I have done some writing on the form of the Christological Hymn in Colossians (Col. 1:15-20) here, but I want to briefly comment here on how such a Christological hymn like the one found in Colossians might speak to a modern audience.
To illustrate my point, I would to look at what I refer to the “third unit” of the Hymn:
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.” -Col 1:19-20
Reconciliation in the biblical narrative speaks to a fixing that which is undone (undone relationships, undone social systems, etc). The thing that needs the most “undoing,” of course, is the curse in Genesis. Whether one takes a literal view of Genesis or not, the main idea of the story seems to be explaining why the world is so undone. Men rule over women, women have painful childbirths, etc., but if Christ has “reconciled to himself all things” doesn’t this mean the end of the curse? Obviously, we must take this with a grain of salt as there still is pain and suffering in the world (a common understanding I hear is the reality of the kingdom is an “already, but not yet” paradox).
But if we are to understand, as Christians, the curse is broken, should we not live in such a way? I think one of the practical ways to live this out is by stopping to define everyone narrowly according to gender roles. Why does the man have to be the breadwinner? If the curse is broken, cannot man and wife work alongside one another in peace and harmony? There will always be problems, but shouldn’t our “post-curse” mentality be focused on the reconciliation of those problems. Gender should not be a primary means by which we create an “us and them” mentality in the church.
Danny is a credentialed social science teacher in California, but is especially interested in students with special education (always the person first and the disability second). He is pursuing his education specialist credential at Cal State Northridge with help from President Obama who has given lots of money to teachers in residency willing to work for three years in Title 1 Schools. Please know that his thoughts are always forming and are subject to change at a moment's notice.
Good stuff Danny.
Another thought…
If Jesus is reconciling ALL things and is indeed reversing the curse of Genesis 3, then is he reconciling the serpent to himself (let's just say the serpent is Satan for a moment)? We usually think that Jesus is defeating the serpent, crushing his head (see the first few minutes of Mel Gibson's “The Passion of the Christ”), fulfilling messianic prophesy of Genesis 3:15… but if Genesis 3:15 is curse and not prophesy then it must come to an end in Christ, thus ending the struggle between good and evil–the snapping at the heal and crushing of the head–not through battle and defeat but through reconciliation.
I have always wanted to write a blog post / story thingy entitled “The Salvation of Satan.” Maybe someday I'll get around to finding the right words.
Well, back in 2006 and 2007 I wrote a couple of posts you might be interested in re-reading. http://whateverisgood.blogspot.com/2006/07/serp...
and
http://whateverisgood.blogspot.com/2007/06/gene...
Both articles suggest that redemption and the reversal of the curse will come through reconciliation and not from retribution.