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Hope Fulfilled
By Linda Rex
January 5, 2025, 2nd Sunday in Christmas—As we enter this new year of 2025, we face many challenges. We look forward with optimism as we see opportunities for growth or anticipate achieving certain goals we set for ourselves. We may dread the outcome of long-term illnesses. Or we may look forward with hopeful joy as we expect the coming of a new child.
No matter what our future may hold for us, we have learned during our Advent and Christmas seasons, that we can have hope. We can have hope, not because we know how things will turn out, but because amid every circumstance of life, we are not alone. We do not do any of these things on our own, but in relationship with our heavenly triune God through Jesus in the Spirit.
In our Old Testament passage for this Sunday, Jeremiah 31:7–14, the prophet inserts in the middle of his prophetic warning to ancient Israel, a word of hope. This hope is not based upon the nation’s willingness and ability to live rightly or to bring it about, but solely in who God is as their covenant partner. God declared they were his people and he was their God. For that reason alone, he would ensure their return and their blessing.
However, we find that the blessing God intended for his people went far beyond what they expected. God had much more in mind than simply returning this people to a location here on earth and giving them a lot of earthly blessings. God was more concerned about their eternal destiny and their spiritual renewal. What God had in mind is what he had in mind for all humans everywhere in all time—the restoration of our relationship with him through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the unity we would one day have with God in the Holy Spirit in the new heaven and earth.
We read about God’s heart in the New Testament reading for this Sunday, Ephesians 1:3–14. In this passage, the apostle Paul celebrates the loving heart of our heavenly Father, who, from before time, intended us to be “holy and blameless before him.” It was always on God’s mind that we be adopted as his beloved children through our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything we have celebrated during this Christmas season points to the important event of the incarnation, where God’s Son entered into our human existence and joined us here on earth. This was always God’s intention, and he worked towards this end in spite of our human fall into evil, sin, and death.
When we read the prophecy of Jeremiah, we hear the echoes of the future fulfillment of this prophetic word in Jesus Christ. For example, he writes that the Lord says, “… I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.” In looking back through the lens of Jesus Christ, we see this word differently than we would see it through the lens of the Mosaic covenant.
We see that the ancient nation of Israel is wrapped up in the person of Jesus, who fulfilled all that was required of them in their covenant with God. We see the “father” talked about in this passage revealed by Jesus to be his own heavenly Father, and the “streams of waters” to be the Helper, the blessed gift of the Holy Spirit. We see that in Jesus, the Son of the Father, who in our human flesh, walked the road we are to walk in relationship with his Father, we have a path to live in and follow which will prevent us from stumbling. As we walk in the Spirit, and not in our flesh, we walk in Jesus, and in doing so, we will not stumble, for he upholds us.
We see that God’s heart toward us desires our blessing and our joy. He worked for millennia to keep his promise to heal and restore our relationship with him. Jesus, when he came, was diligent to fulfill the promises given in the Old Testament to his people, and to the nations. What we celebrate during this Christmas season reminds us that God is faithful, and that we can place our trust in him, because of who he is as our faithful Lord. We are filled with hope, peace, joy, and love, as we reflect on all he has done for us, is doing for us today as he is present in this world by his Spirit, and what he will do one day when Jesus comes in glory to establish the new heaven and earth. In all these things, we have every reason to celebrate. Merry Christmas!
Heavenly Trinity, thank you for your faithfulness and your love expressed to us in the gift of Jesus Christ. Open our hearts and minds and enable us to receive this precious gift, and respond to all have done, are doing, and will do, in faith, putting our faith completely in you and not in ourselves. We thank you for keeping your word, and giving us every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Amen.
“For thus says the LORD, ‘Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise and say, “O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel.” Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, and I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; a great company, they will return here. With weeping they will come, and by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.’ Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’ For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—over the grain and the new wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; and their life will be like a watered garden, and they will never languish again. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together, for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow. I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 31:7–14 NASB
See also Ephesians 1:3–14; John 1:10–18.
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Growing Up With Jesus
By Linda Rex
December 29, 2024, 1st Sunday in Christmas | Holy Family—On this first day in the twelve days of Christmas, we pause to consider Jesus’ human family. Often, during Christmas, we focus on the incarnation of Jesus Christ—the coming of the Son of God to take on human flesh. But Christmas begins with Christmas Eve and lasts twelve days. And on this Sunday, we consider Jesus’ incarnational life here on earth, and what it means for us that Jesus took on our human flesh, living a genuine human life here on earth before he died, rose again, and ascended into glory.
Our Old Testament passage for this Sunday is 1 Samuel 2:18–20, 26. The back story for this passage is that after the ancient nation of Israel had finally had crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land, and had settled there, they fell back into idolatry and immorality, and other sins, thereby violating their covenant agreement with their God. God would allow a nation to take them captive and eventually the Israelites would turn back to God, repenting of their sinful ways. God would send a deliverer, a judge, to rescue them. They would follow God as long as the judge led them, but eventually the judge would die, and they would go back to doing what was in violation of their covenant with God. And they would again end up enslaved.
