Parish Retreat: Gratitude is the Attitude

It's my joy once again to welcome the Reverend Dr. Erwin Entz to preach the word this morning.

For those of you who have just come in for worship, who have not been here for the weekend,

we've had a fantastic time.

We've been exploring this topic, the title of the retreat, A New We, talking about what

it means to have a vision rooted in the gospel, an understanding of what it means to bear

God's image, to forsake attempts to seek dignity apart from that dignity that is to be found

in our identity as image bearers of God, as people in Christ.

We've been talking about this ultimate vision that to bear God's image is most fully realized

when the entire world, the multi-ethnic body of Christ, is joined together under His Lordship.

And we've been exploring some amazing themes, both big, grand themes, and then also asking

hard questions about what that means for us at Church of the Advent.

And so it's my delight to welcome Dr. Entz back.

He's the, if you don't know, he's a pastor at Grace DC.

He's also the director of the newly formed Institute for Cross-Cultural Mission.

And it's a delight to have you with us.

Thank you, Pastor.

Well, good morning, y'all.

Good morning.

For one last time together, at least.

The time being, it has been a delight this weekend to be with y'all and getting to know

y'all and enjoying all of the talents that were on display last night.

Some great pictures of some men in this congregation.

I want to kind of wrap up our time this weekend looking at these three verses that were read

to your hearing from Colossians chapter 3 on this subject.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Gratitude is the attitude.

Gratitude is the attitude.

And really, the point of this is that we live as God's people together with a daily gratitude

to God as the peace of Christ rules, rules in our hearts, and as his word, the word of

Christ, dwells richly among us.

So let me pray, and then we will start to dig in.

Father, we thank you for your word.

That's not dead, but that is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing

to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, judging the thoughts and the intentions

of the heart.

Lord, our confession this morning is that we are all naked and exposed to you, the one to

whom we must all give account.

And that's good news, Lord, because you know precisely what we stand in need of then.

So would you, through the preaching of your word, meet us where we are and give us what

we need?

Lord, if we need encouragement, would you be pleased to encourage our hearts in your gospel?

If we need correction, would you, in your mercy, correct us that we might walk rightly?

If we need, Lord God, if we need faith, hope, would you give us those gifts that we will be

people who live for the glory of Jesus Christ.

In his name we pray.

Amen, amen, and amen.

Let me read those verses to you again from Colossians chapter 3, verses 15 to 17.

Colossians 3:15–17

The apostle Paul, we're catching him in mid-thought here, really.

And he says,

I want to tell you a brief story about a young African-American couple, Daryl and Joyce.

These are pseudonyms, it's not their real names, just protecting the innocent.

They live in a densely populated urban city in America, and they're both musicians, and

they met while they were each pursuing a master's degree at a prestigious conservatory here in

the U.S., and together they attend a racially, ethnically diverse church in their city, serving

on that church's music ministry team.

And I interviewed this couple during my research for my doctor of ministry dissertation, and

many of my interview questions when I would meet with people were intended to provoke a

emotional and thoughtful response.

And one group of questions that continually prompted that kind of response were these.

I would ask, what does it feel like to be your ethnicity at your church?

And I would get specific.

If they were black, what does it feel like to be black at your church?

What does it feel like to be white at your church?

I would ask, how often do you think about your ethnicity at your church?

And then I would ask him, what ways has that begun to change since you began attending your

church?

And when I asked Daryl that question, what does it feel like to be black at your church?

He said, I can't really be black at my church.

And of course, I wanted to know what he meant by that.

And he said, I mean, the things that I would do if I were in a more black setting, I can't

do that.

I often say, if I want to worship God, he said, I'm very expressive, and I'm going to

express it with my whole being.

The culture of all saints' church is pretty much the opposite.

They call me to play the organ.

Yes, it's the ham and be organ, but I'm not going to play it the way I would be playing

it in a black church.

It's a sad thing, but it's going to be something they can relate to.

And he's been a member of that church for over five years, so obviously he stayed, even

though he felt like he suppressed a part of himself, a part of his identity, and he's

still a part of the music team.

And when I asked, well, why is that?

He said, I used to get upset that I had to suppress it.

But over time, I've learned to see things from everyone's perspective.

I've been learning over the years how to deny myself.

He said, I hope that it can be the other way around, too, that they can deny themselves,

too, and we can assimilate across the different cultures.

