( Colossians 2,3.6-10 ) - [ Deutsch ]
Theme: Come, we seek treasure
Move 1: The nativity scene from the sea
Dear congregation, I would like to tell you a story this morning. Here is the nativity scene of the Oberstaufen sculptor Fidelis Bentele. (Show picture)
He carved this nativity scene in 1951 along with two more nativity scenes as a commission for a bishop from Chicago. He sent them as requested and signed them on the way to America. But the three nativity scene never arrived there. Their transport freighter, the "Flying Enterprise" sank after a heavy hurricane on January 10, 1952 in the English Channel. No one was hurt, but the nativity scenes seemed lost. 70 years ago now.
Move 2: Lifting a treasure...
Experts estimate that about three million shipwrecks lie at the bottom of the world's oceans. Many of the wrecks contain precious treasures.
Often they are only found years later, if at all.
To find a treasure, that is what many people dream of. And when you do find a treasure, your luck seems great.
But it can also become a danger: all the earthly treasures we speak of are perishable and some people can't get enough of them. If your heart is too attached to these treasures, it will not make you happy. What you set your heart on is your God, that's how Luther put it.
What is the treasure you set your heart on?
Our Bible text this morning is also about treasures...not of this world. Listen for yourself from Colossians 2:3, 6-10.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
Move 3: The treasure of wisdom and knowledge
In the search for the treasure in life, there is a great danger of stumbling onto a wrong path. There is a lot of humanly talk and a lot of distractions that pull you into their spell. Sometimes I don't really know anymore what is really important.
People have always been fascinated by wisdom and knowledge. In our sermon text, the apostle Paul writes to the church of Colossia because teachers have appeared there who tell the church members that true faith in Jesus Christ requires knowledge of ancient secret doctrines. Paul opposes this.
In Christ all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
In Jesus dwells the mystery of the whole world, the knowledge of me, the truth of our life. In him all the fullness of God is present in the flesh.
Dear congregation, these words that Paul addresses here to the Colossians fit so wonderfully with Christmas morning:
I'll let some of them work again:
All treasures - all fullness - wisdom and knowledge - God incarnate.
And the most beautiful thing about it: Jesus Christ - our treasure today and am for all eternity.
Move 4 : To accept Jesus means to be accepted by him.
We share in this fullness because we belong to Christ. In him we can see God. Hidden and yet revealed.
But: and I quote the German theologian Gerhard Ebeling:
Man's knowing God is based on being known by God, loving God is based on being loved by God, addressing God as God is based on being addressed by God, affirming God as God is based on being affirmed by God.
God recognizes me, loves me, affirms me, without me being able to do anything about it.
That is why we baptize even little children. Because God's action always precedes my action ... and is completely independent of what my response is.
I can build my life on this foundation. And look for the treasures that God puts in my life.
Move 5 Live with this treasure in Jesus Christ
So align your lives with him! 7 Remain rooted in him and base yourselves as a church entirely on him. Become firm in the faith as you have been taught. And do not stop giving thanks to God.
He is above all powers and authorities. Nothing can harm me in life if I carry this certainty as a treasure in my heart.
What happened to the missing nativity scenes that sank with the ship?
It was not until 2001 that the wreck of the "Flying Enterprise" was rediscovered at the bottom of the sea. By then, however, one of the nativity scenes had long since returned to Oberstaufen, almost safe and dry.
It had been washed up on the beach of the Danish island of Rom 5 years after the sinking of the ship and a good 1000 km away.
The boy who found it offered it for sale to an art painter. This was observed by a tourist who took a closer look at the flotsam nativity scene. And on the bottom plate it said "F.B. Oberstaufen/Germany". She sent a message to the mayor of Oberstaufen, who told Fidelis Bentele about the find. So the nativity scene came back to its home.
The star above the stable is missing and Joseph has lost his right hand with the lantern. A slightly silvery patina on the light lime wood tells of 5 years in salt water.
Curator Peter Scheu amazes the visitors of the Bentele art exhibition with the story: "The nativity scene had sunk hundreds of meters deep. Travelled hundreds of kilometers in the sea. In the heavily trafficked English Channel, it did not get into any propeller, was not significantly damaged. And then found this incredible way home. To me, that's a miracle."
The treasure of the nativity scene is a miracle. And it remains so. And we stand in wonder at the child of God. It is our consolation in life and in death - the hope of all creation and the final wisdom.
Amen
