Maturity in Christ (Proper 11_

 Colossians 1: 15-28, Luke 10: 38-42

When my parents were the age I am now, they moved from Merthyr to Chippenham.

They had both retired in their mid 50s, but still kept busy with many tasks as Elders in the URC. My dad was a practical person, who was one of the few to really understand how the church heating system worked - but he was also known for his good sense and keen moral compass. My mum had run the junior church for nearly 20 years, plus a youth club, and a Pilots company, and had a knack for getting young people singing, learning & making things. 

But now in their early 60s they were both feeling ready to slow down a bit, and had decided they needed a smaller house, fewer hills & not so many church jobs. 

 

So they moved to a small house in Chippenham, and joined a URC where they were treated more like retired people, and enjoyed the fact that the walk into town was flatter.

 

 

And someone at church suggested they might like to join the nearby Methodist church’s ‘Christian Endeavour’ group. So off they trotted every Tuesday afternoon. And they were encouraged to read their Bibles everyday, and share in praying for the lives of the others in the group.

 

And in their 60s these two “Marthas” developed a more “Mary - like” side in their lives.

They learned to sit more, and listen more & learn more.

And so they both grew more into what St Paul calls the maturity of Christ.

 

Observing them through what turned out to be the last third of their lives, from their early 60s to their early 90s, I think this new phase of life prepared them brilliantly for their life to come, including the end of their earthly lives.

 

The story of Jesus at the home of Mary & Martha seems to begin as a story of typical sibling rivalry. “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?”.

 

Yet the story unfolds into a teaching about how to live. “Mary has chosen the better part” says Jesus, and  commends Mary for finding time to listen; meanwhile he warns Martha that she is “worried and distracted by many things”.

 

Jesus wants his followers to know that they should not only be concerned with the practical needs of life “what to eat, what to wear” - but that they should also find time to pause and listen to his voice, and seek God’s purpose for their lives.

 

I think whenever we hear this story of Mary & Martha we all have a tendency to relate to one sister or the other –

to think of ourselves as a ‘Mary – character’, and feel vindicated; or to realise we are a ‘Martha-character’, and feel roundly told-off.

 

But I don’t think any of us is trapped into behaving only in one way or another – we can show both sides of these characters in our lives.

And perhaps if we have been very active in early life then, as my parents demonstrated, we can change and mature as life goes on and develop a more calm and attentive nature.

 

This is certainly the way that St Paul sees our lives as disciples of Jesus.

In his letter to the Colossians he first describes who Jesus Christ is. He is the one born in the image of God, the first-born of creation who makes all created things alongside God. Christ is the head of the body, the church; the first-born from the dead (the one who shows us what resurrection looks like) and the one through whom God reconciles the world to himself.

There is such a lot to take in here – the scope is massive – Paul describes not just the earthly Jesus, but the timeless Christ. No wonder we could give our whole lives to wondering who Jesus Christ is and trying to work out how we should respond.

 

But Paul summarises our identity as followers of Jesus and believers in him. We are those who are reconciled to God – we are no longer strangers to God, but we are God’s own children. The love of Christ makes us holy, and so we can be steadfast in faith and hope.

There is no end to the joy which we feel when we recognise more and more of what the love of God in Jesus Christ means for us.

 

Then Paul describes his own ministry.

Despite the sufferings he endures, he rejoices in being a servant of the church, which is about teaching the faith and helping people to grow and learn and change, as they encounter the living Word of God.

So Paul describes how we can all grow in maturity in Christ – continuing to grow in our faith throughout our lives.

 

What does this mean for us, at whatever stage in life we’ve reached?

And how do we open ourselves up to change, growth and increasing maturity?

 

I’m not sure I can answer that question for each one of us – it will look slightly different to everyone.

It might involve more prayer – and there are some very good resources, from books to phone apps, to help with this.

It might involve opening our Bibles more – to look at the readings from Sunday again during the week, or to follow a reading & study scheme.

It might involve offering our time to a friend or neighbour to help them see God’s love embodied.

 

But whatever it might mean for us, it begins with an acceptance and understanding that our maturity in Christ can continue to grow through our whole lives – and that surely we will only be truly one with Christ in the life beyond death.

 

I love the phrase, which you might well have seen on

T-shirts or posters

“Be patient with me – God isn’t finished with me yet”.

We are all capable of growing more and more into the perfection of the image of Christ.

 

I want to give the final word to this verse from Isaiah – for The Message version of the Bible – it’s Isaiah 30 v 18.

 

But God’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you.
God takes the time to do everything right—everything.
Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.

 

So may the strength and mercy and grace of God make us more like Jesus Christ – each day which remains to us on earth. Amen.