And then his wife, Joyce, added this.

She said, I prefer to hear gospel music played.

I prefer actually to play gospel music, and those things are fine to prefer, but really,

at the end of the day, my growth with Christ is not about my preferences.

Actually, she said, it's a stripping away of my preferences.

We're supposed to be, Darrell said, ministers of reconciliation, and we need to really see

that in our city.

What does it look like in practice to live as a reconciled community, as the beautiful

community we've been talking about?

One of the things that is explicitly clear, if you've been paying any attention at all over

the past few years in the good old U.S. of A., it's been explicitly clear that we don't

live in a land where reconciliation is the norm.

You might even find yourselves this morning a little bit weary from all of the talk and

the issues that surround race in this land.

You might be angered or find yourself grieving by the ongoing evidence of this enduring problem

when will it end.

How will the strife be done away with?

We need to be perfectly clear, of course, the only true and permanent reconciler is Jesus

Christ.

And what is absolutely necessary is for the members of his body, the members of his church

to be ministers of reconciliation.

And that begins with his church living as reconciled community.

Should Darrell have had to feel as though he had to suppress a part of his racial identity

at All Saints Church?

Probably not.

Should All Saints Church be aware of its preferences and how their African-American musician was feeling

and what he was experiencing?

Yes, they should have been, but Jesus is the reason that Darrell can say,

I've been learning over the years how to deny myself.

Jesus is the reason that his wife Joyce can say,

my growth in Christ isn't based on my preferences.

It's based on the stripping away of preferences.

What's more, both had grown in thankfulness to God for this Christian community that they were a part of,

even though things were not precisely the way they wanted them to be.

You see, gratitude is the attitude that Jesus creates in the hearts of his people.

Did you notice that in these three verses,

the tagline, almost like an add-on by the apostle at the end of each verse,

is thankfulness to God.

There's a movement of gratitude in these three verses.

We see peace and place and practice.

We see being grateful in peace,

grateful in place,

and grateful in practice.

And this chapter, this section of Colossians,

is primarily about instructions on how the church is supposed to live

in light of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

It's about life in the messy middle

between the time that Jesus will come to set all things right.

How are we supposed to live?

He starts out this chapter in verse number one,

saying,

Since then you've been raised with Christ,

set your minds on things that are above,

not on earthly things,

for you have died,

and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Since Jesus is the Father's right-hand man,

so to speak,

with all power and authority

to affect God's will

and to protect his own people,

then the Christian life

should be completely oriented

by reference to him.

And he sets this out,

saying,

listen,

that has some implications,

Paul is going to say,

in this chapter,

that therefore,

this is a life of putting off

and putting on,

put to death,

therefore,

he says,

what is earthly in you

because you've put off the old self

with its practices

and you've put on the new self

which has been renewed in knowledge

according to the image of its creator.

Therefore,

he said,

put on,

as God's chosen ones,

who are holy and loved,

put on tenderheartedness,

put on compassion,

put on kindness,

gentleness,

humility,

patience,

forgiving one another.

And he says,

above all these things,

put on love,

which is the binding glue of perfection.

This life,

in other words,

is not about me and you

as individuals,

as we've been talking about.

God is not simply interested

in making a new me.

He wants to make a new we.

And this reconciled community,

Paul emphasizes in verse 11

of this chapter

where he says,

here,

there is not Greek and Jew,

circumcised and uncircumcised,

barbarian,

Scythian,

slave,

free,

but Christ is all

and in all.

They are supposed to,

as this reconciled community

of Jew and Gentile,

barbarian,

Greek,

Scythian,

slave,

and free,

that are holy

and loved together.

They are to be putting

earthly things to death

and putting on love

together

across all of these differences.

And this is absolutely clear

in this first point,

being grateful in peace.

He says in verse 15,

let the peace of Christ

rule in your hearts

to which indeed

you are called

in one body

and be thankful.

The desire for peace

is not new.

The fact that in this world

we are regularly confronted

with violence

and injustice

and war

and disharmony

and disruption

and division

is nothing new.

We long for peace,

but the world

has never known

how to get it.

And this is in part

because peace

is not simply calmness.

Peace is not simply

the absence of strife.

When we see

in cities

in America

over recent years

racial unrest

and protests

over racial injustice

and police killings

that explode

into violence,

when we see it

in a city

like Charlottesville, Virginia,

do you know

that before the riots,

Charlottesville, Virginia

was not a city

at peace?