As this reached its climax, the priest at the time, Eli, had two sons who served at the tabernacle as priests. They stole the sacrificial offerings and slept with the women who served at the tabernacle—both acts were a grave offense to God. The Lord warned Eli that he needed to deal with his sons, but he would not. In the middle of this circumstance, a man named Elkanah came to present his yearly sacrifice to the Lord. Elkanah had married two woman (a local custom God didn’t approve of), one of which he loved most, Hannah. The other woman, Peninnah, may not have had Elkanah’s favor, but she had several children, and mocked Hannah for her childlessness. This situation came to a crisis during their visit to offer sacrifice, and Hannah ran to the tabernacle to pour out her heart to the Lord. The priest Eli saw her there and thought she was drunk. But when he heard her story, he gave her God’s blessing.
When Elkanah and his family returned home, Hannah became pregnant. She offered her firstborn son, Samuel, in service to the Lord. Samuel began to serve under Eli the priest, and wore a linen ephod—even as a boy, Samual served the Lord. In contrast to Eli’s sons who were so disobedient and evil, Samuel was faithful and obedient in his service to God.
The picture here is of a youth and a young man serving in God’s tabernacle. As the firstborn son, he was devoted to God, to faithfully serve God all his life. As Samuel matured, and continued to serve the Lord faithfully, he grew “in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.” When we consider the circumstances around Samuel’s life of service, and how he came to be in that place, serving the Lord, we are reminded this time of year about another young man devoted to the service of the Lord—Jesus Christ.
Samuel is a good signpost to our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was also born under divinely ordained circumstances, being born of the virgin Mary, conceived of the Holy Spirit. As a young man, we see Jesus in the temple, talking with the elders of the nation, asking questions, and giving profound answers which shocked them. When his parents missed him and finally found him in the temple, Jesus asked them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” Even at age twelve, the age of accountability, Jesus was actively serving in his Father’s house, and growing in his relationship with his heavenly Father. He returned and submitted himself to his parents’ authority until he was older, and like Samuel, he “kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:41–52). Even as a youth and young man, Jesus took seriously his relationship with his heavenly Father, and began to seek his face and serve him when he was young.
Both these stories provide a guiding star by which we can direct our lives as young people and as youth. We do not need to wait to grow up to begin our relationship with God. We can participate even now in Jesus’ life with his Father by the Holy Spirit. We can seek God’s face, ask great questions, and be inspired by the Spirit with great answers. We can grow in God’s wisdom, maturity, and in favor with God and those about us, as we are devoted to him, and seek to serve him. Amid a chaotic, sin-laden world, which pulls us into unhealthy ways of living and being, we can turn to Christ and determine to live a better way—the way we were designed to live—in loving relationship with God and one another, as God always intended. Jesus Christ has made this possible, so we turn to him in faith and follow where he leads us by the power of his Holy Spirit. As we live according to his Word, in faithful devotion to God and humble love and service to others, we will grow and mature as God intends. May God bless you as you grow up in Christ. Merry Christmas!
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us even when we are young and immature, just enjoying play and learning the basics of life. Grant us the grace to grow up in Christ, to choose the better way, rather than just going along with what everyone else is doing. Grant us the courage to resist the pulls of this world, and to choose a relationship with you, and to serve you all our lives, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy wearing a linen ephod. And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, ‘May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the Lord.’ And they went to their own home. Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.” 1 Samuel 2:18–20, 26
“Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.’ And He said to them, ‘Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?’ But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:41–52 NASB
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Such Great Love
by Linda Rex
December 22, 2024, 4th Sunday in Advent | Love—On this fourth Sunday in Advent when we celebrate the theme of God’s love, we reach the end of the season. We have been anticipating the coming-and-presence of Jesus Christ, which involves looking forward to his coming in his incarnation, his coming and presence now by his Spirit, and his future coming in glory when he ushers in the new heaven and earth when our Triune God will be present with us forever.
Our reading in Micah is a messianic prophecy written by one of the minor prophets during the reign of King Hezekiah. Micah, along with his contemporary, Isaiah the prophet, ministered to the people of ancient Judah, reminding them to be faithful to their covenant with God, and warning them of the coming consequences due to their injustice, immorality, and idolatry.
What Micah’s nation did not seem to realize was that God’s passionate love for his people would not allow him to let them wander away into sin and idolatry without him doing something about it. God told his people that he would allow them to go their own way for a time, to experience the consequences of their sin and idolatry, however horrible those consequences might end up being. But God also gave a promise that he would send the ultimate solution.
In Micah 5:2–5a, the Lord speaks about the role the small town of Bethlehem would play in the future of the nation. This town, which wasn’t even mentioned as one of the cities of Judah, the tribe from whom the kings came, would be the place from which the Messiah would come. Remarkably, this one Micah predicted would be a ruler in Israel, who would shepherd his people, would have his origins from the far distant past, as from eternity, with no beginning. Because of him, his people would return from where they had been taken or wandered as a result of their turning from God.
What is interesting is the way this passage was interpreted by the Jews at the time of Jesus’ birth. When the wise men from the east came looking for the newborn king so they could worship him and give him gifts, King Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah was going to be born. According to Matthew, the chief priests and scribes told Herod that he would be born in Bethlehem, quoting Micah in this way: “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel” (Matt. 2:6 NASB).
