If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. 6 Because of these the wrath of God is coming [upon the disobedient]. 7 By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. 9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.
St. Paul told the Colossians that if they have been baptized into Christ and have died with Christ to the elemental powers of the world (Col, 2:20), they should put to death their previous attitudes and behaviors (v. 7) and seek the thing of God so that they would rise with Christ (v. 1). If they have been changed by their baptism, they should renounce everything that would separate them from Christ (vv. 8-9). The Messianic promises have been fulfilled in Christ. However, there is still a gap between what is on earth and what is in heaven. Those who have died in Christ will be protected from spiritual dangers while in the flesh until finally Christ and those who have died in him will appear in glory.
St. Paul gave the Colossians two lists of vices they should mortify. The first list pertains to sins of the body and passions. The second list pertains to sins that begin in the mind/intellect. If they do not cast off the sins that are part of their old self and “seek what is above,” the wrath of God will come upon them because of their sinful and unjust actions. There should be no divisions among them because they are all united in Christ and Christ lives in all who believe.
Compassionate and
righteous God, magnify our desire to live the virtues that lead to everlasting life. Help us to forgive others as you forgive us. Help us to be as compassionate to others as
you are compassionate to us. Help us to
love others as you love us. We make these
prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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