24th Sunday after Pentecost
Colossians 1:1-2,11-20 NLT
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
2 We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
For Reflection: Begin by praying for God to reveal what He wants you to see, understand, and do.
Reflect: (1) What is the level of joy in your life right now? (2) Do you have enough endurance and patience? In what areas are you lacking any of these? Read Colossians 1:11-20. What is Paul praying for the Colossians? How does he connect joy, gratitude, power, patience and endurance? How might this relate to your present experience?
Read Luke 23:33-43. What words does Jesus speak right after He is nailed to the cross? What difference does that make for you and me? Note the difference in how the criminals crucified with Him engaged with him; and how each of the others present engaged. One person entered into a relationship with Jesus. What can we learn from his encounter?
Re-read v15-20. Reflect on Christ as the image of God, in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Read John 17:20-26. What does that say about the fullness of God in us?