Herod’s response to this news was to send the wise men to Bethlehem to search out the child, telling them to return to him with the news of where the child was located, ostensibly so he could worship the newborn king too. Later in chapter two of Matthew, we see the wise men were warned by God to not go back to Jerusalem after visiting the child, but to leave by another way. And they did. And when King Herod found out, he sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill every young infant up to two years old. Because Joseph was warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt before this happened and they left before the soldiers came, the newborn king Jesus was kept safe by God from King Herod’s plans to execute him.
King Herod, who had been installed in his position by the Romans, took this prophetic word from Micah very seriously. He wasn’t about to allow any other person to take away his position of authority in the Jewish nation. What he did not realize was the kind of king Jesus was and would be. Jesus is our Shepherd and reigns in God’s name. As the newborn child laying in a manger, he may not have looked like much, but he had come from time past, from eternity, and would be great, reigning over all the earth, as God in human flesh.
We will soon celebrate Christmas, when we remember how the Son of God entered our human sphere, taking on our human existence, to live, die, and rise again in our place, on our behalf. This infant that would be born in a small town in Bethlehem in Judea, the newborn king Jesus, is our peace. This is the One who reigns on high, while submitting himself to life in a human body, even that of a tiny infant whose life was threatened by an ambitious, heartless ruler. What a beautiful expression of God’s love!
Father, Son, Spirit, thank you for the faith, hope, and love we have been given. Thank you for being our hope, our peace, our joy, and our love. We look forward in anticipation to what you will do next, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“ ‘But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.’ Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace.” Micah 5:2–5a NASB
“Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,‘Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in whole burnt offerings and’ sacrifices ‘for sin you have taken to pleasure then I said, “Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do Your will, O God.” ’ After saying above, ‘Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and’ sacrifices ‘for sin You have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure’ in them’ (which are offered according to the Law),then He said, ‘Behold, I have to come to do Your will.’ He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:5–10 NASB
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A New and Living Way
By Linda Rex
November 17, 2024, Proper 28 | After Pentecost—This year as we have walked through the Revised Common Lectionary passages, I have been mostly focusing on the New Testament passage, while drawing upon the other passages where they have been appropriate. Today, though, in the light of tomorrow being the 2024 election day here in America, I will begin with the Gospel passage, Mark 13:1–8. I will bring in the New Testament passage from Hebrews later in this blog.
In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus was leaving the temple when one of his disciples began pointing out the architectural merits and wonders of the building. Jesus was not impressed. He immediately remarked that a time was coming when every stone would be leveled, a statement of hyperbole prophetically pointing to what would happen in 70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans.
Since the disciples, as usual, did not seem to get the point, they began asking about what the sign would be when all that was predicted would come to pass. Jesus turned their attention instead to what their motives were. They were looking for someone to save them from their Roman oppressors. They were looking for a messiah who would rescue them and make them an independent nation using violent means. But Jesus told them not to seek rescue and salvation from human saviors, for they will always end up misleading the people who follow them, using evil means to defeat evil. And Jesus told the disciples that wars, famines, international disputes were all part of the birth pangs leading up to the establishment of God’s new heaven and earth. They were not to be distressed by any of these things, but to understand that they were all part of the process of God’s redemption of his creation.
Jesus’ message is just as appropriate today as it was back then. Even to this day, there have been leaders who claimed that they would bring about a new world, a new government, and the salvation of their people. Some of these even led a military revolt, or the establishment of a new government. Many looked real good at the beginning, because they knew what things to tell people in order to get a following. But when they eventually began to run things their way, it soon became apparent that they were no savior or messiah—they were merely another faulty human who was leading everyone astray.
In the light of this reality, we are reminded of our New Testament passage, Hebrews 10:11–14, 19–25. In this the author contrasts the daily efforts of the Old Testament Aaronic priest, who, in spite of his diligent efforts, was never able to take away the sins of the people. In contrast, Jesus offered himself, once for all. By this self-offering, Jesus “perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
There is only one Person who is able to take away our sins and perfect us before God. There is only one Person who delivers us and frees us from the tyrannies of this world. There is only one Person who enables us, “by a new and living way,” through his flesh, to enter into God’s presence. Because of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done, we draw near to God in faith, cleansed and purified, and made whole.
We are reminded that though human kingdoms rise and fall, human leaders rise and fall, and the world seems to be falling into chaotic disarray at times, Jesus Christ does not change. He does not fail us. He is present now by his Spirit, and is interceding for us with his Father on our behalf. There is nothing that cannot be brought to Jesus, and through him to his Father in the Spirit. Whatever is happening in this world, no matter how the election turns out, we have hope that God is still at work bringing to pass his ends and purposes. He will, in time, defeat all his enemies, and they are as good as defeated even now, for he is taking all that is meant for evil and turning it to accomplish his perfect, good will in this world.
As we make our way to the voting booth, and as we work our way through this transition of government, there is one thing we can be sure of: When we go to God with humble hearts and ask him to rescue and save us, and to work all things for our good, he will hear us and respond. May we have the humility and grace to pray to God about all that is going on, and trust in the faithful love and grace of Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Heavenly Father, as we face significant changes in our world and our nation, we turn to you and ask you to take all things into your loving hands and to work them out for our good. Thank you, Jesus, that we can come to you in faith, and know you are interceding on our behalf. We are in need of your rescue and salvation in every moment. May your Spirit move in us, in our lives, and in our circumstances, to accomplish your perfect will, in Jesus name. Amen.
“Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, ‘sat down at the right hand of God,’ waiting from that time onward ‘until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.’ For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. … Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:11–14 (15–18) 19–25 NASB
“As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.’ As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and 1James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?’ And Jesus began to say to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, “I am He!” and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Mark 13:1–8 NASB
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The Perfect Atonement
By Linda Rex
November 3, 2024, Proper 26—This year on October 11, 2024, many observed a special day called Yom Kippur. On this important day of the year, the holiest on the Jewish calendar, many fast and pray, cease from all labor, and gather together for a special service. In Leviticus 16, we learn there were specific sacrifices that the ancient nation of Israel observed on this day, which is often known as the Day of Atonement.
Two goats would be offered, and each would have a specific role to play—one would be offered to God in sacrifice for the sins of the people. Blood from the goat offered to God would be taken by the high priest into the most holy place (never entered except by the high priest on this day, once a year), and the high priest would sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in the tent of meeting, purifying them. And then there would be a bull offered as well, for the high priest’s cleansing, and its blood would be offered with that of the goat, and the great altar would be cleansed. Then the other goat would have the sins of the people laid on it, and as Azazel’s goat, it would be sent out into the desert to carry away the sins of the people. There were many more offerings than just this (Lev. 23:26-32; Num. 29:7-11), but what I’ve shared so far enables us to begin to see the significance of our New Testament passage for this Sunday, Hebrews 9:11-14.
In all those years of animals being offered in sacrifice, the Levite high priest offered up the means of grace given them by God for the annual renewal of the covenant for the ancient Jewish people. The sins of the people were cleansed, the covenant renewed, but only an external cleansing or purification occurred. Nothing was done for the inward work of transformation which was actually needed.
Now, though, because Jesus is the perfect offering, the person who had no sin, who lived a genuine human existence as the Son of God in human flesh, we have a greater, more perfect sacrifice. He willingly walked the road to the cross, allowed himself to be crucified, because he knew he was fulfilling every one of these sacred events in the life of his people. He would be both the goat who was offered and the goat who took away our sins once and for all. He would be the bull who would cleanse us of our own personal sins. He would be both the great High Priest and the perfect Atonement, for us.
The author of Hebrews explains how the Son of God came in human flesh and took on the role of our high priest through his own sacrificial self-offering. In this particular passage, the author explains that Jesus Christ entered into “the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands…not of this creation.” The tabernacle being described is actually heaven itself, for the Son of God, having taken on human flesh, lived a genuine human existence, was crucified and died, and was resurrected. Like the high priest who “ascended” into the holy of holies to offer the sacred sacrifice once a year, Jesus ascended into glory, still bearing our humanity, and offered himself in our place on our behalf. Today he continues to act as our divine Mediator and High Priest. Jesus has become our place of perfect rest in relationship with God, for he offers our prayers up to the Father in the Spirit, and offers us the high priest blessing of peace in return. Because he is without blemish, perfect in every aspect, he fulfills the sacred aspects of this day in his own person. As Thomas F. Torrance says, “Christ Jesus IS the atonement” (TFT, Atonement, 94).
Unlike the human high priest who had to offer a bull for his own personal cleansing, Jesus did not need any special offering for himself. As God in human flesh, Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God, as John the Baptizer described him, who was offered for the sins of all. Jesus was filled with the Spirit from conception, received the anointing of the Spirit for ministry, and lived and walked by the Spirit throughout his life and ministry. He lived in perfect unity with his Father in the Spirit each day, and was ever faithful in the Word of God and prayer.
Not only is Jesus the One who intercedes for us, but he is also the One who is sacrificed for us. What is cleansed is not just the outer person, but the inward person. For Jesus, in his perfect life and death and resurrection, writes God’s law on our inward parts, and then sends us the Spirit after his ascension so we can begin to live as new persons, in right relationship with his Father in the Spirit as we trust in him and walk in the Spirit. As the author of Hebrews says, “how much more” will Christ’s blood cleanse our inner mind and heart, enabling us to serve God as he always intended? This was always God’s plan, and in Jesus Christ, he accomplished it! And this sounds to me like some very, very good news!
Dear Trinity, thank you for the marvelous work you have done to bring us into relationship with yourself through Jesus in the Spirit. Thank you, dear Jesus, for your perfect self-offering, and for standing as our High Priest, interceding for us and mediating for us in the Spirit at all times. Thank you, heavenly Spirit, for growing us up into the maturity that is Christ. We are simply grateful for all you have done and are doing. Amen.
