Colossians 1:11-20 (Sunday, November 25, 2007)

¹¹May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶for 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. ¹⁷He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸He 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. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and 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.

It’s that time of year again. Many of us this past weekend gathered around a table, eating turkey and dressing with all the fixings, maybe a piece (or two or three) of pumpkin pie, and giving thanks. A few of us were up and out before 5:00 a.m. on Friday, braving the masses in search of bargains. Some have already started - possibly even finished – putting up the Christmas decorations. And soon thoughts and efforts will turn toward Christmas cards, gifts, programs, and other holiday activities. It’s a busy time, a celebratory time. But even as we engage in all that happens this time of year, as our secular calendar draws to a close, I’m reminded that another measure of time is also taking place.

Today is Christ the King Sunday, and marks the end of the Christian calendar. Next Sunday will kick off Advent, and the start of the new Church year. One of the things I like about the Christian calendar is it reminds me that, as Christians, we operate by a slightly different perspective. Sure, we live in this world and are ordered somewhat by its time and rhythms. But at the same time we are not part of this world. We belong to a time and rhythm outside this world. And marking days like today reminds us that there’s an order and a focus to our existence that’s ever pointing to one thing – it’s all about Christ.

And so today, Christ the King Sunday, let’s hear once again the truth that Christ, our King, is the Lord God Almighty. It’s one of the more fundamental things we believe. You can find it woven throughout scripture, and even in one of the most basic declarations of our faith, the Apostle’s Creed. On one level it’s a very simple thing to say, to believe, that Jesus Christ is God. At the same time it’s a very complex and mysterious part of our faith. As we like to say in children’s church, it’s one of those things that makes our brains hurt, because we can’t quite get our heads around this concept – Christ the Son, and God the Father, distinct and yet also the same.

When Paul was writing the letter to the Colossians, it was in part to combat some heretical teaching that had been going on in the church there. One of the things this heretical teaching did was call into question the divinity of Christ. And so early on in his letter, Paul makes a point to remind them about the Christ in whom they’ve placed trust for their salvation.

Christ is an eternal King. He is before all things. In the beginning, when God created, there was Christ. Not only was he there, but it was in him that all things were created. Christ is the source of all that is, all things in heaven and on earth. All the things we can see, all the things we can’t. All thrones, dominions, rulers, powers – things of the material and spiritual realms – anything you can think of and even the stuff you can’t imagine, it was all created by Christ. And all things were created for Christ. Want to know what your purpose in life is, why you’re here? It’s because you were intended to exist for Christ and for his kingdom. All of creation – including you and I – can live in accordance with or opposition to that, but all things were created for him. And in Christ, all things hold together. He is the center of all things. As Lightfoot said in one commentary, Christ is what makes the universe “a cosmos rather than a chaos”. Does it seem like your world makes no sense, or is falling apart? Have you checked your connection to Christ lately? Are you trusting him to hold things together, according to his purposes and plans, or struggling in opposition to that?

Paul goes on to remind the readers of this letter that not only is Christ the King the eternal God of creation, but he’s also the one who reveals God to us. And how beautifully he phrases it – Christ is the image of the invisible God. God Almighty, the one we can’t see or know because his holiness, glory, and majesty, everything that he is, is so totally other, so far removed from all that we can possibly understand or imagine – is now knowable, understandable, seeable because of Christ. As the image of the invisible God, Christ walked among us. He lived and loved, showing us how God interacts with humanity, how he responds to the situations of life. And although the God-man Jesus Christ walked this earth for a specific period in time, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, walks among us still. He’s always the image of the invisible God, revealing to us what God is like, showing us how God longs to interact with us and engage with us, and reminding us that he is always with us.

And if all that isn’t enough for your mind to chew, consider this. Christ the King, the eternal God who reveals God to us, has also gloriously enabled us to be reconciled to God. In Christ, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Christ God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Imagine that. God was pleased with the Incarnation of himself. He was pleased to walk among us, to show himself to us, to be one of us. Whenever I stop long enough to really thing about that, I’m completely blown away all over again. To think that the God of the universe loves me – loves you - enough to leave the throne of glory and become one of us – to share in our humanity.

But it doesn’t stop there. Because God was pleased to go all the way, to death on a cross, in order that all things – things of heaven and earth that he’d created – could be reconciled to him. So that you and I could be at peace with God, with others, with ourself, and with the created order of this world. What kind of king makes such a sacrifice? Is it any wonder that the angels and saints in heaven proclaim, To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! (Rev. 5:13)

If the Lord God Almighty was pleased to do all that, if he was pleased with Christ and the reconciliation brought about through him, just consider how pleased he is when we make even the smallest effort of turning toward him. How pleased he must be when we choose to trust him, and allow him to transform us – when we, in all our messed up inadequate ways, give him first place in all things, king of our lives. That was Paul’s prayer for his brothers and sisters of the Colossian church. And that same prayer has been spoken over us today. For Christ is not just the eternal God, who has revealed God and enabled reconciliation to God – Christ is life to all those who would believe in him.

(Read vs. 11-14) Through Christ the King you can be made strong, with a strength that comes from the glorious power of God Almighty. Through Christ the King you’ll find yourself able to endure whatever comes your way. And not simply a ‘buck up and deal with it’ endurance, but a patient endurance which still manages to express thanksgiving because of the joy Christ has made manifest in your life, a joy based in knowing that you’ve been rescued from darkness and transferred into the kingdom of light. And through Christ you’ll share in the inheritance of the King, and live as part of the Body, brothers and sisters in Christ’s glorious Church.

I know that in this modern age the concept of a king is a little foreign to us. A monarch is something from a by-gone age, a historic oddity of sorts, or at best a romanticized figure in whom we might take some curious interest. A few monarchies still exist today, although most of those are constitutional in nature – they operate in conjunction with some parliamentary or other governmental branch and no longer have true authoritarian power. And no doubt, with the holiday season, those current monarchs will be making all the appearances and carrying out all the festivities associated with their role. And yet I am reminded that our existence is not tied solely to the times and rhythms of this modern age. There is another measure of time, another way of governing and viewing the world. And it’s all about Christ. Today marks an opportunity to recognize his kingdom and his kingship, even as next Sunday will mark an opportunity to begin preparing for the coming of the King anew. Will you choose to live only in the here and now, this time of holiday preparation and celebration? Or will you also choose to live in the kingdom of Christ – the kingdom of him who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the one who brings peace through the blood of his cross?

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