Writing to the Colossians Paul affirms the nature of the new identity in Christ – You have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! Colossians 3:10,11.
Kaleidoscopes are objects of artistic and creative expressions. They produce stunning and ephemeral visual displays. The distinctively different small colourful objects including beads, gems and material pieces form itself into highly symmetrical patterns giving room for infinite variations and unique patterns.
Our life in community can sometimes be seen as a kaleidoscopic image. It calls for prudence to see the beauty of the distinct pieces put together into a creative, vibrant, dynamic pattern. It affirms the distinctiveness of each variant colours while merging them all together into a creatively unique pattern. The tapestry that is woven from the different pieces affirms diversity but also underlines a unique wholesomeness.
We still cherish the dream of Martin Luther King who said- I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. If we honestly ask if this dream is fulfilled we will be haunted by the cries of people who still wail- “I cannot breathe”. Yes we continue to live in a very polarised world despite all our claims of development and affirmation of justice, equality and fraternity. While distinctiveness need not necessarily be an issue in itself, marginalising people continue to be one even today. That is where the “Christ is all and in all” phrase becomes very special.
Humanity continues to be polarised today based on caste, creed, colour, culture, language, race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, education, occupation, economics, political beliefs, family pedigree and the like. What does “Christ is all and in all” mean in such a context. Whatever be your nationality (Gentile or Jew), cultural background (circumcised or not), social status (slave or free) that is immaterial in the new identity that Christ provides for all. It transcends all divisiveness and differences and forms a new identity. All becomes equality eligible for the grace of God in Christ. This divine equality breaks down all human made inequality. The indwelling presence of Christ in all helps one transcend narrow parochialism and cherish the new symmetries and patterns that the new whole in Christ creates.
The new identity in Christ was envisaged to be a radical identity because it revolutionised the hitherto existent social patterns. It affirmed that ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’. It called for transformation of structures and affirmed that ‘time is always right to do what is right.’
Discrimination should be named and pinned as sin. It calls for a thorough self-searching to understand the prejudices that govern each one of us and soul searching to repent for our compliances in assigning pollution to another person in whom the image and likeness of Christ was dwelling equally as in any other. Repentance is only the first step that should then lead to seeking apology and celebrating forgiveness being willing to recompense for generational insensitivity.
How does the image of the kaleidoscope help us in this search? It acknowledges that each piece or person can be distinctively different. But that does not make any piece or person any less integral part of the beauty of the whole. Each has its unique place and each is as important as the other. A very practical way to see this is to see Christ in each and in all. It would mean the Christ in us helps us to see the Christ in others. Together we become indispensable to each other and intrinsically connected to the other. The symmetry that is created each time is unique and in each new pattern each small part is as integrally woven into the whole as any other.
Yes Christ is all and in all.
Vinod Victor
October 1, 2023
Freiburg Anglican Church 