Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
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Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

(Col 2:8-10, 20-22)

The Greek word here translated in both passages as ‘the basic principles of the world’ is στοιχεια. It is the word used for Aristotle’s elements of earth, water, air, and fire; it is the title of Euclid’s celebrated Elements; it is what Peter says ‘will be destroyed by fire’ and ‘melt in the heat’ (2 Pet 3:10,12). I say this to try and illustrate by example the meaning of ‘the basic principles of the world’; that these στοιχεια are the laws and elements comprising the world in which we live. Paul is setting up Christ as opposing these laws and elements, and the philosophies based on them. Many Greek philosophers, Plato not least among them, believed that an ethic for life could be deduced by looking at the natural world, by careful study of the στοιχεια governing the universe. Rigorous pursuit of nature produced a Way for followers of Greek philosophy, whether Stoic or Epicurean. But this way is not the Way of Jesus.

Paul is warning against a form of Christian syncretism which combines Christ with worldliness – not worldliness in the sense of ‘big’ godless sins (though this can be a part of it), but a way that comes through philosophy that starts with this world and not with Christ. By putting forward Christ as an alternative to the basic principles of this world, Paul is saying that he is not of this world. This Jesus fellow, he is something alien to this universe. Throughout Colossians Paul connects Jesus with the gospel and with the church. He declares himself first a servant of the gospel, then a servant of the church, the holy ones containing the mystery of ‘Christ in you’, the one who is the fountainhead of both gospel and church. If he is otherworldly, then so is his gospel, and so ought to be his church. And she should not be cheated of her lover through philosophy based on the principles of the universe, for her lover came to her from outside of it.

Yet Paul also says that ‘God was pleased … through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven’ (Col 1:19-20). The message is not to be divorced from the world, but to bring Christ into the world, rather than the world to Christ. Colossians, and I am increasingly convinced Ephesians as well, is one large tapestry with many intricate weaves, but one thread that runs through it is transforming reconciliation. The gospel, which is the message of Christ (and the person of Christ is the gospel), has come into the world, like light to darkness, like resurrection to death, like the head to the body, like circumcision, like baptism, like a divine Something come from outside the στοιχεια of this universe. But this reconciliation, and this transformation, does not begin with things that are earthly, but always begins and always ends with Christ. He himself defines the fullness of life, how I must live and what I must be, the reason and rhyme and source of all that I do. Christ in my thoughts and in my deeds, in the moving of my hands and in the coordination of my body, in my ears and on my lips, in every meal and every relationship, in silence and in praise, on dates and on lonely Friday nights. When I embrace the mystery of Christ in me, working out the gospel in the community of believers, these become Christ in the world and what was worldly becomes otherworldly, and everything comes together under him, whether things on earth or in heaven, under him who made peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

I have been busy the past few weeks, but wanted to blog a little bit about what’s been going on. I went to the GCN conference a little over a week ago. It was so awesome to first of all meet people I’ve only known online, and then even moreso to witness and fellowship with so many of God’s children who are seeking him in their lives. It was an amazing opportunity for community and fellowshipping, and I was continually amazed at the authenticity and vivaciousness of people’s faith.

I got to meet my fellow blogger Eric, and attended a blogger session. I was also glad to get to meet and know Jenny for the first time, and I hope to keep in touch with her. I have so many people to keep in touch with, though! I didn’t attend Eric’s session on building community, but a close friend of mine did, and we are both excited to try to put these things into practice with our local group, one that started out as a GCN Bible study and is gradually expanding beyond just that circle. This is what I hope to see GCN developing into: a seed for the development of local communities of GLBT Christians which can then reach out and bless their community and integrate into the body of Christ as a whole. This has been on my heart lately, and I am looking forward to, along with my fellow believers, trying it here in my own city. As an example of this, a group of us drove up to Maryland to meet a fellow GCNer who, due to family issues, was unable to come to the conference, to encourage and support him. This is what I think we can, and should, be all about.

So much has happened over the past couple of weeks, some good, some bad, some of which I can blog about and some of which I cannot. I’m beginning to question the wisdom of praying to God a few months ago to bring me into a place of pouring myself into community. It has certainly happened, and I feel so blessed by it, though it comes with enough of its own time commitments! I am very excited about the church though, about working to reach across to everyone inside and outside of it for the sake of Christ, and though I have enough reason to be disillusioned about it, by my own failures and those of others, and though I know there is enough discouragement that will come, I am for the moment optimistic about witnessing the working out of the kingdom with my own eyes. And it starts with my own patience and my own ability to reach out, particularly in some of the difficult circumstances I have come back to – a frightening thought to me!

To round out the last ‘C’ of this post, I have gotten back into playing piano some, and am trying to learn a Chopin nocturne. It has been about eight months since I have learned anything, and am hoping to have the piece down, but not polished, by mid-February. I find playing piano to be one of the most relaxing and beneficial experiences in my life, and have enjoyed getting away to the ivory and the ebony to learn how to make some new music. The semester is looking challenging, but the conference, my Christian siblings, and Chopin have refreshed me to take it all on.