What’s your image? 112507

Colossians 1:11-20

Who do you look like? Spittin’ image…..improvement on us both

Jess: "I have an image to maintain" got us giggling then into a serious discussion. From our earliest days, our parents or family expect us to be a certain way—I remember as I was beginning to go out on my own as an early teenager, my parents would always say, "remember who you are"—meaning Scott, and the Scott’s have an image to maintain.

As I grew up, and even today when I go back to my home town, I would meet people on the street who’d say, you must be Annie Scott’s daughter, you look just like her.

Our children are adopted, but there are certain mannerisms they have that will occasionally make me say, you’re just like your dad.

Today, society has an expectation of us, women in particular but men are not immune. I for example am supposed to be a size two, Barbie shaped, chic dresser, with the right credit cards and particular labels on my clothes.

And if you’re a pastor, you have a certain image to maintain but we won’t go there.

We all have an image to maintain. Who determines yours?

Maybe you’re a teenager, or younger, who’s afraid of not being acceptable—you might be attracted to a gang or the wrong group, so you can have their image, their look, and you can belong.

Or maybe you’re in an abusive relationship, where you’re made to feel stupid, dumb, ugly, whatever. And although Eleanor Roosevelt was right when she said ‘nobody can make you feel stupid without your permission" we know that it still happens to us.

Or maybe you’re getting old, and the joints don’t move so well and you can’t do all the things you used to do, maybe you have dementia, or even Alzheimers – your image changes and you don’t feel worth as much.

Who determines your image?

All fall we have been looking at the characteristics of Jesus and disciples, being reminded that we are made in the image of God - and are called to grow back into that image.

Today’s reading says that Jesus was the spittin’ image of the invisible God – when people looked at him and what he did, they saw all the things God is—he carried God’s likeness in him. Does that mean God is an olive skinned middle eastern peasant? No, it’s not literal!

He carried God’s likeness in what he was, what he did, whom he cared about. His own picture of God was played out in how he lived: loving, caring about people and about justice, dedicated, committed.

So if we are to be like Jesus, and grow back into the image of God we are made in, we might want to think about what people see of God when they look at us.

Burns: oh that God the gift would die us, to see oorsels as ithers see us

If we see God as the divine judge, from several weeks ago, people are likely to see something a bit judging…if we see God as divine friend, we’ll reflect friendship

But non-human images are also possible

If we see God as wind, breath, spirit, energy… we’ll probably reflect God’s Presence

If we see God as Light… we’ll reflect that and maintain that image

If we see God as Song… we’ll reflect that and will keep ourselves in harmony with Song, thus maintaining that image.

We all have an image to maintain, does God define yours? If so, what IS yours?

The young person with the wrong crowd, you don’t need to do that – you are already someone unique and special made in the image of God.

That person being abused, or ‘used’ at all: believe God instead who says ‘you are my beloved child, in you I am well pleased’

That elderly person with beginnings of dementia: you are made in the image of God, and THAT doesn’t change.

All this leads us to see ourselves differently, our image not defined by others, but by God…an image to be maintained by growing more like Jesus, the spittin’ image of God.

And as we do that, we begin to see others differently, to see others as Jesus saw…as children of God.

As we move into advent, let’s take time to think about our image, to consider this God so embodied in Jesus, and see if we can’t reflect the God we worship…

as we shop, decorate, bake, sing, go to concerts and cantatas, wander the mall, hang out at school, whose image do people see? In the money we spend, what’s being reflected? In the gifts we give, what’s being reflected? In the busy-ness we create, what’s being reflected?

Maybe only Jesus could be God’s real spittin’ image, but we too have an image to maintain! What’s yours?

Benediction:

Remember who you are, remember whose you are; go in the grace of God and grow in the image of God, so that you may see the face of Christ in everyone you meet, and everyone you meet may see the face of Christ in you.