Holding It Together

This Sunday's text is a doozy.  Suffice to say, I've had some less than pleasant words for the Apostle Paul's abysmal grammatical failings in my research & study of this text, quoted below:

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

2 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Doesn't it feel like a slap-dash of everything thrown together all at once? What is a preacher to do? What is a student of the Biblical text (i.e. YOU) to do?  How would you hold together:

* alienation from God
* reconciliation through the physical body of Christ
* the continuance of faith as pre-condition for eternal salvation?
* rejoicing in suffering without being a loony or in denial.
* What in the world does Paul mean that something was lacking in Christ's affliction?
* What in the world is Paul thinking that he can somehow fill in the gaps? Has he never read Romans 1-3?
* What is all this mystery-talk/mumbo-jumbo?
* Why does Paul talk about himself so much.
* Paul states his goal but it hardly seems stream-lined.  What is he really trying to accomplish here?
* What fine-sounding arguments is Paul referring to?

So -- hypothetically -- if someone were tasked with answering all those questions in 20 minutes, how might she or he accomplish such a thing? What is the strand that holds it all together?