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He centered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:11–14 NASB
“But now Christ has made his public appearance as High Priest of a perfect tabernacle. The good things that were predicted have arrived. This new tabernacle does not derive from its shadow type, the previous man-made one. It is the reality. As High Priest, his permission to enter the Holy Place was not secured by the blood of beasts. By his own blood he obtained access on behalf of the human race. Only one act was needed for him to enter the most sacred place of grace and there to institute a ransom of perpetual consequence. The blood of beasts and the ashes of the burnt sacrifice of a heifer could only achieve a very temporal and surface cleansing by being sprinkled on the guilty. How much more effective was the blood of Christ, when he presented his own flawless life through the eternal Spirit before God, in order to purge your conscience from its frustration under the cul-de-sac rituals of the law. There is no comparison between a guilt- and duty-driven, dead religious system, and the vibrancy of living your life free from a sin-consciousness! This is what the new testament priesthood is all about!” Hebrews 9:11–14 Mirror Bible
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NASB
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Offered Once For All
By Linda Rex
October 27, 2024, Proper 25—As we have been touching down here and there in the book of Hebrews, we have been learning about Jesus Christ serving as our high priest now that that he has risen from the grave and ascended into heaven. We’ve looked at Jesus and his intercessory role in our lives, and how he ever offers our worship and praise to our Father, and offers the Father’s gifts, his Word, and his love and grace to us in the Spirit.
Perhaps you’ve heard that old phrase, “There’s nothing so certain as death and taxes.” In our New Testament passage for this Sunday, Hebrews 7:23–28, this book’s author notes that in the original tabernacle which we read about in the book of Exodus and Leviticus, the high priest was appointed according to the law. This high priest would eventually die, and another would be appointed in his place. This meant that as time went by, the role of high priest was continually being filled by different people. Death limited the ministry of those who offered this service of high priesthood to God and the people of ancient Israel.
Jesus Christ, on the other hand, while in his human flesh did die, but then he, being the Son of God, rose from the grave. Because he remains both God and human, Jesus lives forever and will never die. Jesus has been appointed our high priest according to the Father’s promise, which will never be broken. We can take comfort that nothing, not even death, can separate us from Jesus and his love for us (Rom. 8:38–39). There is continuity in Jesus’ ministry to us in the Spirit, and we can rest assured that he will always be there for us, offering us grace in our time of need, as we draw near to him.
As our high priest, Jesus offered up the perfect sacrifice—himself. He does not need to continually offer up new animal sacrifices like the ancient high priests were required to. No, he simply offered himself, in our place on our behalf, just once, and offers himself continually on our behalf, in every moment, on into eternity. Jesus has no sin in himself that needs to be dealt with through sacrifice as the ancient high priests constantly had to concern themselves with. Rather, Jesus is without sin, holy in character, and flawless and undefiled. So what he offers—himself—is the perfect sacrifice. Not only did his self-offering only have to be done once, it also was an offering that includes all people, and all that God has made in and through Jesus, and it lasts forever.
Because of who Jesus is as the Creator and Redeemer of all things, his sacrifice has tremendous power to redeem, restore, and renew. We celebrate the wonderful gift of new life that Jesus gives us, and we rest in his faithful intercession in our place on our behalf before his Father in the Spirit. Jesus is constantly at work making all things new—this is his word to us through the apostle John (Rev. 21:5; 2 Cor. 5:17). And we look forward to when Jesus will return in glory and renew all things as he ushers in the new heaven and earth. What a glorious hope we have in Jesus!
Now, if you thought that is good news, just consider how wonderful it is that we do not have to try and work things out with a distant, uninvolved, uncaring God. This Jesus Christ who we trust in is the Son of our heavenly Father, with whom he lives in close relationship in the heavenly Spirit. There is an eternal relationship of love and grace that Jesus brought humanity right up into. And within that relationship of love and grace, we get to share by the Spirit in Jesus’ own sonship, in face-to-face oneness with his Father. We are not left trying to figure out some way to make ourselves right with God, or trying to make ourselves good enough or acceptable enough to be worthy of God’s love, attention, or grace. Instead, we are simply able to rest in and revel in the joy of participating in Jesus’ own oneness with his Father in the Spirit, as we trust in Jesus’ finished work. This motivates us to live a life of gratitude and obedient service to the Lord who both created us and redeems us. Praise God!
Dear Jesus, thank you for the amazing gift you have given, in giving yourself so generously and freely in our place on our behalf. Thank you for ever interceding for us and for bringing us home to our Father to be with him forever in the Spirit. We praise you for your glorious work! Amen.
“The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.” Hebrews 7:23–28 NASB
“The fact that there were so many priests shows how frequently they died and had to be replaced. But there will be no successor to the Priesthood of Jesus because he remains forever. Through him mankind’s approach to God is forever secured; he continues to communicate the full accomplishment of their salvation. As our High Priest he towers far above every other priestly system in conspicuous prominence and in holy character. His guileless, flawless life on earth was never compromised by sin, and he himself was exalted above the heavens where he occupies the highest rank of authority in the eternal realm. Unlike the previous high priests whose system of daily sacrifices was a constant reminder of their own failures, he had no need to sacrifice on his own behalf. The sacrifice he offered was himself for all; a sacrifice never to be repeated. Under the law, men were appointed as high priests regardless of their weaknesses. The word of the oath, which succeeded the law, appointed the son in perpetual perfection.” Hebrews 7:23–28 Mirror Bible
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Because He’s Been There
by Linda Rex
October 20, 2024, Proper 24 | After Pentecost—In my last blog I looked at what our passage in Hebrews said about who Jesus is, and how that impacts our understanding of who we are as the beloved children of God. In this week’s lectionary passage from the New Testament, Hebrews 5:1–10, the author begins to make a case for how Jesus Christ, as the Son of God who came to take on human flesh, steps in and takes on the role of high priest for us. The role of high priest was originally filled by someone from the tribe of Levi, the branch of the ancient nation of Israel which had been given the responsibility of the priesthood.
