Learning Christ

Sermon by: Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan, Ph.D.

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-28

You’ve heard me say many times, the Bible does not speak with a singular voice. Writers have different visions of creation; historians paint conflicting pictures of King David; and Gospel writers differ in describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. New Testament letters also describe Jesus in ways distinct from each other.

In today’s reading from later in the first chapter of the letter to the Colossians, you are given a distinct description of who Jesus Christ is. Several verses comprise a “Christ hymn” which was probably part of a liturgical text – a familiar piece from very early Christian worship, like how you are used to the Lord’s Prayer in worship each week. This Christological hymn shows Jesus Christ as preexistent, creator over all things; the one who holds all things together (as we heard also last week); and through whom all things are reconciled to God.

Colossians gives the highest Christology in the whole New Testament. “High Christology” means an understanding of Jesus Christ as closest to and most like God. By contrast, a “low Christology” means interpreting Jesus Christ as more human, focusing on how he interacted with common people and called people to follow his ways. The high Christology in Colossians, coming from the early Christ hymn, gives an awe-inspiring depiction of who Jesus Christ is. Every sentence in today’s passage is jammed with meaning, especially the opening Christ hymn. So take a break and read Colossians 1:15-28.

Did you hear it? Christ is the image of God.  The writer of Colossians says, in effect, Jesus shows us God, manifests the likeness of God. But then the writer expands the description to an even higher Christology, claiming the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. Such ideas were mind-boggling to first century Jewish believers. Even as they committed to following Jesus, they still struggled to figure out the relationship between God and Jesus. And as we hear the statements, they should be mind-boggling to us, too. “…in him all things in heaven and on earth were created….in him all things hold together….[and ] in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” These remarkable statements in the Christ hymn, if we listen to them carefully, begin to sound like a poem written in an effort to describe something actually beyond human capacity to comprehend, like how a young person may try to write a poem describing their first love. Words fail, yet still we try, articulating imperfectly these exquisite feelings. Almost every sentence we hear makes a cosmic claim about Christ. All things came into existence through him and for him. He reigns as creator. God’s power is at work in him, establishing every single thing: visible and invisible, on earth and in heaven.

Let’s think what Colossians is claiming: through Christ are created dominions, rulers, thrones. So, monarchs, village leaders, governors, tyrannical despots, presidents– all are in place through Christ. And all powers: not just the force of gravity, but the power to love and sacrifice as well as xenophobia and self-centered acquisitiveness. Mind boggling, Christ as creator of dominions, rulers, and powers.

But the claim is not merely as Creator. Christ is also said to be the cosmic agent of redemption. Meaning that through him, God was pleased to reconcile all things to Godself. Through the death of Jesus, all things have been reconciled back to God. No matter how rotten things are; no matter how sinful people are; all things have been set right with God through Christ, who holds all things together. Stunning if we think about these claims. Christ is the divine image, in whom the fullness of God dwells.

But must we agree with Colossians? What can we believe? True, some of us do hold a high Christology, believing Jesus Christ controls the universe and is co-equal with God, the divine Parent. But others of us just can’t go there fully. Some of us connect better with the human person, Jesus, who walked dusty roads, got tired, enjoyed a good party, felt the agony of torture, worried about his mother, prayed to God for strength. Those with a lower Christology connect better with the Jesus who identifies with the least, the lost, those surviving on society’s margin.

So, how can we decide what to believe? I think we have to admit we can’t know everything about Jesus Christ, but that’s okay. We don’t have to know everything. But we can know some things. Here are a few things we can know about Jesus Christ: Historical evidence indicates a first century rabbi known as Jesus taught, had followers, and was crucified by Roman authorities for political reasons. We have solid evidence for those pieces. But the existence of the early church is evidence of more. After the crucifixion, followers claimed they experienced some presence of Jesus, empowering them. Some of them claimed the Spirit of Jesus was connecting them with God as part of God’s ultimate plan for all creation. Through Jesus Christ, humanity is made right with God, connects with God’s will, is reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. As we look back over the church’s theological arguments and worship records, we don’t have to settle every dispute. But people do seem to agree that somehow, believers are connected to God through Jesus. Many call the connection a mystery – Christ present among us and within us, we don’t know how.

We could say, those who follow Jesus become part of the mystical Body of Christ, Christ present in the physical people of the church. Such ideas are baffling. But don’t we often say, “The church becomes the hands and feet of Jesus”? That’s what Colossians means by: “He is the head of the body, the church.” We become part of Christ. So, we can believe the presence of the Resurrected Christ is among us.

Which means, Christ is here, in us. St. Andrew participates in the mystical, physical presence of Christ. As we go about doing what we do as church, Christ is at work in us. And when we struggle to figure out our next steps as church, Christ struggles with us. And when we suffer at the death of someone we love, Christ grieves with us. Our physical participation in the church means we are physically part of the mystical body of Christ. So, we appropriately treat each other with divine respect, which is why St. Andrew became Open and Affirming early on, and why we continue to learn what that means as gender identity becomes more fluid and as appropriate pronouns are less obvious, and as we realize threats against transgender families are threats against all of us.

And it’s why some of us jot down the names of people mentioned at prayer time to pray for them throughout the week. In doing so, we know we are connected to God and to the person for whom we pray, through Jesus Christ. But the connections go beyond the walls. Participating in the body of Christ is why we feel especially blessed when the photo of Craig, our sexton, with the cart full of diapers for Francis House shows up in the Midweek Update. We know those baby supplies come from the body of Christ, of which we are a part.

Each of us is a part of St Andrew, so a part of the body of Christ, so we charged with carrying Jesus’ ministry forward. We join all people of good will throughout the world, committed to reconciling every part of the world we come in touch with, back to God, through Jesus Christ, on behalf of the whole creation. God has chosen to reveal the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Treasure the awareness, St Andrew family. Christ is in us.