Hymn to the Christ - January 8

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 117, 118; PM Psalm 112, 113; Exod. 17:1-7; Col. 1:15-23; John 7:37-52

Last night, I thought I would get a jump on this morning’s reflection. I thought I could review the readings and something would immediately grab me. Something pithy from the week. Something pertinent from antiquity. Something. That did not happen.

So, I slowed down. I felt drawn to the letter to the Colossians, but I could not put my finger on what was stirring. And so, I did what my seminary professor Micah Jackson suggested when preparing to explore scripture for discussion or preaching: write out the scripture by hand. Each and every word. Allow space for breathing room between the lines. Mark the words that stand out. Underline phrases that have a cadence or phrasing that you want to know more about.

This practice of writing each word of the scripture is an amazing one to me. It is a practice that slows down and shifts the way I receive the Holy Scripture. Before those words pour out of my hand, they first flow into my eyes. They wander around my brain, triggering understanding and familiarity and newness. Then, the impulses of the words jump down and along the neurological pathways in my spine, shoulders, arms, and fingers, so that finally I press down upon the green pen in my hand so that it will lend its ink, spilling onto the lined page these ancient words.

In the splendor of this process, I revisited the words of Colossians. I heard the beauty of the Pauline message, a hymn to the Christ, unfurling slowly and clearly who Jesus Christ was, and is, and will be. There are words of Christ-centered genesis, reminders of holy order and organization, and the peace of God’s reconciling love in Christ. Take a moment and revisit Colossians 1:15-20:

“He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation;

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.

He himself is before all things,

And in him all things hold together.

“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.

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased

to reconcile to himself all things,

whether on earth or in heaven,

by making peace through the blood of his cross.”

These few verses deliver dense, developed theology, to be sure.

Here is what I hear: Jesus the Christ serves as the glue, holding all things together, across time. He is more that the prophetic human who walked upon the earth. He is the firstborn of all creation, and the firstborn to emerge from the dead. Jesus excels in all things and sets the tone for all from the top – that pinnacle, which was upon a cross. In the heartbreak and hardship, what emerged was redemption and reconciliation. The message that remains is that all things and all people are brought to a space of peace through Jesus.

May you find that hope and encouragement in Jesus as you take today one step at a time.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

How do you best receive information? Through listening, reading, writing, lived experience?



How does your awareness in this way spill over into your faith? What about your spiritual growth might you tweak, to deepen or broaden the ways you experience and share God's love?