“From Tablet to Table” (Colossians 3:12 -17)
It’s Time to Grow Up!
Today we celebrate First Sunday after Christmas. And this is also
the last worship service before the New Year. This week’s lectionary lesson is about
“spiritual growth.” The Old Testament lesson, 1 Samuel 2:26 ,
says, “But the boy Samuel continued to grow both physically and in favor with
the Lord and the people” (ISV). The Gospel lesson, Luke 2:52 ,
says, “And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both
God and people” (MSG). And then, Epistle lesson, Colossians 3:12-17, tells us
how we may advance spiritual growth in a nutshell.
If we read carefully today’s passage, we notice that there are two
phrases used repeatedly. One is “put on,” and the other is “each
other.” Before we come to Christ, we were darkness. And we didn’t have
power to live holy and godly lives although we really wanted (Eph 5:8). But
when we received Jesus and believed in his name, we became children of God
(John 1:12 ). Since then, we have all the resources we need for holy living.
This is the power and privilege of God’s children. If we are willing and
motivated, we can be fully mature like Christ! (Eph 4:13). All Christ-like
virtues are available to us now. So the Apostle Paul says, “As God’s chosen,
holy, beloved people, put on compassionate hearts. Put on kindness, put on
humility, put on meekness, put on patience, and above all else, put on love!” (Col
Grow in the Body of Christ
Probably, you have heard the term, a “churchless Christianity.” More
and more people leave the local church out of frustration. They believe in God
and Jesus, but they don’t like institutional church or don’t want to get
involved in all kinds of human conflicts or problems. The Screwtape Letters is
a Christian apologetic novel by C.S. Lewis. The story takes the form of a
series of letters from a senior Demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, a
junior Tempter. Screwtape advises that the best way to distract, discourage,
and alienate new Christians is by tempting them to grow cynical toward their local
church. In fact, most churches are filled with problems because they are filled
with sinners. One time a parishioner came and asked Charles Spurgeon, “Pastor,
please recommend me a perfect church. I am sick and tired of my church.”
Spurgeon said, “If you found a perfect church, please do not join it! The
moment you join it, you should spoil it, for it would not be a perfect church
after you become a member of it.” It is true that many of us Christians are
sick and tired of today’s local church. I was one of them. I really wanted
something more like the early church. But as I studied more about the early
church, I found a very interesting thing. The early church was also a mess and
not that different from today’s church. For instance, the church of Corinth
I was shocked. Then, I found that church is family. Family is
the chief metaphor that the Bible uses when it talks about the church. God is
our Father. Jesus is our Husband. And we are all brothers and sisters one
another. By nature, we don’t get to choose our family. We don’t choose our father,
mother, uncle, or aunt. Our family is chosen for us. In his book, Jesus
outside the lines, Scott Sauls quotes the words of Justin McRoberts: “Being
a Christian can sometimes feel like being in a family with a thousand drunk
uncles.”[1]
But, like it or not, uncles are still family. In the same way, St. Augustine
A Model for Spiritual Growth: John Wesley’s Class Meeting
In today’s scripture Paul encourages us to grow and be transformed from
mere spectators to active parts of the body. He encourages us to grow from mere
tolerance to love and unity in the church. One of the most excellent ways to
practice this is to be part of some kind of small groups. In the middle of the
18th century revival swept all over England England
Wesley called his small groups “class meetings.” What happened in
these class meeting? They met once a week. The class meeting began with a
prayer and a short hymn. And then, they asked this question each other, “How is
it with your soul? How do you find the state of your soul today?” The class
leader would go first and share his or her struggles, triumphs, joys and
concerns with regard to the relationship with Christ. After all the members had
been given the opportunity to give an account of the week, the leader concluded
the meeting with a time of prayer. And the meeting was closed with a hymn. It
was simple but powerful and transformational groups. Over time, trust was built
among the members, and it enabled deeper and deeper levels of sharing and accountability.
The class members came to watch over one another in love and grow to spiritual
maturity together. They enjoyed fellowship of light together.
Class Meeting Vision
If you asked me, “What is your pastoral vision for the church?” my
answer is always same. It is to be Jesus’ disciples and make His disciples
through small groups. By nature, I am a quiet person. I love to read. I
love to keep a journal. I love to listen to classical music. I love to take a
walk by myself. I don’t like to be crowded. But I have a consuming desire and
passion for small groups, because I experienced revival in the class meeting. I
was born in a pastor’s family, but I got stuck in a lifeless faith for a long
time. But through the young adult class meeting, my faith came alive. I encountered
the living God through small group fellowship. Since then, wherever I go, I
implement a small group ministry. Occasionally, I hear the news of the churches
I served in the past. A couple of months ago I heard great news. One of the
small group members from the previous congregation called me and said, “Pastor,
I wanted to let you know that our class meeting is going very well. I am
looking forward to today’s gathering.” I was so glad and thankful for God. When
I started that group, actually I doubted and was overwhelmed. The
class seemed filled with pain and problems. Week after week, we stick together.
We shared our struggles, pain, progress and failures. We encouraged each other.
We prayed for each other. And now I hear the class members making a spiritual
progress. They rejoice and give thanks in the midst of chaos.
Now we have a wonderful opportunity to experience this. From the beginning
of New Year there will be women’s class meeting Tuesday morning. Another class meeting
will meet at Hodgdon UMC Tuesday evening. And there will be Sunday class
meeting after service. And my hope is that we may start one more class meeting during
the week. I am available to walk along with you. If you are motivated, please
don’t hesitate but come and see me. Let me close with a story of one young man.
He was really struggling. He had come to faith in Christ, but he just found
himself drifting away, drifting in doubts and difficulties and losing his
faith. And he went to see a wise older man, who lived in a cottage, and there
was a fire, a coal fire. And as they were discussing — this young man told this
older man about what was going on in his life — the older man didn’t say
anything. But he just went to the fire and he took a red-hot coal, with tongs,
out of the fire, and he put it on the hearth. And as the young man talked, he
just allowed that coal to go from red-hot to black, dark. And then he got the
tongs again and he put the coal back in the fire, and within a few minutes the
coal was red-hot again. He didn’t need to say anything. The young man left
knowing exactly why his faith had gone dull. We need each other. “Let us not
give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb
10:25). Amen.
