2020 was a year like no other; a ‘year to forget’ many have said. Our generation has never faced anything like it and the effects of Covid-19 will be felt well into the future. We ‘hope’ 2021 will be different as we put our ‘hope’ in a vaccine to put our world ‘back to normal’.
However to ‘forget’ 2020 would be very careless. 2020 has taught us as a society and as individuals some important lessons that we had previously been so slow learn: lessons around control & death, solidarity & freedom, expectations & hopes, mental health & self-care, racism & injustice, loss & grief and so much more. These lessons are too valuable to just ‘forget’.
2020 – Rooted in…?
Potentially one of the most important lessons each of us have had to (re)learn in 2020 is about our roots. Where are we rooted? What gives us support? Where do we find nourishment and strength? Do we have roots deep enough to find joy and contentment in the midst of hardship?
The modern generation is said to be the most ‘rootless’ generation of all time. We marry later, have kids later and settle down into homes later. This rootlessness is most clearly seen in the major cities of our world, like Dublin. Dublin is full of transient people who come and go, and arrive in Dublin to get what they need before they move on, and in so doing they never put down roots. We move between jobs, locations and sexual-partners in a way that would have been unthinkable to our forefathers. We have chosen personal freedom and fulfilment at the expense of the sacrifice and commitment required to put down roots.
So a vital lesson 2020 taught us was the importance of roots, the importance of being local, the importance of having a supportive community close to you, the importance of having our hope and stability in something other than favourable external circumstances. So as we start 2021 it’s good for us to ask the question…where are my roots?
Rooted in human ideas
To help us consider our roots we’re going to spend the first nine weeks of 2021 reflecting on a letter the Apostle Paul wrote around 60AD to a church in Colossae (modern day Turkey). The church had been planted by Epaphras, a disciple of Paul, who had brought the gospel of grace to the city and as people responded they started to grow. They had put their roots down in Jesus and were bearing fruit (1:6-7)
However after starting so well they were being tempted to find something else, something ‘more’ to put their roots into. They were on the verge of being ‘deceived by fine sounding arguments’ (2:4) and being taken ‘captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition … rather than on Christ.’ (2:8)
As we read through the letter we find 3 heresies, that seem to be tempting the Colossians to look for roots outside of Christ:
The Colossians were not tempted to reject Jesus outright, but rather if they wanted ‘fullness’ (a crucial and repeated word in the letter) they needed to look somewhere other than Christ, either to pagan, mystical experience or Jewish laws and customs.
Rooted in Christ
In response to these human ideas Paul writes to them to remind them that they have been once for all rooted in Christ and the key to growth in Christian life is not to look elsewhere but to look deeper into Jesus, in whom are ‘hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (2:3). The summary verse of the whole letter is 2:6-7:
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
The scriptures are full of the metaphor that the life of a believer is like a tree with deep roots (see Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:5-9, Luke 6:43-35 and John 15). The metaphor helps us understand that to grow as a Christian is not to go somewhere other than Christ but to go deeper into Christ; to put our roots deeper and deeper into his word, his promises, his wisdom and his love.
It is therefore no surprise that Paul goes to great lengths to show us that there is nothing greater than Christ (1:15-19 and 2:9), nothing deficient in the salvation accomplished by Christ (1:20-23, 2:13-15) and no greater status that can be bestowed on you than what you have in Christ (2:9-10, 3:1-4)
In Jesus we have all we need for every aspect and sphere of life – knowing him transforms everything we do and every relationship we have (3:5-4:6). Those who have their roots in Christ are not only ‘full’ but actually ‘overflowing with thankfulness’ (another big theme of the letter, see 1:3, 1:12, 1:24, 2:7, 3:15-17, 4:2).
Paul was in a Roman prison as he wrote the letter (4:18), and yet his life is an epitome of someone who has put down roots deep into Christ and who allows his circumstances to drive him deeper still. Even though Paul himself is in quarantine and unable to move about freely, there is no bitterness, self-pity, anxiety, boredom or stagnation in him. Paul is full of Christ and therefore overflowing with thankfulness. Even in prison, Paul knows where his roots are so is able to grow and bear fruit.
CCC & 2021 – Rooted in…?
In many ways we are not too dissimilar to the church in Colossae that Epaphras planted. We’re at a similar age and stage so we should pay careful attention to the dangers of looking anywhere other than Christ for our nourishment and fullness. We have started well (praise God!), and now we need to continue and go deeper.
Here is how we will break up the book:
- Fruitful in Christ (Colossians 1:1-14)
- The supremacy of Christ (Colossians 1:15-23)
- A servant of Christ (Colossians 1:24-29)
- Rooted in Christ (Colossians 2:1-15)
- Complete in Christ (Colossians 2:16-23)
- Transformed in Christ (Colossians 3:1-14) – VISION SUNDAY
- Everyday for Christ (Colossians 3:15-24)
- Ambassadors for Christ (Colossians 4:2-6)
- Co-labourers for Christ (Colossians 4:7-18)
Do join us every Sunday, 4.30pm for our service – whether online, or if and when possible, in person.
As ever, here is a super video from the Bible Project which gives more details about Paul’s letter to the Colossians.