Every life has two sides. One side is open to public scrutiny. The other is private, and only God knows and understands it fully. These aspects of our lives are always and continually interacting with each other. Our outer works and circumstances affect our desires and thoughts and our inward meditation is reflected in our outward conduct.

But one of the unfortunate characteristics of our fallen nature is that these two aspects of life, the inner and the outer, the public and the private do not always correspond to each other. They often contradict one another.

These inconsistency between the inner and outer life was brought to the forefront in our Lord's strong words of admonition against the Pharisees when he described them as being more worried with cleaning the outside of the cup than the inside, and compared them with white painted sepulchers, all clean and shiny in the outside and all rotten in the inside.

We should not presume to be better than the Pharisees, freed from the leaven of pride, which corrupted their whole service. There is only one man who has always being completely free from such inconsistency. A man whose inner life was perfectly reflected in his public ministry and whose public ministry was always consistent with his inner life, a life of perfect, and mature holiness. Of course that unique man is Jesus Christ our Saviour.

This is great for us, not only because, in his life we have a unique standard showing how the inner and outward life of the godly man must be ordered but we also have his grace working in us to make us like him, by the indwelling presence of his Spirit, more and more.

St. Paul gives much emphasis to this transformation of the inner life of the disciple in his writings. We have been following in our lessons his exhortations to the gentiles on how to live in the light of Christ. In these exhortations the apostle again and again, gives direction concerning the proper ruling of the inner life, of the mind and the heart, in imitation of Christ.

Today's epistle lesson presents a set of verses that we ought to treasure and ponder deeply in our hearts, and set before our eyes every day. He says

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

We are God's chosen children and as such we must be holy, a holiness rooted in Christ-like love. Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, are not many different things, but various expressions of one and the same spiritual reality of Christ's love regulating every aspect of our conduct.

compassion, is love's answer to others needs,
kindness, is love's answer to the failures of others
humility, is love's self denial in service of others.
meekness, is love's submission to authority
patience, is love's forbearance of others faults and suffering of trials with hope.

All these virtues spring from one and the same fountain. That fountain is the abundance of the love of Christ, his spiritual presence, ruling our inner life, which transforms everything we think, say and do.

How are we to practice this? The apostle continues saying;

13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Last time I preached about our need to put on something and renounce something, we talked about renouncing vengeance. Today the apostle exposes again an area of our lives which hits home even closer. We must give up our 'right' to complain when we have a quarrel against another.

We live in a culture where complaining is pervasive, Our society views complaining almost as an inalienable right. But we must realize that complaining does not promote the Christ like character that ought to define our inner and outer lives.

The practice of complaining which is so integral and natural to our way of life is diametrically opposed to the spirit, teaching and practice the apostle requires from us in imitation of Christ.

Remember the Israelites in the dessert? now compare that to Jesus journey through the dessert, which of these two more closely resembles our own attitudes?

We are not called to complain, instead he says, we should bear with one another's faults. If we have a quarrel or complaint against another, we should forgive each other as the Lord forgave us.

Our Lord suffered without complain. We need to learn to do the same even if it goes contrary to the vain way of living we have inherited from our fathers.

Note the primacy of love as the mark of the inner and outer Christian life. The apostle does not set only external rules and laws for external behavior. He does not provide a list of do's and don'ts which touch not the heart of the matter.

Remember St. Paul was a Pharisee, most of his life before Christ, was spent in thinking, enforcing and judging conduct by external rules. But he left all that behind and when he speaks to us disciples of Christ he continually reasserts the primacy of the heart.

Of course that does not mean that practice does not matter. As in Roman 12, we have here again the same principle at work. We need renewed minds and renewed hearts, but the heart and the mind are not only changed by what we think, they are also shaped by what we practice.

This is such an important principle that it is good for us to remember it again. Our minds are shaped and strengthen by our practice.

If we want to have a humble mind, let us practice humble tasks.
If we want to grow in patience, let us hold our tongue and pray in trials.
If we want to be more forgiving, when we have a complain against another, let it go, forgive and let that be the end of it.

Why? because we want to imitate Christ, being humble, patient and forgiving as he is.