When you gather together

on Sunday morning

in Brooklyn

in D.C.,

there's no violence

necessarily going on

outside of the windows,

but D.C.

is not a city

at peace.

Peace

is not simply

biblically speaking

the absence of hostility.

It is the presence

of something.

It is the presence

of well-being.

It is the presence

of wholeness

and flourishing

and prosperity.

It is all things

working together

as they ought to.

So here,

when the apostle says,

let the peace of Christ

rule in your hearts,

to be a Christian

at least means this,

it means to be

at peace with God.

Jesus Christ

reconciles us

to God.

We are God's enemies.

We were at war

with God.

That's a losing battle,

but we didn't care.

That is how life

apart from faith

in Jesus Christ

looks.

This is why Paul said

in the first chapter

of this letter,

verses 19 to 22,

for in him,

in Christ,

all the fullness

of God

was pleased

to dwell

and through him

to reconcile

to himself

all things,

whether on earth

or in heaven,

making peace

by the blood

of his cross.

And you,

who were once

alienated

and hostile

in mind,

doing evil deeds,

he has now

reconciled

in his body

of flesh

by his death

in order to present

you holy

and blameless

and above reproach

before him.

Jesus Christ

is our peace.

He's our holy hope

for peace

with God

and what that means

is that in

Jesus Christ,

we are restored

to wholeness

and flourishing

in our relationship

with God

and so Paul says,

let the peace

of Christ,

this peace

that Christ

has established

and brought you

into,

let that rule

your hearts.

The command

is for something

to rule

and the subject

of that command

is not you.

The subject

is the peace

of Christ.

Ruling here

has the sense

of an arbitrator

and an umpire

like in baseball.

When there's tension

and difficulty

among you,

what is the determining

factor

and what you all

say

and what you all

do?

What's in the position

of calling balls

and strikes

in your decision-making?

What is in the position

and the decision-making

position of

do this

and don't do that,

say this

and don't say that?

Is it your feelings?

Are you driven

by how you feel

at the moment?

Is it your likes

and your dislikes?

Is it your preferences?

Would you please

notice with me

that this is something

that the Colossians

are to let happen,

not make happen.

Paul doesn't say

make the peace

of Christ rule.

Let the fact

that we have been

reconciled to God

and have peace

with God

or a flourishing

relationship

with God,

let that be

the ruling factor

in our decision-making.

He says,

do not get it.

Twist it.

You are called

to this

in one body.

You didn't call

yourselves

into this life.

God called you

into it.

God placed you

in this one body.

It's not even

your body.

It's the body

of Christ.

You've been called

into peaceful

existence

in this body

and you're only

a part of it

because God

called you

and placed you

in it.

Were it not

for the blood

of Jesus' cross,

we would have

stayed apart

because of differences

and divisions.

The pursuit

of what makes

for peace

only happens

to live

in a position

of gratitude

for that peace.

peace.

When he says

and be thankful,

it's not a

throwaway lie.

What he means is

keep on being thankful.

Keep on being thankful

for the peace

that Jesus Christ

has made

for you

with God

for life

in this world

by his blood.

keep on being thankful.

Let that be

the decision-making

authority

when you relate

to one another

in his body.

Being grateful

in peace

is intimately tied

to being grateful

in place

and when I say

being grateful

in place,

I'm talking

about the same place

that the apostle

is talking about.

He says in verse 16,

let the word of Christ

dwell richly,

richly,

that is live

in you all

richly

in all wisdom

as you teach

and admonish

or warn each other.

He doesn't say

let the word of Christ

dwell in your hearts,

but that's what he means.

He's still talking

about what is

at the center

of our decision-making

in our life

together.

Notice he says

let it live

in you,

let it live

in you all

richly

with all wisdom

as you teach

and admonish

each other

singing psalms

and hymns

and spiritual songs

with gratitude.

With gratitude

where?

He says

with gratitude

in your hearts

to God.

The peace of Christ

is supposed to be

the head honcho

if you will,

the decision-making

power in your hearts

and now he says

the word of Christ

is supposed to

flourish there

and letting

the word of Christ

dwell richly

among us

isn't simply

about memorizing

scripture verses

that you can apply

to various situations.

