Predicazioni/Efesini/Cristo, al centro di tutte le cose/English version
Christ at the Centre of All Things
How great is the Christ in whom we claim to believe? Ephesians 1:7–11 takes us beyond a limited view of Jesus as our personal Saviour, revealing God’s design for all creation and history: to unite and bring together all things—those in heaven and those on earth—under one head, Christ. Drawing from the meaning of the text and recalling the historical figure of Christ Pantocrator, this reflection focuses on the universal centrality of Christ, its continuity with apostolic testimony, and the significance of this truth for our lives. If Christ is the centre toward which God directs all things, then our personal stories—with their gifts, vocations, and service—find their true meaning when brought back to Him.
Broader Perspectives
The Christian faith is not merely about knowing what we believe but also about continually deepening our understanding of what we believe. We may sincerely confess our faith while still only partially grasping its richness and depth. Growing in faith means, in part, delving deeper into what we profess.
In doing so, we may discover that some of the statements we habitually repeat carry far greater weight than we had ever imagined. One such statement is the foundational confession of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour. But are we truly aware of His greatness—the greatness that Scripture ascribes and proclaims to Him?
Much can be said about the Christian faith. It concerns the forgiveness of our sins, our reconciliation with God, the new life we receive in Christ, and the hope of eternal life. All these things are true and fundamental. Yet Scripture goes further: it leads us to contemplate the broader design into which all these realities fit—the overarching plan God has purposed to accomplish in history.
The Apostle Paul, at the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, takes us into this very perspective. He speaks of God’s grace, the redemption we have in Christ, and the forgiveness of sins. But then he opens before us a far broader horizon. He tells us that God has made known to us the mystery of His will—His plan, which He purposed to carry out in history. What is this plan? Paul expresses it in extraordinary terms: God determined to bring all things together in Christ—things in heaven and things on earth. One Italian translation of the Bible, seeking to convey the meaning of the text in contemporary language, renders it as: “God leads history to its fulfilment: He unites all things, those in heaven and those on earth, under one head, Christ.” This, then, is what we wish to reflect on today: Christ is not merely a part of our personal reality, no matter how important. He is the centre toward which God directs history and to which He brings all things.
Let us listen to these words of the Apostle Paul in their context:
“In Him [in Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” (Ephesians 1:7–11)
1. To Recapitulate: Bringing All Things to the Centre
What, then, does the expression we have just heard mean: “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ”? One Italian translation renders it as “He unites all things”; others speak of “recapitulating” or “bringing all things back” to Christ. These are different expressions, but all help us grasp the richness of what Paul is saying. The Greek verb used by the Apostle is not a common word, and its meaning is not entirely straightforward to translate into Italian or English. It is connected to the idea of “head”.” From this, we better understand the various translations: “to unite,” “to bring back,” “to recap,” that is, to bring many things to a single centre, to unite them under one head. The word “recap,” which we normally use to mean summarising a discourse, contains precisely this idea: arriving at its conclusion, summing up, bringing the various elements back to the fundamental point.
Yet Paul is speaking of something infinitely greater than a discourse being recapped. It is God Himself who recapitulates history and creation. The many things that may appear to us as separate, fragmented, or even contradictory are brought back to their centre: Christ. Paul specifies that this includes “all things”—those in heaven and those on earth. This is not, therefore, merely about uniting those who believe in Christ or about recomposing the Church. God’s plan embraces all of reality. And the centre toward which everything is brought is not an idea, a doctrine, or an impersonal force—it is a Person: Jesus Christ, whom God has appointed as the one head.
2. God Leads History to Its Fulfilment
Paul places this plan of God within “the fulness of time.” He does not simply say that, at a certain moment, God intervened in history, but that there is an appointed time—a moment in which His design reaches its fulfilment. The contemporary translation we recalled effectively conveys this concept: “God leads history to its fulfilment.” History, then, is not a random sequence of events nor a collection of human affairs without direction. Behind and above history lies God’s plan, which operates “according to the counsel of His will.” This does not mean that we can know in advance every event or explain everything that happens. Rather, it means we can be certain that history does not slip from God’s hands and that it moves toward a goal He has established.
