Second Hebrews sermon

Today we come back to the epistle to the Hebrews but having leapt forward a chapter and we officially begin quite abruptly with the exclamation, “Indeed, the Word of God is living and active…”

I suspect these words are familiar to many here and perhaps not surprisingly many hear these words and think of the Bible. This however is not the way in which the writer to the Hebrews is using the expression “Word of God”

The epistle to the Hebrews, as we heard last week is a treatise on the person and work of Jesus. How it is that Jesus has a place in our hearts and in our living through the way in which he suffered, died and changed death (moved through death). How it is that we can say Jesus matters to us today and how he therefore changes even who we are as we are called to be like him.

(Just as an aside, I wonder if the Word of God here is the “Word of God” “Logos” which we meet tat the beginning of Johns Gospel… just a thought!)

The writer has been looking back over the story of Israel and seeing Moses and Aaron as poor shadows of the person of Jesus. Moses may have done great things for the people of Israel and led them to the promised land, but Jesus does far more for us by comparison and leads us to even greater things.

With Moses the people were stubborn and unbelieving, The writer argues that We should not be like this, we should be confident and believing.

We should not doubt the promise of rest. We should not be disbelieving like the Israelites……and here we get the “Because”

“Indeed the Word of God is active….”

This Word of God is not written, it is something living and active deep within us. Perhaps it is like that Spark of God in us which seeks to be united with the God without. Or as the north pole of the magnet is attracted to the south pole. This is how the writer sees the Word of God being for us.

Last week we saw How Jesus, for the writer to the Hebrews, became one of us and as one of us changed death through suffering and dying as if it were on our behalf.

Now we move onto the other image of Jesus as the High Priest who has entered the Holy of Holies to make sacrifice for the people of God. But This High priest has not entered the Temple Holy of Holies but the greater “Holy of Holies” Heaven itself.

Aaron went so far… but Jesus goes all the way.

And Jesus calls us forward to stand before the very throne of Grace ourselves. Aaron could not do this because he remained a mortal being.

Our High Priest (Jesus) stands in a different league altogether from the priests known before, and next week this is drawn out further.

This Jesus is according to Hebrews the man who changed death for us, is our Great High priest who draws us to the throne of Grace because of the Word of God alive in us calling us to be faithful believers and no longer stubborn doubters, and who becomes therefore the Pioneer and the Perfector of our Faith. The one who enables us to be as God created. His own child.

We are children of God and when we become this sort of Child god welcomes us into an embrace.

This is perhaps what is meant by becoming “as a child” to enter the kingdom of heaven.

By contrast to last week’s child who entered the kingdom, this week’s gospel has a faithful but rich man approaching Jesus and being told that his riches will not count and that he will not enter the kingdom.

This rich man left with a heavy heart indeed. He had felt he had done everything as necessary to ensure entry into the Kingdom…and others would had felt he had too, but  how had he got it don’t  wrong.

We often fail to submit to what is asked of us by God. We pride ourselves in knowing that we are on the right track, that we are good people and surely that will do….

What would we hear Jesus saying to us… what is that one thing we may hold on to which we might have to let go of.

The disciples were quick to point out that they had indeed even left their families in order to follow Jesus, as well as many other things.

Jesus response to this seems at first encouraging, but ends enigmatically with that awkward expression “the first will be last and the last first”

The book of Job paints the picture of a man who seeks God, constantly and emphatically, refusing the natural wisdom of his friends, and despite going through horrendous suffering and loosing absolutely everything he had still clinging on to the promise of God.

You and I are called by God to be faithful believers, and there is everything we need here to accomplish the task set before us.