Footnotes

1. Colossians 1:15 This great hymn to Christ and his universal primacy was probably a baptismal hymn. It draws upon the most beautiful motifs of the Old Testament on Divine wisdom (see Prov 8:1-9, 12; Wis 7:21—8:12; Sir 24). In the perspective Paul adopts here, he contemplates Christ as the image of the invisible God and clearly asserts his Divine preexistence (see 2 Cor 4:4; Phil 2:6; Heb 1:3).
   Christ is before all and above all; whether we consider the universe or the History of Salvation, he is both the reason for being and the explanation of everything in them. If we seek the origin of, the rationale for, or the end of creation, he is the one we must name. All the heavenly forces and hierarchies so prized in certain Jewish or Christian circles in Colossae—in a word, everything that claims to rule the universe—are subject to him as the Creator.
   He alone is Lord of the world. He alone is the power giving life to the Church, that is, his Body. He alone is the Mediator who reconciles all beings with one another and with God. We experience a universe disordered by sin; it is re-created and transformed in him. Hence, for the Christian, history has a movement and a meaning: it is oriented toward Christ, directed by him, and consummated in him.
   Paul wants to enunciate a hope that is infinitely more than merely human, a hope founded in faith (see Rom 8:19-22; 1 Cor 15:22-28; Phil 3:21): the risen Christ is the center in whom two worlds are united, the Divine and the created.
2. Colossians 1:19 All fullness (plêrôma): the fullness of deity (see Col 2:9) or, better, the universe full of the creative and redemptive presence of God. According to Paul, the risen Christ rules the whole of creation, what has been raised from sinfulness to salvation.
3. Colossians 1:21 By dying on the cross, Christ has accomplished the reconciliation of all human beings. The Gospel changes their condition before God, provided that they accept it with faith. Paul rejoices in suffering to announce such a message, for he knows that the ordeal of a missionary is united with the Passion of Christ and contributes to the life and growth of the Church. He is captivated by the “mystery” of God. This term frequently means, depending on the context, Christ as prophesied, Christ who has come into this world, Christ continuing his work in the Church, Christ in his triumphal return.
   Here, in this grand perspective of unity, Paul focuses his attention on the present aspect of the mystery. Today, Jews and Gentiles are admitted into the same inheritance, they are members of the same body, and they benefit from the same promise; today, even the multitudes of the Gentiles whom Israel regarded as excluded from the Covenant are called to the embrace of the Church. This is the wonderful mystery that the Apostle is charged to reveal.
4. Colossians 1:24 For the sake of his body, the Church: nothing is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, but believers who form a single reality with him (his body) prolong and complete his Paschal Mystery of Death and Resurrection by their trials and sufferings.
5. Colossians 1:27 Christ dwells in us when we are regenerated (see Eph 3:17). We partake of the divine nature by feeding on him (Jn 6:56) and by having his word abide in us, and we grow in grace and bear fruit as we abide in him (Jn 15:5f).
6. Colossians 2:1 The Apostle draws his strength from faith, and believers draw their unity from that same faith: i.e., knowledge of the mystery of God, whose riches love will never cease uncovering. It is not a case of speculating about abstract ideas or empty words, but of recognizing the action of God in history and in the hearts of human beings—today as yesterday—so as to save them.
7. Colossians 2:1 Laodicea: a town about 11 miles away from Colossae; the Letter was to be read there, too (Col 4:16).