The word “fulfilment” is significant. It does not simply mean the end of history, as when something comes to a close. Instead, it indicates history’s arrival at its fullness, the purpose toward which God is leading it. For this reason, Paul speaks of “the mystery of His will”: God has made known to us something of His plan that was once hidden and is now revealed. And what is the content of this plan? Not an abstract formula, but Christ. In the fulness of time, God sent His Son into the world, and through Him, He is leading all things to their fulfilment. Therefore, the Christian faith does not look only to the past—to what God has done in Christ—nor only to the present—to what Christ does in our lives. It also looks to the future, toward the fulfilment of God’s plan, when all things will be brought together under the head He has established: Christ.
3. All Things: Christ at the Centre of the Cosmos
But what does “all things” mean? Paul himself clarifies: “things in heaven and things on earth.” He is not speaking merely of those who believe in Christ or of the Church alone. The perspective is far broader: heaven and earth, creation and history. Christ is not merely a part of reality, no matter how important. He is the very centre toward which God brings all of reality.
This same perspective appears in the prologue of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word [...] and the Word was God. [...] All things were made through Him.” The One who became incarnate in Jesus Christ is, therefore, the eternal Word through whom God created all things. The Christ we know in history is also the Christ from whom all reality comes and toward whom God is leading it.
4. The Pantocrator: Christ, Lord of All
This grand vision of Christ did not remain confined to the pages of the New Testament. Throughout its history, the Church has sought to understand and express ever more clearly what the apostles had proclaimed. A particularly significant example comes from Eastern Christianity, with the title Pantocrator attributed to Christ—a word meaning “He who has power over all,” the Lord of all things.
The Christ Pantocrator was depicted in churches in a majestic position, often in the dome or apse, as the One who rules and governs all creation. This was not merely a decorative image but a confession of faith expressed through art: Christ is the Lord of history and all creation. Interestingly, a testimony to this ancient tradition can also be found much closer to us. In the Reformed Church of San Martino in Bondo, in Bregaglia—where I served for many years—an ancient fresco of Christ in Majesty, in the tradition of the Pantocrator, is still preserved. The fresco had been covered over in the 17th century and was rediscovered many centuries later. Today, it is preserved and visible, at least as an artistic and historical testimony to an ancient confession of the Christian faith.
The story of this fresco also reminds us that the forms in which the Church expresses its faith can change. But the question remains: Who is Christ, truly? The answer for us does not come from the fresco or artistic tradition but from Scripture, which that ancient image sought, in its own way, to represent: Christ is the head to whom God brings all things—those in heaven and those on earth.
5. The Christ of Faith and the Jesus of History
This greatness of Christ may seem excessive to those accustomed to considering Jesus merely as a historical figure of the past. Some critics of Christianity have argued that, over the centuries, the Church progressively “mythologised” Jesus of Nazareth, transforming the simple teacher from Galilee into the divine and cosmic Christ of faith. Hence the call for a supposed “return to the Jesus of history,” distinct from the Christ the Church allegedly constructed later.
We must ask ourselves, however, whether this contrast is truly justified. We need not choose between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith, as if they were two different people. The Christ whom the Church has confessed through the centuries did not emerge centuries after Jesus: His identity is already present in apostolic testimony. Before the Pantocrator, there were Paul and John; before the great formulations of the Councils, we already find the proclamation of the Christ in whom “we have redemption” and in whom God determined to bring together “all things, those in heaven and those on earth.” The subsequent history of the Church does not, therefore, authorise us to set aside this apostolic testimony. Instead, it invites us to consider how the Church, over the centuries, has sought to understand and articulate it ever more precisely.
