NLSW 2022—“Christ In All Things”

“Christ In All Things” [1]

Text: “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15–20)

We do love to exaggerate, don’t we? Sports statistics are a good example. A quarterback’s performance can’t just be ‘good’. It has to be “the best ever”—or, at least, “the best since…” some date that is, hopefully, in the distant past. If it’s bad, it can’t just be bad. It has to be “the worst ever”—or, at least, “the worst since…” some date that is, hopefully, in the distant past. One of my pet peeves, though, is how far we sometimes go to make it “the best” or “the worst.” “The best performance for a certain team” is fair. And, yes, there are times when we’re forced to put an asterisk next to a record. But sometimes those statistics get really absurd. They soon turn into “the best performance by a right handed quarterback in the last 18 months against a team whose mascot is an animal in a game played during the day in the eastern time zone while a Democrat was in the White House….” We can go to pretty impressive lengths to try to make something “the best” or “the worst.”

But there’s no exaggeration in the theme for this year’s National Lutheran Schools’ Week: “Christ in All Things.” That theme takes us to Colossians 1:15–20 and the Good News that Christ is “In All Things.” It may sound like an exaggeration—how many times can Paul use the word ‘all’ in those six verses?—but it’s not. The answer, by the way, is 8 times. Five of those times, the Apostle Paul references Christ “In All Things.” (If you want to be literal, he references Christ “In All the Things.”) Christ is the Creator of all things; He is before all things; He holds together all things; He is preeminent in all things; He reconciles all things to Himself. Not only does that theme describe the ministry of our Lutheran Schools really well—praising and sharing Christ in the sanctuary, Christ in the classroom, Christ in the science lab, Christ in the choir room, Christ on the playground, Christ in the gym, Christ on the athletic field, Christ in the faculty lounge, Christ in the office, and everywhere that God’s children and their leaders gather—not only does that theme describe really well the ministry of our Lutheran schools, it also challenges each of us.

It is easy for you and I to get distracted in our individual and family life, to compartmentalize your lives. Christ is present in your family devotions, but you’d rather not have Him hear the disrespectful words you say to your spouse, your children, or your parents. Christ is the center of the Bible class conversation, but you’d rather not have Him hear the gossip in the office. Christ is worshiped with your words here in the sanctuary on Sunday morning, but when you’re getting together with friends on Saturday evening, do your words honor Him?

But are only certain parts of you His creation? Or is He, in fact, the creator of all the things? Is He preeminent only for certain times during the week? Or is He preeminent in all the things? Did He reconcile only your church life (not your work life or your social life) to Himself? Or did He redeem the whole thing?

Sin certainly affects all things. It leaves no part of your life untouched, unaffected. It brought Adam and Eve and their descendants to the darkness of broken relationships, physical pains and “thorns and thistles” outside of the perfect garden. Most of all it affects man’s relationship with God. Instead of being like God like the serpent had promised, Adam and Eve covered their nakedness with fig leaves and hid in fear from God. Sin has a similar effect on all of Adam and Eve’s children. You and I put on church membership and worship attendance like spiritual ‘fig leaves’ that you use to try to cover your shame and guilt. If the hour you spend in church is the only part of your life where Christ is preeminent; if the hour you spend in church on Sunday is reconciled to God, but not the hours on Monday through Saturday; then you’ll end up like Adam and Eve—trying desperately, but in vain, to hide yourself when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.

Christ—the One through whom and for whom all the things in creation were made—chose to reconcile His creation to Himself, “making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20). On a purely human level, sometimes when there is conflict, those involved turn to a “reconciler.” The disagreement might be between spouses, business entities, or even church workers, but a reconciler brings the parties together to examine the issues and to map out a way forward together—to make it a journey to reconciliation.

In Christ, God and mankind are brought together. In this case, as sinners, we have nothing to offer for resolution. There’s nothing that you and I can contribute to making things right. Christ offers the only solution possible: Himself. It started when He took on the form of one of His creatures—“In Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” And that restoration was completed from the cross on Good Friday.

The scope of what He did on the cross would be really, really hard to exaggerate. Christ shed His blood as the perfectand complete sacrifice for all sin. No asterisks, no additional qualifiers needed. It was the perfect and completesacrifice for all sin. All hostility has been removed between God and mankind. All things, whether on earth or in heaven, are redeemed by the blood of his cross as “[God the Father] raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above allrule and [all] authority and [all] power and [all] dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over allthings to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:20-23). And not one single piece of that is an exaggeration.

And all of it—all that He earned—is poured out for you here in the Divine Service. The reconciliation is gifted to you through the Means of Grace—from the little child who is reconciled to God at the baptismal font to the oldest member hearing the word of reconciliation announced in the absolution: “As a called and ordained servant of the Word and by Christ’s command, I forgive you all your sins” and all those in between who are blessed to come to the Lord’s Table, receive the body and blood of the cross that reconciled them to God, and to “depart in peace.”

A staple of every early childhood and early elementary child’s supply list is the school glue. The drops of glue miraculously hold together craft projects and other items. The Means of Grace are the glue of the church. They not only reconcile you to God, they also hold together God’s people. They hold together what happens in our church and school. Because the Means of Grace bring Christ to His people and hold the church family together in Christ. They are the means through which Christ is “in all things” even now—the focus in the Sunday school classroom, of conversations in the church and school office, of the youth group gathering, of the quilting group, of the committee meetings, of all the things that take place during the week. “He is the head of the body, the church.”

That brings us back to where we started: “Christ in all things.” Lutheran schools are places where the reconciliation that you have through Christ is taught, lived and shared. And not just in chapel. In all things. The response to the preschool playground disagreement is more than “Say you are sorry.” The discussion includes, “Jesus forgives you and so do I.” The tension between teachers becomes part of the staff devotional dialogue, “We are the Body of Christ and each part shares its gift and blesses the body of the church.” The disagreement between parents and teacher is resolved in light of the mutual desire to bring Christ to the child. Competition between church and school for resources is more than a stewardship conversation, becoming an opportunity to refocus the mission of the church. The focus is on Christ who continues to bring peace to His church and to unite the church in reaching out energetically and faithfully. Our schools don’t simply teach English, math, science, social studies, and all the rest. They build up the body of Christ by helping our children identify and develop the gifts that God has given them so that they can serve their neighbor faithfully every moment of every day. Christ is “In All Things.”

Christ is the confession of Lutheran schools—shaping what we do, how we do them, and why. He is the basis of our commitment to Lutheran schools. The reason why you invest so much time and money into our school is “because Christ is here!” He is the focus of the commission of Lutheran Schools. Not only does our school prepare our children to engage with a world that is increasingly hostile to what we believe, teach, and confess, but the world needs Christ. Our community needs Christ. Our children and families need Christ. Lutheran schools provide the opportunity to bring Christ to those who do not know Him and to nurture in Christ those blessed to be in His church.

And, again, this is more than just a reminder of the blessings that we enjoy through our school. It’s also a challenge for you and I, a reminder that Christ is “in all things” in your life, as well. You are reconciled to God—all of you, body and soul. He has not just made one hour of your week holy, He has sanctified all that you are and do. In Him, you are united with the whole body of Christ in a united confession, a common commitment, and a shared commission. Yes, we certainly like to exaggerate. But there’s no exaggerating what God has done for you in Jesus Christ.

[1]Adapted from “Sunday or Celebration Service Message: “In Christ In All Things,” National Lutheran Schools’ Week Manual, LCMS Office of School Ministry, January 2022.