Friday, March 06, 2009

The Colossian Hymn – a radical proposal?

Ok, so I’ve been thinking outrageous thoughts today, and this one is about as outrageous as it’s going to get, possibly because it has some verisimilitude.

What if the first part of the Colossian Hymn started at vs. 12-14, and was addressed to the Father? With the second part of the Hymn addressed to Jesus? Here’s my tentative translation:

Giving thanks joyfully to the Father:
Who has enabled you to share in the inheritance
of the saints in the light.
Who has rescued us from the tyranny of darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,

[[Transition]]

Who has redeemed us,
and pardoned our transgressions.

Who is the image of the invisible God,
Firstborn over all creation,
Because in him were created all
Things in the heavens and on the earth,
The seen and the unseen
Whether they be thrones or dominions
Or powers or principalities
Everything created through him was also created for Him
And he is before everything and everything coheres in him.
And he is the head of the body, the church.

Who is the beginning
The Firstborn from the dead
In order that he might take pre-eminence in all things
Because in him is pleased to dwell the fullness of GOD
And through him is reconciled everything for him,
Making peace through the blood of his cross
Whether things on earth or in the heavens
Now, I have not consulted any commentaries yet, and I have done no research, but this does strike me as at least possible… Back to the books to find out where I may have gone astray in my thinking…

1 comment:

Craig L. Adams said...

I suppose it's possible. It would seem strange for the antecedent to change like that w/o warning. But, nonetheless, the ambiguity itself is interesting.