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BUMC Mini-Blast July 15, 2025
JesusTime Devotion
by Joey Capuano

Colossians 1: 15-28 "A Hymn to Christ"

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16 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. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 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. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 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.

21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.

24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25 I became its minister according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Let’s join Paul in singing “A Hymn to Christ!”

What are your favorite memories of church from when you were a child? There are so many to choose from. You might be thinking that it’s almost impossible to choose one! For me, it is being with my family and singing songs together! In every liturgical season, at any time in the service, and regardless of what we are recognizing in the service - celebration, mourning, penance, and love through all of these things - music is involved!

Even more, music provides people opportunity to connect to the service and the word at every age. Think about it. Many of us can still sing Bible songs that we learned as children - "Jesus Loves Me," "O, the B - I - B - L - E," "I Am a C - H - R - I - S - T - I - A - N," and countless others. Songs like these teach children about God and help spread our faith! And, there are church choir opportunities for people at every age, from Children’s Choir to the Adult Choir. And, thanks to the vast amounts of styles of music that hymns can be written in, people can learn about and feel connected even more to our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through this church music! Music really is a great tool to remember and spread the Gospel! Perhaps this is why Paul talked about a hymn to Christ in Colossians 1:15-28. This is a beautiful reading that fully teaches about what and who Christ is for our world. I invite you to read it before going any further.

The word hymn itself shows us how powerful music is as a tool for evangelism. The definition is “a religious song or poem of praise to God.” There we have it! What a beautiful visualization of what hymns are - we can view and gift them to God as a way of praise, adoration, and love. We are blessed as a church community with an AMAZING music program, with our choirs for every age, our bell choir, and many who love to share the musical gifts that God has given them. In the play Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare writes, “If music be the food of love, play [sing] on!” We can also remember the great song by Lionel Ritchie, “All Night Long,” with the following lyrics: “Everybody sing, everybody dance . . . Raise the roof and have some fun . . . People dancing all in the street, See the rhythm all in their feet, Life is good, wild and sweet, Let the music play on...(Play on, play on, play on...) Feel it in your heart and feel it in your soul!” Even though these mentions of music in these works of art weren’t necessarily written with religion in mind, we can relate them to our faith and our calling as Christians to spread His word!

Let’s always remember the power of song for praising, learning, and teaching about God. And, we can listen to the first verse of our great Hymn “My Life Flows On in Endless Song, by Robert Wadsworth Lowry:

“My life flows on in endless song above earth’s lamentation.
I hear the real though far-off hymn that hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing.
It sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing!”