Jesus Alone Restores The Image Of God

I write this on the day that Barack Obama was inaugurated into his second term of office as the 44th president of the United States. During the ceremonies the name of Jesus was sung and invoked several times. In the closing benediction The Rev. Luis León referred to the fact that we are all made in the Image of God. In my posts last week I wrote about that Image to point out that
Jesus Christ is THE Image of the eternal God, as the Apostle wrote,

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. - Col 1:15-17 ESV

We humans are made in that Image. We are not the Image Himself, but we are made to reflect the Image in all we do and say, in our thinking, acting and living. We were made to worship and commune with the Triune God, our Maker and honor Him in all we do. We alone of all God's creatures are made to rule over this earth. We are made to reflect the love and mercy of God to others and to all of God's creation. Our intellect, our morals, our relationships, our choices are all
meant to be reflections of God and the likeness of God that is ours. Sadly, tragically that is not what happens. The Image of God is darkened, muddied and covered over by our idolatry, greed and lack of true faith. It must be restored.

In order to understand in depth how that is happening I invite us to listen in detail to the ancient church father Athanasius of Alexandria (c.289-272) and to what he said in his little book On The Incarnation of the Word. I will not simply repeat everything he says. I urge you to read his words yourself. Here I lift up a few of his teachings for our consideration.

After showing us that Jesus is THE Image of God, Athanasius emphasizes that He is the only one who can renew and restore the Image within us. Only the Image of the Father can recreate the likeness of the Image in us men. How is He doing that? Athanasius points out that when an artist's portrait has been wiped out by stains on a panel, the artist asks the subject of the portrait to come and sit for it again so he may repaint the likeness on the same material. Even so Jesus, THE Image of the Father, came to dwell among us in order to renew all men in Him. 

He did this first of all by living, teaching and acting as a man who is made in the Image. Many Gospel stories illustrate this. For instance, consider how Jesus related to Zacchaeus, a Jew of Jericho, a public official who collected taxes for the Romans. His countrymen considered him a traitor to his country and a blasphemer of God. Nevertheless Jesus accepted his invitation to dinner. When Jesus did so the Jericho Jews denounced Jesus for having anything to do with such an unforgivable sinner. To them Jesus said,

"Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." - Luk 19:9-10 ESV

Here we see one major reason why Jesus took on human flesh. He came to demonstrate the love and mercy of God for all mankind by His teaching, healing and relationships. Mercy flowed from Him in everything He did. That mercy transformed Zacchaeus. God's Image began to be restored within him when he met Jesus. In humble joy he offered his penance as a sign of his renewed thinking and renewed faith in God as he confessed,

"Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." - Luke 19:8 ESV

Jesus began His work of restoring God's Image in Zacchaeus, the publican. Only Jesus can do that. Our sciences, our psychologies and our philosophies are all helpless to make it happen. We cannot put straight what is warped within us. Only Jesus, the Word of God and the Image of God, can do it. In showing mercy to Zacchaeus and to thousands of others Jesus demonstrates the mercy of God for all mankind. And so the process begins. The Shepherd has come to gather his sheep (John 10:14-18).

Beyond all that, however, a debt had to be paid. God must be God. He cannot go back on His Word. The soul that sins must surely die (Ezekiel 18:20-32). Yet God in His mercy does not find pleasure in the death of anyone. He longs in the depths of His Being for us to be one with Him for all eternity. There was but one way to reconcile that tension. That was for the Word to become flesh and dwell among us. In so doing He could stand as the Man before the judgment seat of God for us all and so die upon the cross for us all. This He did it so that the power of death might vanish. The devil can no longer accuse us. We are free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. - Hbr 2:14-15 ESV

As I've said often on this Blog and at the many Christian funerals over which I presided, that is why we no longer fear death. We are no longer condemned. In God's good time we will all be freed from our mortal bodies that belong to this present age so that we may obtain a better resurrection. Like seeds planted in the spring in our gardens, we do not perish and dissolve to nothing. Like seeds, we will rise again. Mortal must put on immortality.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. - 1Cr 15:19-22 ESV

And then a bit further, the Apostle writes,

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." - 1Cr 15:49-54 ESV

In my next post I will draw again upon our venerable father Athanasius to reflect further upon the presence and power of the living Christ who is at work renewing and restoring His Image within us.

