He is Immanuel, God-with-us, and He is with His Church, very present where His name is, very present where His gifts are, and very present where His people are.
As I said back in July when we had a Year C series on Colossians for a few weeks, this epistle is a special letter nearer the end of Paul’s ministry in that, from the beginning, we hear who Christ is in His person. So much of the New Testament, particularly the epistles, seems to be interested most in proclaiming, interpreting, and applying the work of Christ, centered on His atoning sacrifice and glorious resurrection. But the person of Christ – who he is – is articulated by Paul here at the beginning of the letter to the Colossians in an early Christ hymn or creed. He is the one who is king of a kingdom we have been transferred to by virtue of His ransom (Colossians 1:13), which He paid for our redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). He is the preeminent Lord over all creation, the firstborn, the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15-16), the head of the body, the Church (Colossians 1:18), the one in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:17), in whom the fullness of God dwells (Colossians 1:19), through whom God has reconciled all things and made peace, by the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20).
This and the other pericopes could be appropriate for the other celebration which this last Sunday of the church year has historically hosted (“Christ the King” Sunday, “Reign of Christ” Sunday, or “Return of Christ” Sunday), this epistle reading especially of the three. But the last Sunday of the church year is also freighted with eschatological hope. The Old Testament and Gospel are probably best read together as confessing the theology of the Lord preserving and commending a faithful remnant (refer to Malachi’s post-exilic faithful over and against the many who apostatize; the thief on the cross in Luke who receives Jesus’ promise, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise”). The good news for the preacher is that Jesus is all over this epistle pericope. Deliver Him, and you have done the work you are called to do! The challenge is to ask what it means for the faithful remnant who make up the body of your hearers, and to craft your message to give them hope in real time, the end of time(!), which is the season we live in here and now.
The end of time begins with the ascension of our Lord. He is high and lifted up, fills all Heaven and Earth, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-20, especially 1:17; also refer to 2:9 and 3:1). In this present time, our Lord promises to be with us always (Matthew 28.20). There is reason to find comfort in the fact beyond simply waiting for the world finally to end! Jesus is really present with His Church. He has promised it. And He makes good on that promise in many ways. He delivers His Word to us, in all its forms: Read, heard, whispered, shouted, sung, prayed, chanted, memorized, taught, preached, learned, washed on in baptism, and eaten and drunk with His body and blood. He makes good on His promise by interceding for us at the right hand of the Father, praying for you. He fulfills the promise by living in you (Galatians 2:20). Your hands are His hands, your feet are His feet, your service to neighbor is His service to neighbor as He employs you as His secret agent, the mask of God, to serve His little ones (and in doing so you mysteriously serve Him, refer to Matthew 25:40). This business of filling Heaven and Earth, of the King of kings being the one in whom all things hold together, can seem so daunting, so transcendent, so aloof. And so, it is! But the Gospel is that this Jesus is also immanent. He is Immanuel, God-with-us, and He is with His Church, very present where His name is, very present where His gifts are, and very present where His people are (see Matthew 18:20).
The end of time begins with the ascension of our Lord. He is high and lifted up, fills all Heaven and Earth, and in Him all things hold together
Consider dusting off a basic Caemmerer, “Goal-Malady-Means” framework for crafting this sermon. If the “Goal” is a faith goal, to trust the revealed person of Christ, then the “Malady” is the difficulty (indeed impossibility!) of a human being trusting a God far off, one possible interpretation of the glorious majesty, impenetrable sovereignty, of Christ the King as described in Colossians 1. The gospel “Means” which cures the malady is that the Christ is indeed immanent. His “with-us-ness” is manifested in the real and historic, physical and bodily, blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20), by which your hearer has real and historic, living life now, redemption and forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). Not left to herself to muster up trust in an invisible God, the immanent and visible, historical, bodily Christ is the image of that invisible God (Colossians 1:15), redeeming, restoring, and regenerating that image of God in her as well. The Holy Spirit uses the very human and very near Word to gift her with trust in that Christ (Romans 10:6-10, 17), who delivers Himself in His very body and blood, eaten and drunk, with the promise of the forgiveness of sins. Christ is a God not far off, but a God close by to trust.
If the “Goal” is a life goal, to encourage your hearer to behavior and discipline in response to the good news, then the immanence I argue the text reveals can address the “Malady” of ignoring how present the Christ is. Consider the hearer who imagines it is useless or fruitless to engage the Word in Christian discipleship, who imagines “religion” to be a set of axioms and arguments that only clergy or super-saints may concern themselves with, or who is lax in her devotion of prayer and attendance at the sacrament. Malady indeed! The gospel “Means” that cures it is, once again, the fact of Christ filling Heaven and Earth, being the one in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:15). This includes what we pay attention to in our time and our habits. If Christ is truly present, the Church ought not only to believe in but practice the presence of Christ. What do we do in these end times that is more fruitful than waiting for the world to end?
Whether “faith goal” or “life goal,” the telling Word for Christ’s relationship with his Church, with His individual coheirs, is the verb “dwell.” God has made His home in Christ, and the fullness of deity is pleased to dwell in Him (Colossians 1:19). The great good news is that this one who fills Heaven and Earth is pleased to dwell with you. Dwell with Him and you are dwelling with the fullness of deity. The image of the settlement, the house, the home where God has decided to set up stakes is resonant with incarnation language, of course (refer to John 1:14). Christ’s ascended glory means the incarnation is not limiting. He is not circumscribed or limited in His flesh but has been translated to the glorious power of God’s right hand. This means we need not wait in line to access Christ at His office during a certain set of hours or dig up His address and travel far to reach Him at His home. This is because He makes His home with you... all the time. The God who is at once “immortal, invisible, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,” has finally given us access... all the time. Trust it. Practice His presence because His presence, His dwelling, is with you. And that is gospel, because His presence, His dwelling, is for you too.
Blessings on your preaching this week!
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Colossians 1:13-20.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching Colossians 1:13-20.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
