Jeremiah 11: 18-20; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37; Psalm 54
September 19, 2021
Lloyd Penner
Lloyd’s Images of God
In these past 3 months we have explored the theme of the images of God. It has been a rich and blessed experience as our speakers have shared their thoughts on this topic. Each presentation was unique and special. The image of God I wish to explore is found in the first chapter of Colossians. “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God. For in him all things were created. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. For God was pleased to have his fulness dwell in him.” This is the central tenet of our faith. Without it, there is no Christianity. We believe that in Jesus we have the fullest expression of who God is and the fullest expression that is possible for us humans to comprehend.
What does Jesus reveal about God? First, the coming of Jesus to our planet tells us that God wants to be known. God does not want us to be in the dark about who she and he is. Another remarkable thought to ponder is that Jesus becoming a human being tells us that human beings are special. The theologian, Pete Enns, writes that “Jesus elevated humanity to its true image bearing role”. My favourite theologian and philosopher is Nicholas Berdyaev as I have said o several occasions. He wrote, “there is only one great myth or story about one great reality, the myth of human beings, of our freedom, our creative energy and our likeness to God. We are both divine and human. But most people don’t seem to know this. It is because we have lost touch with our divinity Berdyaev said. In so doing people have lost touch with the spiritual half of their nature.
Another aspect of the image of God is revealed in Jesus’ response to human suffering. Compassion motivated Jesus to heal all the sick who came to him according to the Gospels. One poignant example is when a woman who had suffered from uncontrolled bleeding for 12 years touched him. Jesus turned to her and said, “Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Another remarkable example is when his friend, Lazarus, dies. Jesus is so moved he breaks down and weeps in front of all the people. Their response is to say, “Oh, how he must have loved Lazarus.” A month ago, my cousin, Earl died from covid. I participated in the online funeral. The minister made a statement that has stuck with me ever since. He said, “The tears of Jesus mingle with our tears in our times of loss.” (repeat) Jesus knew what it was like to experience loss. We have all felt loss these past 19 months and some people have lost a lot. Jesus knows how you and I feel in those moments.
We know that God loves children because Jesus loved them. When people brought children to him he placed his hands on them and blessed them and said, “Let the children come to me for the kingdom of God belongs to each one of them.”
The teachings of Jesus also tell us a lot of who God is. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” “Love your neighbour as yourself”. The story of the Good Samaritan is most revealing. The priest and the Levite (the religious establishment) failed to help the man who had been attacked by robbers. It was the outsider, the Samaritan, who stopped to help the victim. This story shows that God does not care who we are but cares about how we help the needy.
The most powerful demonstration of the image of God in Jesus is seen when Jesus is crucified. As one writer puts it, “When we see Jesus on the cross. we see the heart of God. God’s nature is to be self-emptying, a demonstration of sacrificial love in its fulness. In the suffering of Jesus, we see God’s immersion in human vulnerability and suffering.
We also are part of the story. Richard Rohr says, “Your image of God creates you” This could be a homily all on its own. Peter Enns writes (my paraphrase) that we, who have been re-created in the image of God by faith in Jesus Christ are called to be conformed to the image of Jesus - to grow to be like him in every way. This is important because you and I may be the only Jesus that people ever see and experience (Amen)