ニューイングランドの母校からアドヴェント 12月24日（水）

Day 25
Sean McDonough
Colossians 1:15-20

Because Jesus drops down into the middle of history, we some-times imagine that this is the first time he has taken interest in the world. Indeed, we often compound the error by imagining he is not really interested in the world at all; he comes to remove us from it and bring us to a realm of disembodied spiritual bliss.

Our text from Colossians reminds us that the Messiah’s involvement with the creation dates back well before the first Christmas. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Col. 1:15–16).

That there is even a world into which Jesus can be born rests upon his prior handiwork. His rescue of Adam’s broken image-bearers is likewise rooted in his status as the archetypal Image of God. He comes in the middle of history. But he is in fact history’s Beginning, and the one who will bring history to its glorious End—not ultimate dissolution, but a glorious new creation: “I am the First and the Last and the Living One” (Rev. 1:17–18).