Well,
Hello friends.
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome back to another session in our time of learning how to abide by reflecting on Paul's letter to the church in Colossae.
Over the past few days,
We've been learning to pay attention,
To notice what's already growing,
To trust steadiness over pressure,
To see reality as held together from within,
To trust that reconciliation runs deeper than fragmentation,
To recognise that presence isn't distant but within you,
To trust slow formation rather than rushing outcomes,
To learn discernment in the face of noise,
And yesterday to notice how attention itself shapes identity.
So today as we continue in the letter to the Colossians,
We're going to watch focus shift outward again,
But not away from inner awareness,
Rather this is going to be the focus shifting outward and into relationship.
Because whatever happens within us doesn't remain hidden forever.
Over time,
Inner awareness begins to express itself outwardly in the way we respond to others,
In the way we speak,
In the way we carry ourselves through the world.
And Paul uses an image here that's both simple and profound.
He speaks about clothing ourselves.
So as we prepare to hear from Paul in Colossians 3 verses 12 to 17,
I invite you just to bring yourself fully into this moment,
To breathe deeply in,
In,
And out.
Allowing your body to relax,
Your heart and your mind to settle.
As we open our ears to the voice of the Spirit through the words of Paul,
Where he writes,
As God's chosen ones,
Holy and beloved,
Clothe yourselves with compassion,
Kindness,
Humility,
Meekness,
And patience.
Bear with one another,
And if anyone has a complaint against another,
Forgive each other.
Just as the Lord has forgiven you,
So you also must forgive.
Above all,
Clothe yourselves with love,
Which binds everything together in perfect harmony,
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
To which indeed you are called in the one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom,
And with gratitude in your hearts,
Sing psalms,
Hymns,
And spiritual songs to God.
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.
Now,
Once again,
This language of putting on and clothing ourselves can sound like it's instruction,
As though these are behaviours that we have to perform.
Put on compassion,
Put on kindness,
Put on humility,
Put on patience,
And so on,
As though compassion and kindness are duties that we've got to remember we have to carry out.
But read slowly,
Something else becomes visible.
These qualities are actually manifestations.
They are what becomes visible when presence has taken root within us.
And this is where the clothing analogy is incredibly powerful.
Just think about clothing for a moment.
Clothing's literally what other people see first.
You've heard the expression clothes maketh the person.
In other words,
Dress right and you'll be recognised.
There's this sense that our clothing is how people view us and how they might come to understand us and perhaps even carve out their perception of us.
And this is because clothing is a visible layer,
An outward expression of what's underneath.
Now,
In the same way,
The qualities that Paul speaks of here,
Compassion,
Kindness,
Humility,
And patience,
They are visible expressions of an inward reality.
These are things that are meant to emerge,
Not because we make them happen and not because we put on airs,
But because when presence becomes familiar within us,
When our attention returns again and again to what's steady,
Something begins to shift in how we respond to others.
Compassion becomes something that's just natural.
And kindness isn't something that's just natural.
Something we have to put on like a random act,
You know.
Humility becomes easier and less threatening.
And we're not exhausted when we have to show patience.
And I'd like to suggest to you that this isn't because we're trying harder,
But because there's something else deeper that's happening and shaping you.
And that's why abiding is never only personal,
It's relational.
What happens within us eventually touches the people around us,
The way we listen and respond,
Even the way we hold disagreement and argument with people.
All of these things and more become expressions of the awareness that we've cultivated.
And maybe this is where a lot of people feel tension.
Because relationships,
They're really simple,
Are they?
They involve difference and misunderstanding and expectation.
Moments when patience feels difficult and kindness costs us something.
Moments where humility feels incredibly uncomfortable.
And yet this passage suggests that relational life isn't separate from the inner spiritual life,
But rather it's the place where the spiritual life becomes visible.
And that can only happen when there's interaction.
It can't occur in solitude.
It has to happen in conversation and conflict and forgiveness and care.
And then Paul continues by speaking about peace.
He talks about letting peace rule within the community.
And so it's important to see that this isn't peace that you get because you're avoiding,
Or peace that you get because you remain silent,
But peace that's received as stability in the midst of relationship.
Peace as the ability to remain grounded,
Even when others are feeling unsettled.
And then Paul speaks about gratitude again,
Returning to the theme with which this letter began.
Gratitude,
Not as politeness,
But as awareness.
Awareness that life itself is a gift,
That relationships themselves are opportunities for presence to be there.
That each encounter we have carries the possibility of connection.
And maybe this is where today's passage becomes clear.
Presence becomes relational.
Inner awareness becomes outward expression.
And it happens because there's participation and manifestation,
Because we nurture within eventually what becomes visible without.
And this invites us into a brand new world of attentiveness and awareness.
Noticing not just what's happening inside us,
Or not just what's happening around us,
But also what's happening between us,
The space between people,
The movement of the conversation,
The tone of an interaction.
And if you've noticed,
What's really interesting about this then,
Is that the opportunities for a deeper awareness come because of relationships.
They are moments where presence can be noticed in the exchange between you and others.
There's something about presence in the context of a conversation,
Not just in stillness and silence.
And so today,
I think Paul's invitation isn't just to become a kind,
Patient kind of person,
Although that's a good thing to do.
But when we put pressure on ourselves to be something like that,
It doesn't often produce life in us.
It just gives us anxiety.
So maybe the invitation today is to notice how awareness shapes interaction.
To notice how presence shows up in the midst of relationship.
So as you move through your day-to-day,
Pay attention to the ordinary encounters,
The conversation with colleagues,
The interaction with your family,
Even moments of disagreement or understanding.
Notice how awareness changes the way you respond.
Do you find yourself listening more carefully,
Pausing before you react?
Maybe you're noticing tensions without escalating them.
And these are signs of presence.
And as you move through the day,
With each of these interactions,
You might ask yourself,
What becomes visible in my relationships when I remain aware of presence within me?
When you allow what's within to shape what's expressed.
Because you're allowing,
You're abiding to become visible in compassion that emerges naturally,
In kindness that feels less forced,
In humility that creates space for others,
And in moments of patience that make those moments steady.
These aren't a whole bunch of rules to follow,
My friend.
They're qualities that grow.
And like clothing worn over time,
Familiar,
Natural,
And visible to others,
Our presence becomes relational.
And as it does,
The inner life and the outer life begin to come more and more in alignment and congruent with each other.
One interaction at a time.
And may grace,
Peace,
And love be with you as you sit in those spaces between you and others today and every day.
Amen.
Until tomorrow,
Peace be with you.
