living God, you raise us to fullness of being  in sharing the Christ-life together.  Teach us to pray  and grant us hopeful persistence  in seeking your will and your way,  that by the power of the Spirit,  love and faithfulness may meet  to disarm the powers of the world. Amen.

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