Common Ground

Colossians 4:7-18 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. From Bonhoeffer to Martin Luther King Jr, words from prison mean something. St. Paul, in his last paragraphs in the letter to the Colossians is no different. He mentions ten people in the last few verses and each of them holds a special place in his heart as he writes from a Roman prison. Bars and chains give you a lot of time to think, to reflect on life and those who are important to you. Paul thinks of his friends who have been with him to the very end. What about us? Are we the kind of people that sit with friends in their imprisonment in order to further the gospel of Christ? Most of us have a hard time with discomfort. Yet Paul and his friends have a lot to teach us from