Remember, how he suffered upon the cross and prayed for them who tortured and killed him. He prayed for their forgiveness and after the resurrection he did not came back to hunt them. Let us do the same, when we are offended. Make the prayer for forgiveness the center of our mind instead of our complain.

14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Thankfulness is one of the key features of that heart ruled by the peace of Christ. Peace begins in the heart, and then extends to the whole body of Christ. That is what we have been called to. If you want peace to rule your heart practice thanksgiving.

In these few verses the apostle tells us three times to be thankful. Doing things in the name of Christ means doing them with thankful hearts. The word and spirit of thanksgiving ought to be constant in our hearts, giving thanks at all times for all things.

I think the apostle Paul really means it.

If we don't like our job. Let us gives thanks to God for it.
If we don't like our neighbor. Give thanks to God for him.
If we don't like the heat of the dessert. Let us give thanks to God for it.
If we are stretched beyond our resources and confused. Let us give thanks to God for it also.

How can we thank God when bad things are happening all around us?
We can do it in simple obedience and trust. Suffering does not exclude thanksgiving. Thankfulness is alway possible, without hypocrisy. Because thankfulness in this fallen world is an expression of faith, certainty and trust in God's goodness over all. God who never allows us to be tempted beyond our strength, always provides the exit and makes ultimately all things work for the good of those who love him.

We believe this, and that is why can always be thankful. Because we trust in God's providence. And God uses all our trials and tribulations for his glory at the end.

Give thanks to God at all times, for all things. This will have a sanctifying effect upon everything we think, everything we say and do. It will bring peace to our hearts upon all circumstances. Peace will reign in our heart when we make the foundation of every thought one of thanksgiving.

Let us not allow these words of exhortation pass over our heads this morning. How long it takes between our first waking in the morning and our first thought of thanks? How long between our enjoyment of a blessing and our expression of thanks? And most important, how long between our perception of a problem or an offense against us, and our expression of thanks for the opportunity to grow in patience and learn to forgive one another. How long before we pray the prayer for forgiveness?

Jesus never waited for any of these things. He was always thanking the Father, and compassionate to the needs of others, forgiving and praying for other people's offenses.

When he suffered he prayed, 'Father take away from me this cup,' but then he immediately added, 'but not my will, thy will be done'.
Do we follow Christ half way in this prayer: 'take away the cup from me' or all the way, 'not my will, thy will be done'?

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Notice how singing hymns and spiritual songs is here presented as a way of teaching and allowing the word of Christ to dwell abundantly in our minds and hearts. That is why the quality of the message of our hymns and spiritual songs is so important. Because of its potential to enrich our spiritual lives and meditation with nourishing thoughts and fruitful and good things. A good song in our hearts contributes greatly to that heavenly mindedness which grows in us by applying the teaching of Christ, and his example to everything in our daily lives. For example,

When Jesus saw the multitudes he felt compassion because they were like sheep with out a pastor, and prayed to the Lord to send laborers into his harvest. Do we react in the same way when we see the multitudes? are we moved with compassion to pray for laborers or do we just get annoyed by the rush hour and the traffic jam?

Christ thanked God in audible voice, in the midst of his teaching, even in the culmination of his suffering our Lord quoted Psalm 22. What fills our mind and mouths when we suffer?

Such reflections and daily comparisons ought to be common in our lives, applying Christ's example and teaching to our ongoing daily lives and situations, as we strife to do everything in the name of Christ.

This is what doing everything in the name of Christ means, to do everything in a way that honors and represents him.

At the Holy Communion we come to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to the honor and glory of God. But that offering of ourselves, in praise and thanksgiving before the altar does not end here, It actually begins and it is renewed here and then goes on to our daily lives in everything we say, think and do. It must be carried on through the offering of our whole lives, every minute and every second, every thought of our inner life and every action of our outward life. That is the exhortation of St Paul for us this morning. I hope and pray that each and everyone of us may strife to grow in the imitation of Christ, so that his mind, of love and peace, may rule our hearts and lives for his glory. Amen.

Let us pray
O Lord, we beseech thee to keep thy Church and household continually in thy true religion; that they who do lean only upon the hope of thy Heavenly grace may evermore be defended by thy mighty power; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Providence Reformed Episcopal Church
1201 Morgan Ave. Corpus Christi, TX 78404; Tel. 1 (361) 728-3720