There Is But One Baptism

As noted earlier, the more we ponder John's Gospel the deeper gets the water. In previous postings on Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, the Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1-17), we learned about the work of the Spirit in the water of baptism, a word Christians borrowed from the Greek. Jesus’ incarnation is a type of baptism. Just as the Word (logos in Greek) ‘became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14), so in Christian Baptism the Spirit becomes water and dwells among the community of believers. Martin Luther explains this in his Catechism:

Water doesn't make these things happen, of course. It is God's Word, which is with and in the water. Because, without God's Word, the water is plain water and not baptism. But with God's Word it is a Baptism, a grace-filled water of life, a bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said to Titus in the third chapter :

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people." - Titus 3:4-8 ESV

Here's what Jesus Himself says about His baptism when James and John asked for permission to wield power in Jesus' kingdom by sitting or exercising His authority from his right and left hands:

Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." - Mar 10:38-40 ESV

Indeed all Christians acknowledge that they share in Jesus' baptism, for there is but one baptism, namely the baptism of Jesus. Paul reviews this in his letter to the Ephesians as he urges his readers to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:

There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Eph 4:4-6 ESV

This bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit that Jesus and His apostles write about, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit that creates a new life within, is a creative act of God's Spirit, an act that unites us to Jesus and His baptism. Over and over the Apostles write about and teach this mystery.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. -1Cor 12:12-13 ESV 

. . . in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Gal 3:26-28 ESV

And what is Jesus' baptism that brings rebirth? It is His incarnation, His union with all mankind as truly a man, born of Mary. And why this union? As the ancient prophets foretold, to carry our burdens and bear our guilt, to be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isa. 53:4-12). On the cross of Calvary He completed that work. So John records Him saying from the cross,

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - Jhn 19:30 ESV

In the water of Baptism the Holy Spirit speaks God's Word of completion. The work of salvation, the task of gaining forgiveness for all men's sins is finished, come to an end, concluded, fulfilled and wrapped up. Jesus has joined Himself to us and to all mankind. He has made the punishment we deserve for our sins His own. Now the Holy Spirit announces to us in our baptism that we have both died with Christ and risen with Him to new life. Paul summarizes this:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. - Rom 6:3-5 ESV

All baptized in the Name of the LORD (Psalm 148:13, Phil. 2:9), the Name shared by every person of the Trinity, the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—all share in the life of Christ, the life that cannot end. They will, therefore, certainly share in Jesus' resurrection.

Having said this, I acknowledge that we are now swimming in rather deep water. The water will get even deeper as we discuss the gifts of the Holy Spirit and untangle the confusion about so-called water baptism versus Spirit baptism, etc. But that must wait for another time.

Flying With Eagles Today

"Bless the LORD, O my soul," declares David in  his Psalm, and do not forget all his benefits. He "redeems your life from the pit, crowns you with steadfast love and mercy and satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's youth" (Psalm 103:4-5).

I puzzled about how the eagle's youth is renewed and why this is an apt analogy. So I did a little research about the, the Bald Eagle. In 1782 the bald eagle became the national symbol of the USA.

The familiar white head and tail plumage is attained somewhere around 4-5 years. Anytime after 3 years these eagles begin to nest and raise their young. Once paired, they remain together until one dies. Eagles can live as long as 30 years.

The female at about 3 feet is slightly larger than the male. Their wingspand ranges from 6 to over 7 feet and they weigh in at 10-14 pounds with a lifting power of about 4 pounds. The eagles can fly to altitudes as high as 10,000 feet and during level flight can achieve speeds of about 30-35 mph. 

Their 7,000 feathers interlock to insulate them against the cold and protect them from rain.  Each spring and summer they molt, casting off the old and growing new feathers. The molting process is necessary to replace feathers, from head down. With new feathers the eagle's strength and ability to soar and hunt is renewed.

This annual renewal process becomes a most apt analogy to what happens when the LORD renews our strength. When you realize the power of sin in your life, your many failures to love God, your stupid worship of idols, your inability to forgive those who have hurt you and all the many other sins in your life, you are weighed down, unable to soar. You desperately need to be renewed, but how can that be? How will you ever fly again?

Then you hear the Good News—the story of what God did for you when He delivered His only Son over to judgment and death in your place. You hear that Christ's death is the price paid to reconcile you, me and the entire world to our heavenly Father. By that death he redeemed us from death. The old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:11-21). Instead of judgment and condemnation our heavenly Father has crowned us with new white feathers. We can ask for no more. We are forgiven, totally and completely. We are renewed. We are satisfied. The resurrection of His Son from the grave is the Father's guarantee to us of this reality (1 Cor. 15:20-29).

In spite of our sins on this day our youth is still renewed like the eagle's. We do not have to wait until next spring. We can go with him again today into his baptism, that baptism to which God joined us when water was poured over us in His Triune name. In Christ's baptism we died. Now we may claim his death as our own—today, and rise again, renewed and ready to fly (Romans 6:1-11). No stumbled walking today. This is a day for soaring!

And, united with him in his death, we are also absolutely certain we will be united with him in the upcoming great resurrection and complete renewal of all things. Should our bodies die today, we are unafraid. Death is merely the casting off of old feathers as we await the new feathers of eternal life. Renewed and strengthened with them we will soar on high forever. We are, after all, eagles!

The story goes that Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be our national symbol. I'm so happy that we chose the great Bald Eagle instead. We who have Christ no longer run with the turkeys. Renewed daily, we fly with eagles.