I'm all for

memorizing scripture,

right?

We are people

of the book

as it were.

The Bible

is our only rule

for faith

and for practice

but the word

of Christ here

is related

to the peace

of Christ

in verse 15.

I like the way

Chaplain Blackman,

the chaplain

at Wheaton College

put it recently

when he spoke

on this passage.

He put it this way.

He says

let the verbalized,

vocalized

announcement

of God

about what

Jesus Christ

is doing

and who he is,

let it be

the telling influence

of your control tower,

the executive center

of your being.

let it be

the telling influence

of everything

that you think

and act

and do.

It is

the living voice

of Jesus Christ.

The peace

of Christ

is ours

because

of the word

of Christ.

The word

of Christ

is God's

declaration

of who Jesus

is,

what he's doing

and why he's doing it.

Let this word,

the apostle says,

live among you

all richly.

So don't just

read your Bible.

In other words,

hear the voice

of your Lord.

Hear the voice

of your Lord.

Realize it is

the living word

of the living God

and it shouts

to us

about God's

reconciling

and renewing

all things

in Jesus Christ.

And letting

the word

of Christ

live in us

is to be done.

He says,

with all wisdom,

when the peace

of Christ

is our decision

making

and the word

of Christ

is flourishing

among us,

we will engage

one another

with all wisdom.

We won't simply

be walking around

quoting Bible verses

at each other

to correct one another

or try to fix

an issue.

And listen,

biblically speaking,

wisdom is not just

about knowledge.

It is the skill

to apply

what we know

in a way

that enables

life to thrive.

And he's doing

something intentional

here,

the apostle is.

He's setting them up.

Look at what he said

in chapter one

verses 28 and 29.

At the end

of the chapter,

he says,

him we proclaim,

Christ we proclaim,

warning everyone

and teaching everyone

with all wisdom

that we may present

everyone mature

in Christ.

Paul says,

for this I toil,

struggling with all

his energy

that he powerfully

works within me.

He's talking about

himself as an apostle.

I'm working hard

to proclaim

Jesus Christ

to you all,

warning and teaching

with all wisdom.

The purpose is your

maturity in Jesus Christ.

And now,

when we get to chapter three,

he says,

this isn't just for me

to do for you.

This is for you all

to do with

and for one another.

He uses the same words

that he used

in chapter one,

with all wisdom,

teaching,

and warning each other.

In other words,

he said,

don't only look to me

as an apostle.

As the peace of Christ

rules in your hearts

and the word of Christ

is lavishly living

among you,

God will grant wisdom

so that you can grow

in maturity together.

together.

This dwelling

of the word of Christ

with all wisdom

as you teach

and warn each other

actually happens

when we come together

for worship.

It happens

when you're singing

psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs

with gratitude

in your hearts

to God.

The teaching

and the warning

actually is happening

when the body of Christ

comes together

for worship.

Isn't it wonderful

that he calls out

our corporate singing

as a particular way

in which we let

the word of Christ

live richly in us

as a way we teach

and warn one another.

Like,

what do you think

when you come to church

to sing?

What do you think

is happening?

Do you just think about

you and God

on an island together?

just me dwelling

and worshiping God?

Does it work

into your praise

to be thinking

about the people of God

you are among

when you are worshiping,

singing psalms

and hymns

and spiritual songs?

Is it generating

a gratitude

gratitude

in your hearts?

A thankfulness

to God

for the community

in which

he has placed you.

When we come

together

we're able

to help each other

be grateful

for the peace

of Christ

that's been given

to us.

We're able

to help each other

be grateful

that we're called

together

in one body.

We're to help

each other

be grateful

that God

has opened

our ears

to hear

the word

of Christ.

We're to be

grateful

in the place

we're to be

grateful

in the place

that God

has captured

to help

each other

be grateful

in our hearts.

And lastly

the apostle

commands us

to be grateful

in practice.

He expands

this attitude

of gratitude

to the entirety

of our lives

and whatever

you do

in word

or in your

work

do everything

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus

giving thanks

to God

the Father

through him.

Yeah, yeah

I know

gratefulness

in your hearts

to God

when you're

singing songs

and hymns

and spiritual

songs together

in worship

but he's like

look, look, look

whatever you do

in word

or in work

in word

or in deed

do it all

do it all

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus

giving thanks

to God

the Father

through him.