6. The Cosmic Christ Is the Crucified Christ
At this point, we might be tempted to think of Christ solely in His universal greatness—as the Lord of heaven and earth. But Paul never separates this greatness from the cross. The Christ whom God has placed at the centre of all things is precisely the One in whom “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
This is perhaps one of the most astonishing aspects of the Christian faith: the Lord of the universe is the One who died for us. The Christ Pantocrator is not a distant and impersonal sovereign. He is the Son of God who gave Himself for our redemption. His universal lordship does not diminish His closeness to us; on the contrary, it shows how great is the grace of the One who, though He is the head of all things, made Himself a servant and gave His life for us.
7. Christ at the Centre of Our Lives
If God has determined to bring all things to Christ, this truth cannot remain merely a great theological affirmation. It concerns us as well. If Christ is the centre of reality, He cannot be relegated to a corner of our existence, confined to our religious life or to a few particular moments of the week. His lordship encompasses our entire lives.
We might then ask ourselves: What is truly the centre of my life? What guides my choices, my thoughts, my priorities? Are there areas of my life that I still consider independent of Christ’s lordship? Growing in faith also means this: learning to bring our lives ever more fully to Christ, recognising in Him not only our Saviour but also our Lord and our head.
8. A Faith That Sees Further
We thus return to the point from which we began: the Christian faith is called to grow in understanding what it professes. The more we allow ourselves to be instructed by Scripture, the more we discover the greatness of Christ. This is not about replacing the faith we have received with something new but about ever more deeply understanding its richness. A mature faith does not make Christ smaller to fit our ideas; rather, it helps us recognise how much greater He is than our ideas.
And perhaps this is precisely the perspective Ephesians invites us to adopt: not to look at Christ merely from the viewpoint of our small personal stories but to look at our stories in the light of Christ. We are part of a far greater design: God leads history to its fulfilment and brings all things together in Christ. Therefore, when we say, “Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour,” we are saying something far greater than we often realise.
Conclusion
At the beginning, we spoke of the word “recap.” When we recap a discourse, we sum up and bring the various parts back to its central point. And now we can do the same with what we have heard. We have spoken of grace, redemption, forgiveness, God’s plan, history, creation, heaven, and earth. We have recalled the Christ Pantocrator and considered the testimony of the apostles. But what is the sum of all this? Christ.
Not Christ as merely a part of reality, no matter how important. Christ as the centre toward which God directs history and to which He brings all things. The Christ who is Lord of the cosmos is the same Christ who died for us. The Christ who is the head of all things is the One in whom we have the forgiveness of our sins. And if God has placed Christ at the centre of reality, then we, too, are called to recognise Him as the centre of our lives.
But this does not mean that our individual lives are insignificant in the face of the greatness of God’s plan. On the contrary: our personal stories are part of that greater history God is leading to its fulfilment. Each of us has received a place, a vocation, gifts, and responsibilities. Our role may seem humble, and it may be little noticed by others, but it is not therefore marginal or irrelevant. We can thus look with humble pride at what God enables us to be and do, and offer it to Him consciously and willingly. Even our small contribution belongs to God’s great plan, because all things—even our lives—find their true meaning when brought back to Christ.
All things in Christ, and Christ at the centre of all things.
Prayer
Lord our God, we thank You because You have made known to us Your plan and because You have shown us in Jesus Christ the centre toward which You direct all things. Help us not to reduce Christ to our ideas and our limited perspectives but to grow in the knowledge of Him through Your Word. May He truly be our Lord and the centre of our lives, our choices, and our service. We thank You that even our small stories are not insignificant before You. Grant us to recognise with humility and gratitude the place You have entrusted to us and to willingly place our gifts and strengths in the service of Your plan. Lead our lives and all Your creation to the fulfilment You have established, and may we live in the certainty that all things find their true meaning in Christ. To Him be the glory and the honour, now and forever. Amen.
Paolo Castellina, 19 August 2026