The responsibility of the high priest was to represent the people of ancient Israel in their covenant relationship with God, offering gifts and sacrifices at the alter as commanded by God, and offering the Word of God and God’s grace to the people. This ministry of intercession via the priesthood was a gift of grace from God, providing a way in which a sinful, broken people could be reconciled with their Redeemer—the One who had rescued their nation from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians and made them his very own people.
The author of Hebrews brings up an important point—that the priest was selected from among the people—a brother of those who came to worship at the tabernacle or temple. Because this priest was one of them, he was just as broken and weak and disobedient as they were. And this enabled him to minister to them with compassion and understanding. This is a reminder to those of us who are called into pastoral ministry, or any other type of ministry in this world, to be well-acquainted with our own shortcomings, to face and deal with them honestly and humbly, and to allow this truth to temper our care of others with compassion, understanding, and mercy.
In Jesus’ case, he understood our frame as human beings because he, as the Son of God, took on a truly human existence. But he did so without ever allowing the many temptations he experienced to draw him into sin. Unlike us, he did not sin, though his genuine human experience covered a wide range of our human existence.
Jesus hammered out, so to speak, a truly human life lived out in obedience to his heavenly Father in the face of temptation and suffering and death, and he conquered evil, sin, and death in the process. As Jesus lives now in face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit, he intercedes on our behalf, knowing full well all that we go through and struggle with on a daily basis. And he intercedes on our behalf with great compassion and understanding.
The obedience Jesus perfected was that of bringing our human flesh, in all its rebellion and disobedience back to God, back into humble obedience and dependency upon his Father in the Spirit. Jesus forged within us the capacity for us to receive the indwelling Spirit who writes on our hearts and minds all that God commanded his people to obey. Jesus lived a perfect human life of obedience to his Father in the Spirit, bore our human flesh through death into resurrection, ascending into glory, bearing our glorified humanness into his Father’s presence to remain there forever in right relationship with God in the Spirit. In the gift of the Spirit, each of us individually can begin to participate in what Jesus made possible in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
And as our ascended Lord, Jesus reigns as the King of Righteousness (the meaning of Melchizedek), the High Priest appointed by his Father to offer the ultimate sacrifice—himself. As the One who judges, Jesus was judged on the cross, allowing himself to be crucified on our behalf. We have no reason to be afraid in coming to God with our sins, faults, weaknesses, and failures. We have Jesus Christ to intercede for us, to stand in our place, to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice in our place on our behalf. He pleads our case, and does so with great mercy and compassion, because he’s been there—he knows what it’s like to be us in the midst of this broken, messed up world. He prays our prayers to his Father, perfected and acceptable in God’s sight. And he offers the things of God to us in the Spirit, so we can share in his own right relationship with his Father in the Spirit. And Jesus loves us—so much so, that he laid down his life for us. Jesus has forged for us a life in right relationship with his Father and offers this to us in the gift of his Spirit, so we can live in God’s life and love, now and for eternity. What could be more wonderful than that?
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for giving your Son to us for our salvation and redemption. Thank you for giving us your Spirit so we can begin to participate in your own divine fellowship as Father, Son, and Spirit. We are so grateful, Jesus, that you understand us, care about us, and are always interceding for us on our behalf. Grant us the grace to ever live in grateful obedience. Amen.
“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you’; just as He says also in another passage, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as aa high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:1–10 NASB
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:4–12
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The One Who Understands
By Linda Rex
October 13, 2024, Proper 23 | After Pentecost—In the message last week, we were reminded of who God is and who we are as his beloved children. We approach our relationship with God from the vantage point of beloved children, who are dependent upon our loving parent, the one who directs us, provides for us, cares for us, and seeks our best.
As we continue our journey through the book of Hebrews, we come to this Sunday’s passage in which we see Jesus at God’s right hand, interceding for us as our high priest. In Hebrews 4:12–16, the author shows us how Jesus, as the One who took on our human form and fully experienced our human existence, is able to intercede on our behalf with deep compassion and understanding. He did not yield to sin, even though he experienced the same temptations we do.
Today, many of us may not even know what someone is talking about when they talk about a high priest. But this is an important biblical concept, especially in regards to God’s covenant of love which he forged with his people, the ancient nation of Israel. The role of the high priest was that of a representative who ministered the word of God to the people, and offered the sacrifices and prayers of the people to God. This was all done according to God’s instructions, and was a way in which the nation could live in right relationship with God even though they were a flawed and faulty people. This relationship with God was a gift, made possible by God’s mercy and grace, simply because of God’s way of being, which is self-giving, other-centered love.
