Apparently, David Bowie's song, Star Man, which came out in 1972, was thoroughly memorable.
I wouldn't know, but someone was talking about it on the radio (wireless, to some!) this morning.
But it prompted me to think of a way to describe Jesus.
We know he was born in poverty, in Bethlehem, had to go to Egypt as a refugee from Herod's tyranny, and that he lived and taught around Galilee and Jerusalem, from about 27AD to his early death in 30AD.
In about 60AD, St. Paul writes a letter to his Christian friends in Colossae, from prison, and he has a most astonishing way to describe Jesus.
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. (Colossians 1.15-20)
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. (Colossians 1.15-20)
This description of Jesus could blow our mind. He is the cosmic Christ who existed before time, and who was agent of creation, and who is now supreme over all things and head of the Church, is the One who has provided forgiveness for us, by his death on the cross.
Such a description of Jesus forces us to expand our own understanding of Jesus. Let us take time to reflect and allow this truth to seep reshape our own thinking about everything in our lives. He is not only the baby in the manger, or the man upon the cross. he is the Star Man and Cosmic Peacemaker.
If we face situations today where things appear to be falling apart, let us recall that he holds all creation together, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Learning to live life trusting Jesus is what we are called to - but such a Jesus!!
Best wishes,
Richard
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