Broken But Bound Up in Christ

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

Colossians 1:15-20

Introduction

In 1903 noted scholar W. E. B. Du Bois wrote: “The Negro Church is the only social institution of the Negroes which started in the African forest and survived slavery; under the leadership of priest or medicine man, afterward of the Christian pastor, the Church preserved in itself the remnants of African tribal life and became after emancipation the center of Negro social life. Today the Negro population of the United States is virtually divided into church congregations which are the real units of race life.”1

The African American church is like unto no other worship experience. It is seamlessly tied to heaven, earth, and Africa. African American worship did and does much to instill a sense of “somebodiness” in its worshippers. An extraordinary preacher, the late Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor puts it this way: “We lived behind a high wall of racial limits . . . Every day we lived with reminders of what our place was—what not to say, where it was safe to be, and how to make life a little smoother . . . Any gesture that bespoke our desire for equality was saved for the black church.”2 One of the Special Days in the life of the church that affirmed that “somebodiness” was “the church anniversary Sunday.” Today, we kick off St. Paul’s Church Anniversary Month!” Happy 145th Church Anniversary!

While we begin to celebrate, we cannot help but be acutely aware of the broken world in which we live. It is a brokenness that is underscored by the tumultuous process of the last few weeks that resulted in the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Our hearts are torn and our guts are wrenched by the testimonies of Professor Christine Blasey Ford and others who have been sexually assaulted and abused. We look on in shameful disbelief as the President of our yet-to-be United States mocked Dr. Ford to callously throw red meat to his ravenous political base. WE have been confronted by the brutal reality of broken people who revel in their own brokenness, causing more broken people.

We need not look far, however, to find brokenness. If we glance inward for a few moments, we become painfully reminded of our own profound sense of brokenness. We have been despised, depressed, disappointed, disillusioned, demoted, and dismissed. We can’t adequately celebrate our “somebodiness” until we reconcile the fact that first, we are somebody who’s been broken. Whether that brokenness was at the hands of a sexual predator, a racist and unjust system, an employer or supervisor, or someone close to us; the fact remains that we have been broken.

Someone said that desperate times call for desperate measures and it is all too true that out of a sense of desperation good people can make some bad decisions. Sometimes people raised in the church perhaps without a full understanding of the nature of the church; without a full understanding of who Christ really is can be deluded into thinking that something else besides Christ is necessary to fix their brokenness. Sometimes in an attempt to appear worldly, intellectual and accommodating, folks have minimized their Jesus so that He, and they, can fit in. I want to remind you that you can minimize Christ so much in your life that he no longer has the power to heal your brokenness.

Move 2

We find that in Pauls’ letter to the Colossian Church where he must deal with a church in crisis. The crisis is brought on by false teachers who are adding other things to the sufficiency of Christ for the people to adhere to. Paul is writing from a Roman prison to a church he did not start personally and has never even visited. He is writing out of concern for a heresy that has taken hold of the church because of teaching by folks known as Gnostics. Gnosticism, from the Greek work “gnosis” (to know) was based on a belief that salvation was achieved by what knowledge one had. This allowed them to create a religious aristocracy, separating those who “knew” from those who didn’t. They attempted to answer the philosophical question of how could a good God create a world that contained so much evil? (People are still wrestling with that one). The Gnostics claimed to have the answer. What they claimed to know was that the material world including our bodies are evil. This led them to the conclusion that Jesus was not God in human flesh because God could not have dwelt in human flesh because it was evil. In essence, they taught, Jesus was not God in human flesh but only a being that emanated from God. They must’ve missed where Jesus is called “Immanuel” or “God with us.”

Additionally, they did a remix of Jewish teaching and required circumcision, threw in some Eastern mysticism and overemphasized the importance of angels, then tied it all up with asceticism and required strict dietary rules to be followed. In short, they were teaching that Christ was not enough! It’s a terrible thing when people who are already broken by the world find themselves further broken by false teachers in the church.

When making his argument, Paul uses the vocabulary of those he considers false teachers. Yet, he does not use their definitions. He uses their words, but what he believes are the true Christian definitions. As we study Colossians we find words such as fullness, perfect, and complete, all of which were commonly used by the Gnostics. Over 30 times Paul uses the word “all.” He writes about wisdom, which was a key term in the Gnostic vocabulary; he has a great deal to say about angels and spirit powers also. What Paul does is lift up the preeminence of Christ in creation, in the Church and in redemption.

Relevant Question

What is it that we ought to remember as we celebrate the 145th Anniversary of St. Paul A.M.E. Church?

Synthesis

1. Celebrate Christ’s Creation (v. 16-17). We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. Make no mistake about it, EVERYTHING in all creation is here because of Christ. Jesus Christ is no add-on, stand-in or bit player in the drama of Creation. John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (, NIV) And yes, there is brokenness and broken people in creation. Yes, humanity has been deceived and succumbed to disobedient arrogance and selfishness. We continue to prefer profit and greed over prayer and grace. But be clear, absolutely NOTHING exists without Christ. No power, no authorities, no rulers, no presidents, no senators, no Supreme Court Justices, NOTHING exists without Christ! “It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”” (, NIV)

2. Celebrate Christ’s Church (v. 18). “And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone.” (, The Message) Make no mistake, while there are social aspects to the church, and while in the struggle for social justice there’s politics in the church, the church can never afford to prioritize social relationships and political agendas above Christ. Yes, there is brokenness in the church. Church hurt is real. There are false teachers in the church. But none of these are the Head of the Church. CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH! In Christ’s church, the broken find healing, the hungry find food, the naked get clothed, the sick find wholeness. In Christ’s church, those whom the world declares are nobody, Christ declares are SOMEBODY!

3. Celebrate the Redemption of the Cross (v. 20). “Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.” (, The Message) Not only are we redeemed, but we have the ministry of redemption.

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