From Hostility to Holiness

“And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him.” Colossians 1:21-22

It’s Day 164, a day that begins with news of violence overnight in Kenosha. While details are still emerging, we know that two are dead and a third person is injured. This in the wake of the the shooting of Jacob Blake, yet another horrific and needless act of violence against a Black man. The world is full of hostility and evil.

God’s Word does not sidestep the deep brokenness of this world; it does not ignore evil. Paul reminds us that it was precisely because of our evil and hostility, arising out of our self-chosen estrangement from God, that Christ came into this world. In a world where we devalue and degrade one another, a world in which the bodies of Black people are seen as particularly expendable, Christ gives up his own body in solidarity with the oppressed. On the third day he is raised up, bringing salvation and liberation. Life in the next world, but hope for this world, too.

Friends, we are sinners. We are complicit in the evil of this world, through things we have done and things we have left undone. In grace, the death of Christ avails for us. Forgiveness and life have found us. We are holy and blameless for the sake of Christ. And we are invited to live like it, living beyond reproach. In Christ we find a new way forward. We stare clearly into the evil of this world, remembering that Christ has already triumphed. Then we work in faith for justice, equality, and reconciliation.

Be well, friends. You are loved.

God, this world is full of woe. We fail to love you. We fail to love our neighbors. Hostility is at an all-time high. Yet your love for us is steadfast, your forgiveness transformative. Let us follow Christ, working good for all people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Image: We got ourselves a new sign at Grace (photo by me).