We as human beings do not live our lives in a vacuum, nor do we live our lives unseen by God. No, he knows us down to the core of our being, with all our flaws, all our glories, and all our weaknesses. What is interesting about this passage is that when the author says, “all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do,” it is using an expression commonly used to describe the neck of a creature being exposed so that it can be cut with a blade for sacrifice. In Jesus’ sacrifice, we as human beings are laid open, completely exposed, but in such a way that he stands in our place, interceding on our behalf. As the living Word of God in human flesh, who allowed himself to be crucified for our sake, Jesus Christ wrote the word of God on our minds and hearts. He turned us back to his Father in the Spirit, bringing us into his own face-to-face relationship.
And in that complete openness to the gaze of God, we are held within Jesus’ own life of faith in relationship with his Father in the Spirit. Jesus’ presence with his Father in the Spirit means that we can approach God with confidence and courage, trusting in Jesus’ complete sympathetic understanding of our weaknesses and temptations. In the humble recognition of our need for grace and mercy, we find ourselves welcomed and accepted, since Jesus is interceding on our behalf.
For many of us, this has not always been our experience of God. Do we feel as though we have to get all ourselves all cleaned up and dusted off before we can venture to have any conversation with God whatsoever? If this is the case, we need to reconsider our understanding of who Jesus Christ is, and who he is for us as the One who knows us so completely that he can judge the thoughts and intents of our hearts, while at the same time intercede for us with compassionate mercy and grace.
Do we understand that God created us to live a certain way—the way of other-centered, self-giving love—yet understands our frailty and weakness that seems to always betray us and keep us from walking in that way? We need to have both the humility to allow God to determine how we live our lives, but also the humility to trust in his mercy and grace when we don’t live that way. This is the position of rest God calls us to in Jesus Christ. This rest, which is ours in Jesus, is experienced as we trust in him and all he has done in our place and on our behalf. Apart from his gracious work, we cannot live in the truth of who we are as God’s children, in right relationship with God and each other. So, we put our faith in Jesus alone, allowing him to be who he is—our Lord and our Savior, and our High Priest.
Dear Father, thank you for sending your Son for our salvation and for giving us your Spirit. We acknowledge our sin and our need for Christ’s gracious intercession on our behalf. Thank you, Jesus, for always interceding for us, for enabling us to receive mercy and grace. Enable us to rest fully in you. Amen.
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:12–16 NASB
“They were even more astonished and said to Him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Looking at them, Jesus said, ‘With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.’” Mark 10:17–31 NASB
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He Tasted Death For Everyone
by Linda Rex
October 6, 2024, Proper 22 | After Pentecost—I believe we often do not realize the value and worth God places on us as human beings. We go through life, living our everyday existence without realizing the dignity we have as those made in his image. And, at the same time, we can be pretty arrogant—we believe we can call the shots and insist on our own way.
One of the hardest lessons for us to learn as human beings is that we are creatures who are utterly dependent upon a power beyond ourselves for our very existence and our everyday needs. As we look at the New Testament passage for this Sunday, Hebrews 1:1–4, 2:5–12, we are reminded of who we are. We see this in the context of who God is, and who his Son Jesus Christ is, and are brought again to that place of humility and dignity God has given us as his beloved children.
The author of Hebrews tells us quite a bit about who Jesus Christ is:
- He is the Son of our heavenly Father, the Creator of all things
- He is the appointed heir of all things
- He is the Son, the Creator, through whom the Father made all things
- He is the radiance of God’s glory
- He is the exact representation of God’s being or nature
- He upholds all things by the word of his power
- He made purification of sins
- His Father has appointed him over the works of his hands
- His Father has put all things in subjection under his feet
- He was made lower than the angels for a time, but now is crowned with glory and honor
- He tasted death for everyone
- He is the One for whom are all things and through whom are all things
- He is the author of our salvation, perfected through suffering
- He sanctifies us, having the same Father as we do
- He calls us his brothers and sisters
In the light of the reality of who Jesus is as the Son of our heavenly Father, we find that many of these things are true about us as human beings, since we have been taken up in Christ and given new life in him—a new life that we are able to participate in as we come to faith in Christ. We as human beings are given incredible dignity and worth. Jesus, the God-man, includes us in his own life with his Father in the Spirit.
We are caught up in the inner fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit—a place where, in Christ, a human being is a full participant in the divine life and love. As the God-man, Jesus Christ is the one who perfected our humanity in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and offers us the gift of the Spirit, working to sanctify us as we respond to him in faith. Even though he is God the Son, Jesus Christ calls us his brothers and sisters, because he has taken on our human flesh, to taste death for everyone.
In the light of who Jesus is as God in human flesh, who reigns supreme as Lord of all, we are reminded that we as human beings are not the ones who decide how this cosmos is to run or how we are to live our lives. As the One through whom all things were made by the Father in the Spirit, Jesus has something important to say about how we live and how this cosmos is run.
In the gospel reading for this Sunday, Mark 10:2–16, Jesus was asked by the religious leaders of his day if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus responded by asking what Moses taught them to do. They said that Moses “permitted” divorce in certain circumstances. In this circumstance, Jesus’ ultimate answer to their question was not grounded in what Moses taught. Nor was it grounded in the current cultural situation, nor in a particular circumstance, or relationship. What Jesus took them back to was his heavenly Father’s original intent.
