Scripture: Colossians 1:20-21
A one-minute centering exercise drawn from Colossians 1:20-21. In these two verses you find a two strong sets of relational words:
“Reconcile” (verse 20)
“Making peace” (verse 20)
“Alienated” (verse 21)
“Enemies” (verse 21)
The 2 sorry words from verse 21 are words describing what we have done to the deep communal relationship that exists between us and Divine and Living God. We are alienators, or alienation-makers, and we are creators of enmity, or enemy-makers. If you’re belief system is unsure about any kind of relationship possibility with Holy, Sovereign God, I urge you to be inductive and look around you at the high skill level humans exhibit at being alienators and enemy-makers. Just a simple, fair, and unbiased reflection like that causes us to say Paul nailed it!
Then bring your eyes closer to you and see broken relational patterns surrounding you. This dynamic pattern of breaking relationships is one of many human specialities. Our children, families, and marriages weep because of deep and unhealed alienation-making patterns.
Paul takes this unavoidable reality and points to its root: we have destroyed relational wholeness with Living and Real God. At a core spiritual level, we have normalized alienation between God and ourselves.
The other two set of relational words found in verse 20 describe Living and Merciful God’s superpower: he is the reconciler, the One who makes harmony in places where alienation exists. He ia the Harmony-Maker, the Peace-Maker. This is his speciality.
At deep spiritual levels, God begins to undo enemy-making work we have done between Him and us. The harmony-making radiates in ripple effect to all of the possible alienation work we have done in our families, workplaces, and culture. You can see God’s job security: we humans, with specialities in alienation and enemy-making, perpetually need a Real God with superpowers in reconciliation and peace-making.
Here is where we find the power of Lent. God’s restorative work in relationships reached its high-water mark in the death and resurrection of Jesus. This moment in Jesus’ life is God doing His very best peace-making work because the dark powers of alienation was defeated in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Prayer
Holy scripture is clear: I am the alienator. I have broken harmony with God. I am the enemy-maker. God, you are the One who remakes harmony in the relational messes I have made. You are the peace-maker.
During this season of Lent, would you reveal levels of alienation at work in my life. I invite you to make peace and bring harmony into those stubborn areas so used to existing in enmity that I cannot conceive of peace and reconciliation. Amen.
One-Minute Centering Exercise