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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, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:15-20
Homily
“Hands, touchin’ Hands”
Hands, touchin’ hands
Reachin’ out
Touchin’ me
Touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
But now I
Look at the night
And it don’t seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when holdin’ you
Warm, touchin’ warm
Reachin’ out
Touchin’ me
Touchin’ you
This is the unofficial anthem for Boston Marathon.
Several days after the bombing that occurred during the Boston Marathon, Neil Diamond led a tearful crowd of 35,000 at Fenway Park to a rousing rendition of Sweet Caroline. The soft-rock classic became an unlikely anthem for those who were shaken by the events at 2:49 p.m., on April 15, 2013, killing three people and injuring 264 others. After Neil Diamond sang Sweet Caroline at Fenway, it was sung at ballparks across the nation.
“Hands, touchin’ hands; Reachin’ out; Touchin’ me; Touchin’ you” are lyrics that inspire and encourage.
To inspire and encourage is the reason why Paul selected the Christological hymn that he placed in his letter to the church in Colossae. Paul was not the founder of this congregation nor had he visited it; though, upon receiving a report from Epaphras, a faithful minister to the Colossians, out of concern Paul, while imprisoned in Rome, wrote this letter to the distant church.
Paul’s anxiety centered upon Epaphras’ account that the Christians in Colossae were subsuming to false teachings, especially those of the Gnostics. The Gnostics held to the doctrine that all flesh is evil; therefore, Jesus could never have been truly a man. As the material world is to be shunned, Jesus could only have resided in the spiritual world. Jesus, for the Gnostics, was only a spiritual phantom of man. This effectively removed Jesus from humanity and made it impossible for him to be the Savior of human beings. For this reason, the Gnostics could teach that when Jesus walked he left no footprints. According to this heretical sect, Jesus could only beknown by knowledge and not by any spiritual physical presence. To counter this teaching, Paul insisted on the sovereignty of Jesus over all creation and that redemption is secured through his flesh-and-blood body.
The hymn that Paul placed in his Letter is a Christological hymn. A Christological hymn was a hymn sung in worship that was a theological summary of the who Jesus was and what he did. Like other Christological hymns, the Colossians hymn follows the Hellenistic concept (Hellenism is the Greek influence on the writing of the scriptures) concept of a three storied universe comprising of heaven, earth, and the underworld. This is particularly evident in the three stanzas that parallel this outline. The first stanza (v.15-16) describes creation. The second stanza (v.17-18b) deals with the preservation of creation. The third stanza (v.18c-20) proclaims the redemption of creation. Thus, the hymn asserts that Jesus was preexistent with God, that Jesus was incarnate in the flesh of a man, that Jesus redeemed humanity through his crucifixion, and that Jesus was resurrected as the Sovereign Lord of creation.
In combating Gnosticism, the hymn attests to the fact that baptism into Christ means deliverance form the principalities and powers of the underworld, as a Christian believer will dwell in the kingdom of God.
William Barclay examined this passage and concluded that all things come to fruition through Christ. William Barclay (1907–1978) was a Church of Scotland minister and a New Testament professor at the University of Glasgow. He was a prolific writer and is most respected for his seventeen-volume commentary on the New Testament. Regarding the statement of faith in Colossians hymn Barclay wrote, “Paul uses the strange phrase: ‘In him, all things hold together.’ This means not only that the Son is the agent of creation in the beginning and the goal of creation in the end; but also, between the beginning and the end, during time as we know it, it is also he who holds the world together.”
The Christological hymn Paul selected for the church in Colossae combats false teachings and heresies. Christ is holding the church together. Christ is holding Christians together. Christ is holding the very fabric of creation together.
Neil Diamond was so awed by Sweet Caroline becoming an anthem for individuals who are suffering, that it inspired him to write another ballad titled Freedom Song (They’ll Never Take Us Down). The debut of Freedom Song was again at a ballpark on July 4, 2013. This time it was at the Washington Nationals-Milwaukee Brewers game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on the Fourth of July. Discussing this song Diamond said, “This song has been bubbling inside of me for a long time. I didn’t know what it would be when I first started it, but I knew it was a love song – a love song between a man, his country, and his fellow citizens.”
Two hundred years and more
And here we are today
With freedom still our guiding light
Defending it with all our might
We’re never gonna change
Or ever look away
We stand for freedom everyday
They’ll never take us down
Tho some may try
We’re gonna stand our ground
It’s do or die
The freedom that we’ve found
Can’t be denied
And they can never take us down oh no
Our freedom is why
They’ll never take us down
Tho some may try
We’re gonna stand our ground
It’s do or die
The freedom that we’ve found
Can’t be denied
Our faith is like a light
That keeps us warm
it burns inside.