And then he reminded them that their decisions regarding the kingdom of God and family relationships needed to be from the perspective of a little child. A child is dependent upon his or her parents, and trusts in their care and direction and provision. In the same way, Jesus reminds of who we are—children of our heavenly Father, who trust in his care, direction, and provision, through his Son Jesus Christ in the Spirit. In Christ, we have been given great dignity and worth as human beings, but we are still only little children—and it is good for us to remember this as we go through our everyday lives in this world, making decisions and living in relationships.
Thank you, Father, for reminding us of who we are, and who Jesus, your Son, is, as our Savior and Redeemer, our Brother and our Friend. Grant us the grace to live as trusting, obedient, grateful children, resting in your tender care. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. … For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, ‘What is man, that you remember him? Or the son of man, that you are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of your hands; You have put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,saying, ‘I will proclaim Your name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise’.” Hebrews 1:1–4, 2:5–12 NASB
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Faith in Action
By Linda Rex
September 8, 2024, Proper 18 | After Pentecost—In my personal faith tradition years ago, having the right theology or correct belief system was essential. In the extreme form of this belief and practice, exclusion of any group or person that did not agree with our faith tradition was the norm. Sadly, this meant that we were blind to how God was working with every person in this world and within other faith traditions.
Over the years, I began to see that there were huge flaws in what I believed and practiced in the name of obeying God and following what the Bible taught. Much of this was due to a desperate need for the Spirit to give me a new framework through which to view God and the Bible, a framework given to us by God himself. He gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, as the sole true interpreter and revealer of God and his will and his ways. When I began to see through the lens of Jesus Christ, everything changed, thanks to the Spirit’s gracious work.
When James addresses the issue of Christian faith and practice, he does so through the lens of Jesus Christ and all that Jesus is for us in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and in the gift of the Spirit. In order to read the book of James properly, we need to find the indicatives which undergird each of the imperatives or commands which the apostle gives us to follow. For example, in our New Testament reading for this Sunday, James 2:1–10, 14–17, the apostle James tells us that we are not to treat some people better than others when they join us in Christian fellowship. And he says that we need to be aware that our faith is empty or dead if it is not accompanied by actions which affirm its reality. These are the imperatives or commands James is encouraging us to put into practice.
But notice the indicatives or underlying spiritual realities behind these imperatives. He asks, “did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” The royal law expressed in Jesus Christ—the lens through which we view all things—is that God in Christ was willing to lay down his life for us so that we could be with him forever. This is the God, the Lord Jesus, who while on this earth spent much of his time with the everyday people of his land, ministering to the poor, needy, and afflicted, both Jew and non-Jew. James tells us that, because of Jesus Christ and because of his own law of love written on our hearts by the Spirit, we treat every human being with dignity, respect, and kindness. The person may be different than us, they may be struggling, but they are our equals—as the apostle Paul says, we are all one in Christ Jesus.
In the Gospel passage, Mark 7:24–37, Mark tells two stories within the context of Jesus’ harassment by the leaders of his people. One is about a woman who was “a Gentile [a non-Jew], of the Syrophoenician race”—someone who the Jewish leaders would have avoided having anything to do with, even though she needed their help in freeing her daughter from demon possession. And, even though Jesus reminds her that his immediate focus is currently on his own Jewish people, she counters his initial refusal with a humble, yet bold remark about how even the pet dogs get the crumbs off the table. Touched by her faith, Jesus heals her daughter.
The other story is about a man who is deaf and mute that some people brought to Jesus to heal. Jesus shows the man what he’s going to do and then says, “Be opened.” In that moment, the man’s ears are opened and he is once again able to speak. Jesus tells the people who brought him not to say anything about his healing, since it would complicate Jesus’ ability to continue to do ministry in that area. But they become more and more vocal about it. And Jesus knows that this will only increase his persecution by the leaders of his people. And Jesus knows that the Jewish leaders of that day needed a new lens through which to view the people with whom God had given them the responsibility to lead and care for. They needed to get out of their religious box and begin simply practicing the law they knew by heart, to truly love their neighbor as themselves. Their faith in their loving God needed to be evidenced in the actions they took day by day as they encountered the different people in their lives, no matter their background, history, circumstances, religious affiliation, or race.
So, going back to our passage in James, we see that the people James writes to have the same issues that Jesus was up against during his time here on earth. The human tendency to put some people lower and some people higher is at work in this fellowship, and James calls them back to the spiritual realities of their faith in Christ. In the Triune oneness of Father, Son, and Spirit, there’s unique personhood, yet equality and unity. In the same way, this group of believers needed to start acting like the children of God they were, treating one another as unique equals who were sharing in the oneness which is ours in Christ by the Spirit. And when someone came into their gathering who did not fit any human category of value and worth, they were to still treat them as a beloved child of God, for in Christ, that is what they are. And here we find the impetus to live this out ourselves today, as God’s beloved children, who God, in Christ, stooped down to include in his own life and love, both now and forever. Who might God want us to include who we have previously excluded?
Thank you, Father, for going to such extent to include us in your life and love through your Son Jesus in the Spirit. Thank you for raising us up out of our poverty of evil, sin, and death, and for giving us the dignity and worth of being called your very own adopted children. Grant us the grace to value others with the same grace and worth with which you value us, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. … What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” James 2:1–10, 14–17 NASB
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