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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany
Monday, February 12, 2025
Feast Day of Theodora
Reading: Colossians 1:15-20
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Meditation - Peter Vanderveen
While driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Monday, I saw a billboard that read “Believe in sports.” The contention, as stated in the following line, was that sports make us all “better people.”
I consider myself an avid proponent of sports. For many years I was a disciplined distance runner. I ran early or late, no matter the weather. I particularly enjoyed running when I was traveling. It gave me the opportunity to explore unknown neighborhoods that, otherwise, I would have never wandered through. I eventually transitioned to cycling to reduce the wear and tear on my joints; and I ride much in the same way that I ran. And I’m always glad to excitedly list all the benefits I’ve gained from years of effort. My experiences have significantly formed who I am and what I think and how I approach my day and the challenges I face.
I’m not at all sure, however, that I could say that sports have made me a better person, or, more widely, that sports make all of us better people. I don’t know of anything that can assuredly do this – not even religion (its many pitfalls are deep and enduring and regularly recited in our culture). Additionally, I don’t know what it would mean to “believe” in sports. I enthusiastically participate in them; I value them; sometimes I watch them. I certainly know how they have come to dominate our public, community life. At their best, they show us the beauty of our being creatures who can find pleasure in pushing physical limits. Sports can thrill us and inspire us, in part because they are so viscerally connected to us. There’s no gap that can be the focus for “believing in them.”
Belief is a peculiar exercise. It asks us to acknowledge things that can’t be proven or explained or demonstrated. It is always a leap toward what remains essentially unknowable – that is, outside the reach of what we can define or conceptually grasp. It is both necessary to our lives and elusive. The above verses from Colossians invite us into an investigation of what belief involves.
This short passage is its own Creed. The central questions for the reader after each statement are “Do I believe this?” and “Can I believe in this person so described?” The passage begins with a rather simple affirmation: that Jesus shows us something about God that, otherwise, would not be seen. He is a revelation. This is easy to contemplate. From there, however, everything becomes far more extravagant and grand. For what does it mean that all things were created in him or that all things hold together in him? How do we imagine this? There’s no way to methodically prove how this is so. But for many, these are claims that they can’t dismiss, for they can seem more true than all that we demonstrably know.
Faith is a commitment to undertake the work of believing in things that will never obtain the clarity of facts or uncontested benefit. It stretches us beyond ourselves, and not just to the furthest limits of our capabilities. I can’t elaborate on what Paul said, as if to make it more believable. The best I can do is to say that I feel compelled, and privileged, to practice faith enough to believe in these things.
Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
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