Rooted by Living Water

Have any of you ever gotten a new car and suddenly there were “new rules”? No eating or drinking in the car. Be careful what is on your shoes before you step onto the carpet. Daily wipe-down of the dash with a microfiber cloth, weekly vacuum and car wash, on time oil changes…and whatever else they recommend at the shop. Then, after a few months, or a year, or a long road trip…it doesn’t matter so much anymore. The new wears off, and it gets “lived in.” You go through the drive through. Go ahead and eat, just don’t wipe your hands on the seat. Then, you stop cleaning up the straw wrapper bits. Eventually, there’s a bag of trash that might be making its home there too.

That is what has happened in Colossae. The new car is the Gospel of Jesus, the news that Christ has come, that God loves the world and has redeemed it. At first, the news was kept pristine. But now there are compromises being made. Other ideas are being consumed and the grease is getting rubbed on the seats, so to speak. Paul is writing to them to encourage them to keep the car clean, to keep their faith fresh.

Remember, Colossae is a city of trade, with goods and ideas coming from all over the known world. Epaphras founded the church there, and he is concerned about the philosophies that are being mixed into what they believe about Jesus. So, he has traveled to see Paul, who is in prison in Rome, and Paul writes this letter back to the Colossian church.

“You used to not even have a car! Those of you who did had beat up jalopies!” You once were estranged from God, living your lives separated from God’s presence, and now the brand new, beautiful car you are driving was a gift from God. You are now holy, blameless in God’s presence; there is now no separation between you and God. Provided, you don’t start taking it for granted. You don’t stop paying attention to what you allow in your car. Provided you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel.

Paul reminds them of what they have been taught and what they believe by quoting what appears to be either a hymn or a responsive reading from their worship liturgy. If they are to grow as Christians, their roots have to be firmly planted in Christ Jesus. The words of the hymn have their roots in the Hebrew Scriptures, what we now know as the Old Testament, showing how Jesus is connected to the faith of the Jews.

The words are drawn from the story of Creation in Genesis, God’s instructions to Moses in the wilderness about setting up the Tabernacle for worship, the call of Wisdom in Proverbs to justice and truth, and 3 of the songs from the Hebrew hymnal, the book of Psalms, about worshiping God as authority over all things and not earthly rulers.

Paul wants them, every time they sing this hymn, to remember that feeling of newness of faith – that joy and excitement and to connect to what they first believed. He didn’t have the research to back him up, but he knew the power of singing. Music connects with our souls in a way that what we sing shapes what we believe. That’s why church musicians and pastors have such strong feelings about what is played or sung in worship – whether that is on Sunday or a funeral or a wedding or some other service – should be grounded in what we believe about who God is and our experience of God.

This early hymn of the faith praises Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God. When we look to the life of Jesus we see God’s reflection. It’s like looking into a mirror and seeing what is around the corner that we otherwise couldn’t see. There is nothing and no one higher or more authoritative. Everything is subordinate to Jesus Christ. There is nothing and no one that we should have higher loyalty to than Jesus Christ. Prior to anything created, Jesus lives, and in him all things were created in heaven and on earth. Remember one of the sects that Paul was concerned about was teaching that God is pure and everything that has matter, everything created is evil. Paul is responding here by saying that everything heavenly and earthly, has its origin in Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God, so creation has to be good and not evil. Not only do all things have their source in him, all things are held together in him. This is the taproot of our faith.

“Jesus is the first-born of all creation,” begins the first verse.
“Jesus is the first-born from the dead,” begins the second verse.

In him, this reality is held together. All is not lost in the evil that has taken hold in this world.

When you see the wonders of nature – a waterfall in the rainforest, an eagle gliding in front of snow-capped mountains against a blue sky, the sun catch the sky ablaze with color as it sets…you can’t help but be awed at the glory of creation. WOW!

But when you see the pain of this world, when you know someone who is struggling with depression, when you hear lack of empathy for others, biases, judgments, disdain, disregard, destruction, evil…our world is a place of death. And the hymn proclaims that Jesus is first-born from the dead – not “only” born – FIRST born. And the head of the church. And in him, all things are held together. Like a spacecraft reentering the earth’s atmosphere, creation is undergoing immense stress, but it will withstand through to Redemption as we look to see God in the mirror of Christ making peace by hanging on the cross. In the words of NT Wright, “the living God has now acted to heal the world of the wickedness and corruption which have so radically infected it.”

The fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Christ Jesus, who is the head of the church. Do you see how Paul is responding to the Gnostic heresy that God is pure and all that is created, including humanity, is evil, so Jesus could not have been human…it would have been like water and oil…so Jesus must have just had a costume, a mask, of humanity rather than truly being human. Then, Jesus didn’t suffer or experience pain…but that isn’t the Gospel. You see how quickly the brand new car gets dirty – it’s like letting kids eat popcorn with butter in it!
New Testament scholar, who edited the New Testament for the New Revised Standard Version, Dr. Bruce Metzer wrote about the heresies that were influencing the church at Colossae, “Though the precise form of the Colossian heresy has long since passed away, Paul’s letter retains the freshness and relevance in combatting other types of inadequate Christologies and sub-Christian practices which have troubled the church from age to age.”

Since Constantine combined church and state in the Roman empire after his conversion to Christianity in 312, the church has struggled to remain as radical as Jesus and to not conform to the kinds of power and control that are lauded in this world rather than remaining faithful to the call of God to live transformed lives, shaped by the Will of God. Where will we choose to put down roots? The first hymn in the Hebrew hymnbook, Psalm 1, praises those whose roots are in the Word of God, comparing them to a tree planted beside streams of water. John’s Gospel begins with “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God. Through him all things were made. (sounding familiar?) The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus spoke to the faithful who had gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, a Jewish celebration of the 40 years in the wilderness commemorating that God cares for God’s people, wants to dwell among them, and provides the water of life. Jesus said to the crowd gathered, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Will we be radically welcoming? Will we speak out against injustice? Will we act to heal brokenness? Will we use our worldly powers to advocate for those who are oppressed by our worldly systems and powers? Will we lay down our privilege, our self-interest, for others? Will we follow the example of Jesus? That is the Gospel invitation. Will you accept it?

At the conclusion of this section of the letter, Paul writes, “As therefore you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” You’ve been given a new car! Enjoy it – drive it – keep it up – watch out for greasy theology – and don’t take it for granted – overflow with gratitude!