COSMIC PRE-EMINENCE OF CHRIST

 

The Cosmic Pre-eminence of Christ

 

Fr. Mervyn Carapiet

 

           St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians states, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created…He himself is before all things…for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things…by making peace through the blood of the cross.” “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him…He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them all”

(1, 15-20 and 2, 9-15).

 

 The pre-eminence of Jesus Christ is the transcendent critique of superstition, magic and political authority. The letter to the Colossians was aimed at solving the crisis in the community. The Christians of Colossae were living without purpose, prisoners of obscure forces arising from within the world itself, leaving them with what they thought the only option of manipulating them by special cultic practices. In a situation of religious fear, the Christians of Colossae saw their salvation depending upon a complex of human practices and observance of rites. And for explaining the unfathomable laws of the world and history the Colossians acknowledged a system of intermediary spirits between God and creation, which presided over the cosmos and the destiny of the world. The letter to the Colossians indicates that there were doctrines that had to do with angelic powers (1, 16; 2, 18) and ascetical practices (2, 16) that were advocated at Colossae in a way that detracted from the person of Jesus Christ (2, 16-23).

 

          Paul clearly affirms that Christ possesses the sum total of redemptive power (1, 19). Christ is the exemplary cause of creation (1, 15-16) and the efficient cause of redemption (1, 20; 2, 13-14). His death pacifies creation’s disharmony and now he is established in cosmic lordship (1, 20; 2, 15). Christ’s supremacy requires that nothing appear in creation except in relation to him and also that he himself shares in the creation of all things. The cosmos is dependent upon him (1, 19), his death upon the cross has its effects on the whole of creation, pacifying it and uniting it to God (1, 20).

 

          The Lordship of Christ is not to be regarded in the same way as that of the spirit powers, a dominance that would deprive man of free choice in his destiny. With Christ this is not so. The lordship of Christ means no alienation for humanity or for creation. Jesus in effect had won it in the depth of his life as man. His lordship is exercised in the context of human toil, “recapitulating” and gradually spiritualising creation. This relationship to nature is essential to Christ’s lordship. By working for a progressive spiritualization of creation, man participates in the reign of Christ over all things.

 He does not need magic for this. Christ then is Lord of a creation that finds its harmony in a restored humanity. The mystery of the Resurrection is the foundation for the reconciliation of body and soul, of matter and spirit, of heaven and earth. “None of us should be afraid and none should capitulate. God can always be found. Our most important task is not to assert ourselves, but always be ready to set off on the way to God and to each other. The feast of Christ the King is therefore not a feast of those who are subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines” (Benedict XVI, Christ the King, in Benedictus, Ignatius Press 2012, pg. 356).

 

          Granting the truth of the above reflection, it is not possible to see how superstition and the magic mentality can square with the Christian attitude.

15 November 2012