Thomas J Parlette
”The Hope of Glory”
Col. 1: 15-28
7/20/25
One of my favorite places to go for continuing education is an out of the way little place on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C. called The College of Preachers. It is run by the Episcopal church, as the cathedral is as well, but they offer some really great week-long seminars by some of the top scholars in the country. I was fortunate to take two seminars led by Dr. David Buttrick – a leading preaching professor, that I thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, one year, I took a reading week at the College and Juliet came down to visit – and we got engaged in the Rose Garden of the National Cathedral.
Stepping into the College of Preachers is like stepping back in time. It’s medieval design and atmosphere easily takes you back 800 years to some monastery in England.
Every morning and evening, we would gather in the ancient looking chapel for prayers and vespers. In the middle of the intimate chapel was a tall cross, not unlike the one we have here in our sanctuary. This cross was made of wood and a unique depiction of Jesus on it.
Most crosses in Protestant churches are empty, as opposed to crosses you will see in Catholic churches, and many Episcopal churches as well. Protestants emphasize that Jesus died for our sins, but does not remain on the cross, but is now in heaven at the right hand of God. Catholics emphasize the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, and usually depict Jesus still hanging on the cross, an atonement for our sins.
The cross in the chapel of the College of Preachers though is unique in that it depicts Jesus reaching out his arms to wrap around a human figure, whose head and shoulders appear to be pressing deeply into the chest of Jesus – like a big bear hug. (1) Instead of the face of Jesus hanging from the cross, contorted with pain, with blood streaming from the hands and feet – this is a picture of Jesus reaching out to humanity, welcoming us into the fold of God’s good graces with a big hug. This cross does not depict sacrifice and atonement – but rather reconciliation, God’s welcome home bear hug as given by Jesus.
Reconciliation is an important theme in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. This morning’s passage comes to us in three distinct parts. The first part – verses 15 -20, is actually an early Christian hymn, perhaps the best example of high Christology found in the New Testament. This hymn recognizes Jesus as the image of the invisible God and the first born of creation, extolling the person of Jesus as the “one in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell – and through Jesus, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things.”
Jesus is the head of the church and all things are held together through him. It is through Jesus that God embraces humanity and all creation in a great bear hug of welcome home reconciliation.
The second section, verses 21-23, addresses the Gentiles, who were “once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” Paul assures these new, non-Jewish converts that there is good news for you too – because you have been included in God’s bear hug of reconciliation as well.
The third part of this passage encompasses verses 24 – 28, where we find Paul in a bit of a reflective mood. Imagine if you will, Paul as a grandfatherly figure, sitting on his front porch in a flannel shirt and some khaki pants. He is filling his pipe with tobacco as he launches into some of his favorite memories – “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings… I am so proud of how Christ’s body, the church, is coming along. I went into church work, for one reason – to make the word of God fully known. And now, the mysteries of God are being revealed to the saints. To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery – which is Christ, in you, that is the hope of glory. Christ in you. It is Christ whom we proclaim.”
So, here is Paul, looking back over his decision to follow Jesus, remembering fondly all the adventures he’s had, and yes, the sufferings he has endured, he leans forward and lets us know that our central purpose is to proclaim Christ, the source of our reconciliation with God. The hope of touching this glory of God, is to know that Christ is in you.
Our central purpose as a church, is to proclaim Christ. Proclaim Christ in all the ways he is pictured in the Christological hymn that opened this passage from Colossians – the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the one who holds all things together, the beginning and the end, the one who has reconciled us to God. That sounds pretty clear – but it can be complicated.
Theologian Brian McLaren, in his book A Generous Orthodoxy, writes about his journey in understanding this Jesus whom we are called to proclaim. He writes about the “seven Jesus’s I have known.”
As a child, he first met the “Conservative Protestant Jesus”, the Jesus who was born to die.
As a young adult, McLaren met the “Pentecostal/Charismatic Jesus.” This personal Jesus was involved dramatically in everyday life, but for McLaren, he had questions about God’s involvement not just with individuals, but with the whole world.
This led him to the “Roman Catholic Jesus”, intimately connected to ancient tradition through the Eucharistic and religious ritual.
For a time, McLaren turned to the “Eastern Orthodox Jesus”, with it’s emphasis on the Trinity. Along the way, he met the “Liberal Protestant Jesus”, focused on social justice, the “Anabaptist Jesus”, emphasizing peace and nonviolence, and from there the “Liberation Theology Jesus,” who confronted societal injustice and stood with the poor and oppressed. (2)
That’s a lot of Jesus’s. All of them are legitimate and biblically based – none of them are wrong. All seven Jesus’ that McLaren has met on his journey reflect a different aspect of who Jesus is. When we say our central purpose as a church is to proclaim Jesus – we are proclaiming all these aspects of Jesus, no just one to the exclusion of the others.
This Christ that we proclaim is in you, the hope of glory, says Paul.
Linda McKinnish Bridges was working in China a number of years ago, visiting local Chinese high schools, helping students and teachers improve their skills in preparation for university studies in the United States. She says, “I spoke the language but was cautioned by friends to be careful and not enter into any discussion about the Christian faith, either in Chinese or English. I honored that request. After spending an entire day with a group of young teachers, one of them followed me to the bus and lingered by the door, as if she wanted to tell me something very important. In Chinese, she quietly spoke, “I want you to know that I see the “shen-gwang” in you.”
I politely thanked her, bowed and began to leave. Then the Chinese word “shen-gwang” became clear to me. I originally thought that it was just a word that I did not know in that particular dialect or region. As the bus was leaving the parking lot, the meaning became clear. “Shen” means God – and “Gwang” means light. Although I had never heard those words placed together before, this new meaning hit me. She has just told me that she had seen the God-light in me.” (3)
This Christ we proclaim is in you, the hope of glory, said Paul.
I just finished watching a Netflix series called “North of North.” It’s a quirky little comedy about life in a small, artic community called Ice Cove. Siaja, a young Inuk mother, is trying to build a life of her own and as part of her job, she has to give a presentation to some visiting government officials about why her town of Ice Cove would be a better choice for a Conservation office that some neighboring villages that have more resources.
During her presentation, she says, “For years, the people from the south have been coming here and saying that the light they bring shines through our community’s cracks and imperfections and improves life for us. But I want to say that the opposite is also true. The light inside us also shines through our cracks and imperfections and can make life better for you. Our imperfections are what makes this town great.”
Our central purpose as a church is to proclaim Christ, in all his complexity. For, as Paul says, “Christ is in you, and that is the hope of glory.” The light of Christ within us, shining through our cracks and imperfections, are what makes Christ church great.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Linda McKinnish Bridges, Connections, Year C, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, p 171.
2. Rodger Y. Nishioka, Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p 256, 258.
3. Linda McKinnish Bridges, Connections, Year C, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2019, p 171 – 172.
