Seeing The Invisible: Above And Beyond
John 1:1-4
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Sometimes things are invisible to us not because they are too small, but because they are too vast. Let’s return to the James Webb space telescope where we started the week. Its chief purpose is to allow us to ‘see’ the invisible, infrared images of stars which are so far from us, and moving away so fast, that their light has taken nearly 14 billion years to reach us. Such a vast stretch of time and space is totally beyond my comprehension – just numbers, which I must accept because many measurements tell me they are true. It certainly puts our threescore-and-ten into perspective!
And yet in his gospel, John places Jesus over all of it. This man who reached out his hand to heal, who picked up the bread and broke it, who stretched out his arms on the Cross, who sends his Spirit to carry on his work in our lives, is identified as both Creator and Lord of this vast universe. And as we paste together the different facets that we have seen this week (and many others) may the Spirit make more real to us that this Jesus is indeed ‘the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation’ (Colossians 1:1)
Perhaps John’s visions in Revelation are the closest way for us to envision Jesus as he is now. Paul’s letter to the Colossians goes on: ‘For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.’ (Colossians 1:16-20)
Prayer — Holy Spirit, help us to see the invisible God in Jesus, and let those images lead us to worship.