Reconciliation
‘And God was pleased to have all the fulness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.’ Colossians 1:19-20
Running up to this Easter weekend I am publishing four reflections on the cross. This is the fourth and final piece.
I recently listened to Dr Ian McGilchrist, the eminent psychiatrist and professor of brain science at Cambridge University, talk about his groundbreaking research into the way the two hemispheres of the brain function. In summary, he explained that the left hemisphere is largely analytical and is governed by science, reason, and logic - it processes information. McGilchrist suggests that post the age of enlightenment - a period in our history that heralded groundbreaking scientific discovery - the civilized world has increasingly become left hemisphere dominant and dependant. His research led him to discover that the right hemisphere of our brain’s function is fundamentally relational - it’s about how things and people relate together. His conclusion is that humanity is at it’s best when both hemispheres are working together, the right hemisphere contextualising the information processed in the left.
He went on to talk about the four primary relationships that shape human existence - a right relationship with ourselves (psychological), the relationship we share with each other (sociological), how we relate to the world in which we live (ecological), and then he paused before describing the fourth, he said, “…. dare I say the ‘G’ word?... “. He was referring to a relationship with the transcendent, with God. In his reckoning, the world stands on the precipice of collapse, even destruction, because, in our self-reliant, left hemisphere dominant independence, we have absented God from our lives. He went on to say that we are the first civilization that has ever existed without a consciousness of the transcendent, without an awareness of something or someone beyond us - a relationship with God. The unprecedented mental health crisis, the deep confusion about personal identity, the increasingly tribalized and polarised communities to which we belong, and the climate crisis we face, he considers to be symptoms of a civilization subject to the tyranny of a life lived dominated by the left hemisphere.
As an unparalleled meaning crisis grows even deeper and darker, McGilchrist has become a sought-after guest for podcast interviewers across the globe.
These four relationships that Ian McGilchrist identifies, find the origin of their demise in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve fall - they give in to the temptation of evil logic and their reason leads them to believe that they could become ‘God like’, but to do so they must defy transcendent wisdom and eat the forbidden fruit. They do just that, and this decision leads to a divorce with catastrophic consequences. All four relationships that God had given to humankind suffer the consequences of this disunion. The impact of this break-up results in them retreating into shadows of the created world and the beginnings of the great cover up. Their understanding of self and how they relate to themselves is fractured, as shame and fear find a pathway into their souls and minds. The blame game begins; victim and victimiser are adopted as new identities that lead to discord and disunity between man and woman. They argue and can’t agree on what is true. Not only have they fallen out of right-relatedness with God, themselves, and each other, the impact of their rebellion and independence disfigures their relationship with creation itself - the world in which God placed them. Genesis chapter 3 tells us the ground suffers in the aftermath of their sin. The concord between Adam, Eve and the land, typified by Eden suffers too, under the weight of this great divorce. As a consequence, their relationship with the land is destined to be fraught with struggle and toil. What was a good creation gives way to thorns and thistles. The death, decay and darkness that found their way into these four primary relationships find their way into the whole of the created world.
However, the good news is that at the heart of scripture, and in particular the Easter story, stands a spouse, a God who is, by very essence, relentlessly committed to a relationship with us humans! He never gives up on us and because he loves us, he graciously chases and draws us back into his perfectly loving embrace. This is what the Easter story is about. It awakens us and reminds us of the fact that he saw our plight, heard our cry, rolled up his sleeves and got involved in the chaos brought about by our infidelity. The final words that Jesus spoke as he breathed his final breath, “It is finished” becomes an announcement of hope, an eternal hope of cosmic proportion; a hope we celebrate as Good Friday and Easter Sunday draw near. As Paul, the writer to the church in Colossae, tells us, Christ came ‘ to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.’ The recovery of all of these four relationships is made possible through the self-giving love of God, resulting in his triumph over the powers of sin, death and decay that have separated us. In repairing the breach between heaven and earth, all things become new. What was wrong is made right through the shedding of his blood. Righteousness, (or as one author I read recently describes it right-relatedness) is made possible as the covenant keeping God comes in human flesh to save us from death and destruction.
Here are some final thoughts about these four relationships that are transformed by the reconciling love of God through Christ.
He has restored our relationship with him – ‘And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. ‘(2 Corinthians 5:18,) and made us agents of restoring relationships.
He has restored our relationship with others – ‘… but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1John 1:7). The self-giving love of God, made plain in the death of Christ, enables real relationships to blossom (fellowship) as we commit to live openly and vulnerably with one another.
He has restored our relationship with ourselves – The invitation to take up our cross (living in the light of his death) becomes the means by which we become free from of our Ego self and find the truth of who we are, a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). What was lost in the garden is recovered at the cross.
He has restored our relationship with the world in which we live – ‘And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold I make all things new”.’ Rev 21:5. The bodily resurrection of Jesus not only results in you becoming a new creation through Christ, but the beginning of the renewal of all things. Whilst we live with the tensions of the ‘now and not yet’, the death and resurrection of Jesus signals a recovery of our involvement as co-labourers with God in creation.
Reflection
1: God by His grace enables the transformation of the quality of the relationships we have one with another. Walking together ‘….in the Light as He is in the light...’ enables a level of communion together, that is unique to us, as followers of Jesus. Who do you share this level of openness and vulnerability with? If there is no one, prayerfully consider intentionally seeking this type of friendship.
2: It’s my conviction that the cross enables us to reconnect with place. Most of us live largely disconnected from the land! How might you recover a connection with place? Where’s your Eden, your Garden, and how involved are you in stewarding your patch of creation?