Reconciliation: A Meditation on Colossians 1

 

And he is the head of the body, the church:

who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;

that in all things he might have the preeminence.

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;

And, having made peace through the blood of his cross,

 by him to reconcile all things unto himself;

by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind

by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy

and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Given the violence, confusion, pain, and brutality of our time, reconciliation may seem like a word from a distant dream, somehow simultaneously desired but ungraspable. How does one reconcile the father of a murdered son to his son’s murderer?  How does one reconcile the daughter of a violated mother to her mother’s violator?  How does one reconcile the victim of thievery to the thief, the victim of slander to the slanderer, the victim of oppression to the oppressor?  In each case where there is conflict, one has wronged another.  Neither may be innocent in the absolute sense, but at least in some particular instance, the victim has lost something to the one who has taken it unjustly.  Such injustice and abuse creates division between individuals, groups, nations, and civilizations.

This division created over wrongs done or received, often meets with the most natural of responses:  a demand for justice.  Blood for blood, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, dollar for dollar—and perhaps a little extra for good measure.  What starts as an injustice of one person against another becomes the pursuit of vengeance in return, often escalating until one or the other is unable to respond.  We have something written deep into our nature that knows justice is right, good, and salutary.  Every human being has a sense of justice, of divine Law, written into their very biology, deduced by their natural capacity for reason, and imprinted upon their very soul. Every person knows that justice is better than injustice, whether they are the victim or the abuser; every victim is naturally inclined to seek justice for the wrong done to him, and every abuser is naturally inclined to flee from the justice he owes for his wrong.

This is the truth of the eternal Law, which is holy, good, and righteous.  That people end up in endless cycles of injustice, retribution, and revenge is not a flaw in the Law—rather it points out that humanity as a whole is too flawed and fallen to keep the Law of justice we know deep down we should.  It is not the Law which has failed to be just, but we who have failed to satisfy the Law’s demand for justice between each other.  Some may be more guilty in any given moment than others, but every person on the face of the globe has failed to live up to this perfect Law of justice.  It is our curse as a fallen race to see the heights of glory which we are no longer able to reach, and lament for the pain and destruction we bring upon ourselves as we turn justice into spiraling pursuits of rage and vengeance.

Truth be told, God has every right under His Law to seek justice from us.  He has told us what is good, right, and salutary, and we have instead chosen to be evil, wounding the love of our Creator by our rejection and rebellion against Him and His whole creation.  Yet instead of demanding justice of us for our many failings, He provides for us another way:  forgiveness, grace, mercy, and reconciliation.  Where the Law could only be satisfied with justice, God shows forth another path marked by mercy.

Of course, the God of Mercy is also the God of Justice, and so in order to reconcile this fallen world to Himself, satisfaction still had to be made.  Rather than demanding of us our eternal destruction and condemnation in hell, He sent His only begotten Son into our fallen world to take our justice upon Himself—to suffer and die and descend into hell for that justice to be satisfied for every human being ever to walk the planet—and rise again with the Good News of our peace with God through the Blood of His Risen Son.  God, who had endured the wrongs we unjustly did to Him, took our just penalty upon Himself as well, so that He could come to us with a Word of grace and mercy which declared the Law satisfied, and our debt paid.  Through the Cross of Jesus Christ, who in Himself reconciled the world to the Father as fully human and fully divine, we are forgiven our debt to justice, and sent out to forgive just as freely as we ourselves have been forgiven.

The Law of justice is true, but it will not provide for the healing of the nations, the cities, the peoples, or our neighbors.  The Law can prompt an endless pursuit of justice between warring factions who demand satisfaction, and in their sin take vengeance which spawns ever greater retaliations, burning nations to the ground and burying whole generations.  But the Gospel of Jesus Christ rises up for salvation where the Law only condemns to death.  In Jesus we learn what it means to love sacrificially, to suffer wrong for the sake of others, to turn the other cheek to the one who would strike it, and to walk two miles for the oppressor who would compel us to walk one.  In Jesus we see our God not only suffer wrong, but suffer the penalty for those who wronged Him.  In Jesus we rise to a higher Law of love and compassion, knowing that there is no slight we could endure in this world which holds a candle to the wrong He suffered to save and forgive us.  In Jesus we learn that love conquers hatred, sacrifice satisfies justice, and humility overwhelms pride.  In Jesus we have given to us a grace which overflows our every need, and which impels us out into the world to pour His grace upon every neighbor we meet, no matter what he has done to offend or wound us.

Here is the healing of our land, of our people, and our times.  In Christ alone is the Law of justice taken so seriously, that it demands the life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God.  In Christ alone is the eternal penalty paid for every man, woman, and child across the face of the whole world, from its beginning to its end.  In Christ alone is there grace, mercy, love, and compassion by which He lavishly and freely pours out the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation to all who believe in Him and abide in Him by faith.  In Christ alone has the fallen world been reconciled to its Creator, and thereby all people reconciled to each other by His Cross.  In Christ alone can the victim and the victimizer be reconciled, where justice is overwhelmed by mercy, and vengeance is drowned in the flood of divine love.  In Christ alone is the Gospel of reconciliation, where death is traded for life, and war is traded for peace.

For all those who have been wounded, cast your eyes to the Cross of Jesus Christ, who was wounded for our transgressions, and who rises again to give His eternal life to all His wounded and downtrodden people.  For the abuse who is terrified of the Law’s righteous claims upon you, cast your eyes to the Cross of Jesus Christ, who pays your debt of justice, and makes peace for you with your neighbor and with God.  For both abused and abuser, cast your eyes upon the Cross of Jesus Christ, where your forgiveness, life, and salvation pour forth by grace through faith in Him alone—and rise up from the ashes of your pursuit or violation of justice, that you might be a messenger of the mercy, grace, love, and compassion which healed and saved you.  You who now live by grace through faith, forgiven, loved and free—take your witness to the love and grace of Jesus Christ to everyone around you, that the wounds in our world may be healed through Him, and His reconciliation be brought to all mankind.  Amen.