Colossians 1: 9–13
The entire human species is going through a period of great
turbulence, which for many is a cause for fear and hopelessness – not
just because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the growing challenge
of climate change and the realisation that we stand at the cliff edge,
the growth of populist political movements that challenge hard-won
freedoms, especially the rights of women and people who are
perceived to be a threat to a falsely defined norm, and the growing
inequality between rich and poor.
In this darkness it is hard to see any meaning to existence, and
individual human life seems to be nothing more than an accident of
time and place. In this passage Paul paints an entirely different world
view which sees beyond the transient realities of the physical world
to the true nature of all creation and especially the place of redeemed
human beings, irrespective of their temporal physical nature.
We are asked through faith and by emptying ourselves of self-preoccupation to see beyond the veil to that glorious realm of light
where God’s love rules, and where the imperfect is made perfect
through his sacrificial grace – a realm which is wonderfully described
in the verses that immediately follow this passage.
Keith Paver
God of hope, who brought love into this world,
be the love that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought peace into this world,
be the peace that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought joy into this world,
be the joy that dwells between us.
God of hope, the rock we stand upon,
be the centre, the focus of our lives
always, and particularly this Advent time.
