The world creates unity.

(…) The question is, who wrote this sheet, or can we even say this excerpt that we read today? The answer to this question is significant for understanding the whole text. Sure, it was written in Colossians, but who were these Colossians? First of all, they were Greeks; this aspect plays a big role there, it is of great importance, and then they were Christians, who had converted from paganism. When a person “turns” or starts doing something new, such as attending a school or joining a club, or learning a foreign language, they are excited about it. However, as a rule, how does it typically go? Most people start to slow down after a while. He discovers that there are some problems, some obstacles, and that it’s not all as he imagined; maybe the teacher is not quite right, or his classmates, or there are problems with the thing itself. The Christians in Colossae also discovered that there are problems in the church as well, that it is not all as 100 percent as they thought, and they, too, began to falter in their enthusiasm.

Paul, because he saw it, because he knew them, wanted to confirm their initial enthusiasm, tried to encourage them again, to bring them to it again, so that they don’t just become some average or below average Christians, but are as zealous as they were at the beginning, and that’s why he writes this text to them. It is a text intended for encouragement. As I said, the Colossians were Greek. Here is one such essential aspect of Greek thought. This aspect was formulated by the philosopher Plato, and it was not precisely a happy division; namely, Plato divided the world into the visible world and the invisible world, and he also assigned labels to each. He said that the visible world is evil; on the contrary, the invisible world is the real thing. In other words, Plato said: „A human soul that is invisible and cannot be touched, this soul is trapped in the human body and looks forward to the moment when it gets rid of that body.“ So Plato introduced a kind of division, but it was incorrect. The apostle Paul writes to the Colossians and says to them: „This division is bad, the world forms unity. Just as God made him visible and invisible ( we say it in prayer, I believe in God every Sunday), so this world forms unity, and you can’t say: therefore, that something is visible and can be touched is bad, and because something is invisible and cannot be touched, it is good. Not like this at all, you can’t divide it like this.“

Plato’s reflection continued that it is necessary to stay away from material things, from visible things, so that man has within himself the true wealth of invisible things. Apostle Paul wants to say to the Colossians: „No. A Christian, one who believed in Jesus Christ, will not withdraw from the visible world, but will have a different attitude towards it. Like all travelers, they look to the cardinal points, they look to the sky, and in the sky they look for a polar bear that shows them the north and derives from it where they will go, so the Christian will look at Christ.“ Or let’s say it a little differently. As a person who goes on a journey somewhere, he looks at the timetable when something is going for him, and accordingly sets out on that journey and prepares himself, thus the Christian will look at Christ and from Christ he will then derive his attitude towards all things, towards all realities – whether to those that are seen or to those, which are not visible.

Every person has one ability that only we humans have, which is to think about ourselves. Paul writes about it to the Colossians: „Cloth a new man who renews himself to the right knowledge.“ Only a person can stop, think about what was (we call it „, do a reflection of one’s own life“), and say: „This was done, thank you,“ or also say: „I messed this up, this failed, and I have to do otherwise.“ It takes a lot of force to admit a mistake in such a self-critical way; it’s not easy at all. It takes a lot of inner strength, a lot of bravery, and then it takes a lot of courage to change it to correct it somehow. But it is the mission of us Christians to look at Christ, to look at Him as an indicator of the way, an indicator of direction, and, according to Christ, to take a position on things that are around us, whether material things or intangible things.

We, too, have certainly experienced the fact that everything in the church is not just enough, that it is not all as we would like, as we would imagine. We must have also experienced the fact that those we thought would be our role models somehow disappointed us. It would be a mistake if, because of these difficulties, we put aside our faith and put aside our view of Christ because of these problems. On the contrary, if we all try to live according to the gospel, if we all try to look at Christ, then we can say, there will be fewer and fewer disappointments. So may we be able, according to Paul’s instructions, at this time, which is the time of vacation, the time of rest, to make time for ourselves too – to stop, think, and check our life direction and ask: „ Am I really following Christ?“