We trust in God, the Creator
Genesis 1:26–27
O N THE SIXTH DAY of creation, God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness.” With that, God finished His work.
Humanity is unique among all God’s creations. Having the “image” or “likeness” of God means, in the simplest terms, that we were made to resemble God. This doesn’t mean we resemble God in the way we look. We all look very different. We’re not like God in the sense of God’s having flesh and blood. Or God having red hair, or brown skin or pearly white teeth. We are created by the very breath of God, to live like God. To have the character of God in our lives. We live not for ourselves, but to declare and respond to God’s goodness.
We forget sometimes that every person bears the image of God. When we think about “our” creation in the image of God, we puff with pride. As the psalmist writes, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Yes, indeed, I am. You are. But so it the person next to you.
And the prisoner on death row. And the homeless woman living in her car. They are also created in the image of God. Male and female. People of worth and value because God breathed life into them, just as God did to you and all humanity. God is the creator of all there is. He created the world and said, “It is good.” He created humanity in God’s very own image and God said, “It is very good.”
We might see that reflected in them. We might not. Our eyesight might be bad. The image is distorted. Instead, we might see a crazy person, an animal, a moocher on society. And when our eyes see, not as God sees, we live for ourselves, and fail to declare and respond to God’s goodness.
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We trust in Jesus, the Redeemer
Colossians 1:15–20
T HREE NAMES APPEAR in our reading — Jesus, Christ, and Son. Jesus is the name his family and friends called Jesus — like Keith.
Christ is actually a title rather than a name. It is not Jesus’ last name. Some of you call me “Pastor Keith.” Pastor is not my first name. It is a title. Pastor. Rev. The title “Christ” means God’s Chosen One and applies only to Jesus. In the Old Testament, it is Messiah. In the New Testament, it is Christ.
Jesus is called God’s Son or simply the Son. My mom calls me son. People who see my mom and me together might ask if I’m her son. Just as people say of a son that he is just like his father, people say of Jesus that he not only is like God but is God in human form.
The Apostle Paul reveals four things about Jesus to the Christians at Colossae. Paul says:
■ Jesus is God in human skin — that is what we mean when we call Jesus God’s Son. If you want to know what God is like and what God does, look at Jesus and what Jesus does. “He who has seen me, has seen the Father.”
■ Jesus is part of God. Jesus was there at creation of the universe and will be there after the universe is over.
■ Jesus is the head of the church. At beginning of communion you are reminded, “This is not my table or your table. It is not Swift Church’s table. It is Jesus’ table and all are welcome.” He is head and he is host.
■ Jesus’ big job is to bring people closer to God and to each other. We might call that redemption. The action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. “God’s plans for the redemption of his world is Jesus, the Christ, God’s only Son.”
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We trust in the Holy Spirit, the Sustainer
Acts 2:1–4
J ESUS PROMISED the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. That gift arrives in Acts 2. Back in John’s gospel Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, and the hardships they will face. And yet, he assures them they will not be without help. The Advocate, the counselor, will be sent to them. The Spirit will tell them all that the Father/Creator relays, and will illuminate the darkness of this world.
The Spirit is our assurance of God’s presences, even as a tangible Jesus is out of our reach. This gift of Jesus coming on the day of Pentecost is not the first we see or hear of God, the Holy Spirit.
Let’s look to the poetry of Proverbs 8 and, the female wisdom. Wisdom is the Holy Spirit. She was at the beginning of all creation. She states her credentials and makes her case for why her call to “all who live” should be heeded. She should be taken seriously — and, sadly, she often is not. She leads the living in the right path, and she knows the way because she was present at creation. Wisdom, Counsel, Advocate, Power, Comfort, Guide all describe the Holy Spirit given for us.
God, the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, there at creation when God said, Let US create humankind in our own image. We are created in the image of the all loving, redeeming and sustaining God. Before anything. After anything. Now with us. Amen
— Keith Cardwell