In other words

this attitude

of gratitude

is to spill

out of Sunday

worship

into everyday

living.

The rubber

is to meet

the road

in our daily

lives.

So let me

kind of wrap

this up

with an example

of what gratitude

in practice

looks like

from something

I was blessed

to see

and hear

just a couple

of years ago

from a good

friend of mine

a brother pastor

during a time

of racial tension

in his city

my brother

Howard Brown

who pastors

Christ Central Church

in Charlotte

North Carolina

back in September

of 2016

he was interviewed

in a local

for a local TV

news program

to discuss

the racial tensions

in his city.

the city

just exploded

in protests

and there was

violence

and the reporter

said to him

he said

he said

pastor

you have a very

unique position

in that you have

police officers

in your congregation

yet you also

have congregants

who are very

frustrated

with the police

and pastor

Brown said

he said

correct

the work

we do

is the work

of reconciliation

so we have

open and honest

discussion

and we

believe

that we serve

a God

and we have

a gospel

that can handle

any kind of dispute

in any kind

of issue

and then the reporter

said

but what is the

challenge for people

even

he said

even

people of faith

what is the challenge

is reconciling

their spirituality

reality

with real life

right now

in which

a lot of people

feel disenfranchised

and feel like

they're targeted

actually being

killed by faith

pastor Brown said

he said

what the community

of faith

needs to realize

and communicate

to people out there

is this

you have a God

who is highly

concerned

and upset

at the oppression

he's highly

concerned

about the issues

that people

are going through

but he also recognizes

that it is impossible

for us

to get the justice

that our souls

and our situations

deserve

so he was willing

to go to bat

for us

through the work

of his son

Jesus Christ

we believe that

the question

we need to ask

is

is there space

and room

not only in our churches

but in our gospel message

for those folk

who are in the street

who are really hurting

and he said this

the only difference

between you

and the folk

who are running

in the street

is the degree

of mercy

and grace

that you've received

that you fail

to realize

you are no better

you are no more moral

you simply

are being given

a grace of God

in a different situation

that is not

of your own doing

what pastor Brown

was describing

is what gratitude

in practice

looks like

gratitude

in practice

particularly

when it's rough

around the edges

when there are disputes

that bubble over

into tension

and hostility

is a recognition

that I

have been given

a grace from God

that is not

of my own doing

that I have received

peace with God

through Jesus Christ

and this governs

the realities

of my life

day in

and day out

and what that means

is I walk

into these situations

with humility

I don't walk

into them

as I know it all

having all

of the answers

and would you notice

that there's

no escape clause

the apostles

have been giving them

lists in this passage

in Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

and now

in

just in case

anybody might think

that there's a loophole

he says whatever you do

in word

or in deed

do

everything

everything

as we say

everything

in the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ

giving thanks to God

the Father

through him

do you know

particularly

when you're trying

to pursue

beautiful community

when you're trying

to pursue it

in the church

when you're trying

to pursue it

in your community

it's a lot easier

to give thanks

to God the Father

through Jesus Christ

when things are going well

this

particularly

has

has

has

has pointed

power

when we are

dealing

with difficulties

and divisions

and differences

and hostilities

and we ask

the question

what

difference

is Christ

making among us

what difference

is the presence

of the peace

of Christ

making

among us

are we learning

like Joyce

when she said

I'm learning

that my growth

in Jesus Christ

isn't about

my preferences

is actually

quite often

the opposite

it's about

the stripping

away of my

preferences

gratitude

is the attitude

that God

calls us to

gratitude

is the attitude

that God

calls us to

to live

out the reality

of the peace

that we have

been given

by him

through faith

in Jesus Christ

the peace

that we have

with him

that is

to just

flow out

into a pursuit

an active

pursuit

of peace

with another

as we live

as one body

with gratitude

in our hearts

to God

let's pray

Father thank you

for your peace

you pray

Lord

that it is

indeed

the ruling

factor

over our hearts

as your people

we pray

Lord God

that we grow

in gratitude

and in love

for one another

and for our

neighbors

as we worship

your holy name

being reminded

that you've done

for us

what we could

not do

for ourselves

and we pray

Lord God

that this

this gratitude

for this peace

would just rush

out into the

daily aspect

of our lives

every day

all day

to the praise

of your glorious

grace

in Christ's name

amen

let's rise

and sing

song number

four

and so

to