Colossians 1:15-20
15He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Jesus is at the centre. He is the Lord of creation. The bible reads as a love story between God and the world he has created. Jesus is the Word, who came to his own, and his own received him not; but to all those who did receive him …
What, however, are we to make of creation? And what does it tell us about God the Creator? In this time of anniversaries, we are invited by some to make a choice: science and Darwin versus faith and credulity. Apparently we must choose either to be simple minded believers – “everything is beautiful”, or to be realists – the world is subject to chance, struggle, survival of the vicious.
I strongly advise you to be skeptical about everything, and especially when people try to frame an argument so that you are pushed one way or another. It is far from clear that Darwin viewed his work on evolution as incompatible with a Christian faith, and there have always been many within the church who could see the value of Darwin’s work.
The question remains, however: How do we know God? How do we explain God? Is he truly a God of love?
The answer will include music, truth, cholera, survival of the fittest, an aircrash where everyone survived, an aircrash where there were no survivors, arson, rape, the death of a 10 year old daughter, a snowflake, daffodils by Ullswater, a female suicide bomber blowing up women and children, a pensioner seeing a lifetime’s careful saving put at risk, and much, much more.
How do we make sense of it? Explain?
Do we need to? Is it more comforting that suffering is "natural" or "man-made"?
Who is God? What is he up to?
The answer is Jesus. However we understand it, Jesus is at the centre of all that happens: the creation came into being though him and he upholds it, he keeps it in being.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. God as he is, not as we might wish him to be. He came to his own, and his own received him not. He is Jesus who showed kindness and care, who healed, who taught that we should love God and each other, who raged against injustice, who died on the cross ...
It is not a retreat from reality to try to encounter him, to seek him, to immerse oneself in him. He is the icon, we seek to be drawn into the picture.
He is the Head of the body. Christ at the centre. He is in all that we are and do. Because he is creator of all, he is with us always: in church, on the motorway, cooking supper, watching the news, writing a report or an essay, sucking a sweet, changing a nappy ...... Can you imagine a time or a place where Jesus is not with you? If there is such a time or a place, how true is it that he is not there? Sometimes it would suit us to be confident that Jesus is not present, so that we could act as we wish. On reflection, though, would you want to draw a single breath without him?
Jesus is at the centre of his church. Jesus is at the centre each of our lives, and at the centre of our church life. He is the Head.
In him is the fullness of God and through him is reconciliation through the blood of his cross. We see this in the mystery that we share in at the communion table. We will explore this in the coming weeks of Lent as we explore together the divine imperative to love one another as he has loved us, as we look together at relationships from a Christian point of view.
What would it look like if Jesus were not the centre, not imaging God in us and for us, not being our head? Might we be so "spiritual" that we were no earthly use? Might we develop a part time mentality, where we are respectable and religious on the outside, but quietly determined to remain unaltered by any contact with the divine?
The point is that Jesus really lived and died in the flesh, and he was restored to life in the flesh. We are not talking about metaphysical, academic theories. This world is far from perfect; the creation has been subjected to imperfection. We know that. God knows that. That is why Jesus came. The reality is that Jesus suffered, was rejected and died. Paul says that he filled up the sufferings of Christ. The New Testament is frequently about persevering in the face of tribulation.
To be a follower of Christ is not to be magically released from all your problems. It is, rather, to be included in the creating, saving power of God as we find him revealed in Jesus. Jesus has reconciled everything in all of creation by the blood of his cross. That is why he is at the Centre, the Lord of Creation.
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Questions for Discussion
1. “He is the image of the invisible God”. What, for you, is the most significant thing that you learn about God from all that you know of Jesus?
2. Where do long most to see the reconciling power of God most at work?
3. How do you respond to “peace with God” through the blood of Jesus? Is this an area that you would appreciate help with, and where might you look?
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