Scripture Text (NRSV)
Colossians 1:15-28
1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation;
1:16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers
or powers--all things have been created through him and for him.
1:17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold
together.
1:18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place
in everything.
1:19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
1:20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all
things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the
blood of his cross.
1:21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing
evil deeds,
1:22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as
to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him--
1:23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast
in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel
that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under
heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
1:24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my
flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the
sake of his body, that is, the church.
1:25 I became its servant according to God's commission that was
given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,
1:26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and
generations but has now been revealed to his saints.
1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles
are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
1:28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching
everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in
Christ.
Comments:
The great mystery of God is "Christ in you." Because Christ is present
in his body, the church, Christians share in his life, suffering, and
glory.
On a youth retreat some years ago, I had a box for kids to put
questions they wanted me to answer from the Bible. One kid, for fun,
put in the question: "how does the jelly get inside the jelly donut?"
I decided to answer by saying it was a great mystery. As I searched
for a passage with the word "mystery," I came upon this passage. It
made for laughter and memorable interaction to ponder the mystery of
how the presence of Christ in us changes us from regular old donuts
into very special jelly donuts. Wonderful mystery!
To the "jelly doughnut" contributor,
I worked my way through college (long ago) by working summers and
holidays at Krispy Kreme. The problem with putting the jelly into the
doughnut was not getting the jelly there but not cracking or messing
up the fragile sugar glaze on the doughnut when you did it. Verse 22
says that Christ "has now reconciled in his fleshly body through
death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable
before him." If I tried to save myself, the glaze would be broken and
the shell mangled but Christ not only inserts himself in us without us
looking mangled in God's eyes but heals the imperfections that were
already there. Pretty amazing. Thanks for the thought. Mike in Soddy
Daisy, TN
In him all things hold together- scientists have discovered (or
uncovered) that there is no such thing as empty space- what they
formerly thought of as empty is filled with magnetic fields. This
means that everything is actually connected to everything else. The
privilege of the Christian is to know and trust the one in whom all
things hold together.
But that takes faith-when it looks like everything is falling apart,
how do you believe that at some level (perhaps beyond our present
knowledge or perhaps we are blinded by the moment) that everything is
being held together? By continuing in faith- which may be what is
meant by "Christ in you, the hope of glory"
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As I mentioned in a commentary on the Gospel section, I will be
concentrating on this lection. I am interested in this early Christian
Hymn, which Epaphrus used to show the Colossians that though others
were suggesting Angels and other ways more important regarding faith,
this hymn shows that christ was fro the beginning. My question to
worshippers will be when did this Christ, this Image of God this very
"Icon" of our lives? I suggest that not only was this Image of God
(Jesus Christ) was at the beginning of all ou lives.
Shalom
bammamma
More on the thought of all Things holding together in him
I read somewhere (a book by Seth Godin, I think) that it would take
only six steps to find a conecction between two people. Even our lives
are nore intertwined than we could possibly imagine. As John Donne
writes "no man is an island entire of himself" (isn't it amazing how
often poetry and responsible religious thought come to the same
conclusions as both hard and soft sciences)
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just another short thought- the only ones who can hold on (endure) are
the ones who know themselves to be held
revgilmer in texarkana
