Peculiar Treasures

Colossians 4: 7-17

Roger Lynn

June 3, 2018

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What does it mean to be the Church? What does it mean to be a person of faith? The apostle Paul attempts to answer such questions in his letter to the church at Colossai. He starts off the letter dealing with theology and the nature of Christ. Then he moves on to the moral imperatives for faithful living. And then, as he approaches the end of the letter, he finally gets to the heart of the matter. In a word, he is describing community – unique individuals bound together by the love of God and working towards the common goal of sharing that love with the world.

This is no ordinary thing that Paul describes. It crosses borders, knocks down walls, bridges chasms that divide. This community transforms the lives of those involved, and it reaches out beyond itself to transform the world.  And it does all of this is an understated way that is easy to miss if you aren’t looking closely. What we find in the closing words of this letter are some peculiar names – Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Epaphras, Nympha, Archipus. They are peculiar to us, because they are unfamiliar. But they were very familiar to Paul and to those in the church at Colossai. They were particular individuals with particular gifts and a particular place in the hearts and minds of those who knew them. You know these people, Paul is saying. In mentioning their names he is reminding everyone of the ways they are bound together in community. And what a powerful community it is. Just the names tell us so much. There are some names that we recognize from the larger context of the early church – Barnabas, Mark, Luke. And there are some names that we only hear mentioned in this one place – Tychicus, Nympha, Archipus. There are Jews and non-Jews mentioned. There are women and men mentioned. There are rich people and there are slaves mentioned. And all of them, together, have a role to play in making that community what it was. Each is a treasure – a peculiar treasure – that together makes the Body of Christ (God’s presence) manifest in the world.

Paul can talk about theology and morality, but when it comes right down to really showing them what it all means, he gets personal. He points them to themselves and tells them to look for God there. 2,000 years later it is still true.

Several years ago I wrote a poem that seeks to give expression to what I hear Paul saying to the Colossians.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Can you tell me where to look for God?

   is what she said to me.

   I’ve been searching for a long time now

   & I’m not sure where to start.

I smiled and said I thought I might

   have a place or two to try,

   so I took her by the hand 

   & walked with her to church.

Oh no, she said, I’ve look in here

   and I did not catch a glimpse.

   They talk about a man who died

   But God, it seems, is absent.

It’s true, I said, that God in church

   is not so easy to discover.

   Sometimes it takes a little help

   to see what’s there to see.

Let’s try again – I know this place.

   Together we might discover

   that God has been here all along

   just waiting to be found.

I led her in and we sat down

   beside old Sam and Sarah

   They smiled and moved to make a space

   for us to join them there.

And then I saw young Allen Jones

   surrounded by his friends

   He’s only been here a few short weeks

   but already he’s at home.

I introduced her to a few

   and told her tales of those we met,

   about the things that each one did

   to touch the lives of many.

We lingered there for just a bit,

   or maybe it was years,

   and then I asked about her search

   for places to find God.

There’s always more than what I’ve found

   and places yet to try,

   but now I see there’s something here –

   God hidden in plain sight.

She said her search had been for God

   in some grand sign or gesture

   set apart from who she was –

   outside her daily life.

But here she’d seen God manifest

   in ordinary living –

   hearts open wide to touch and share,

   to heal and be made whole.

It was a start – a rush of hope –

   God’s presence can be felt.

   True understanding comes with time

   when our lives are joined together.

May we discover God’s presence right here in the midst of us, as together we learn to live out what it means to be the Body of Christ. And may we learn to be God’s peculiar treasures that help to share the good news of God’s love with the world.