THE PULPIT: god's gracious grip
It was a spectacular autumn day, not too different from today. The air was cool and crisp, in the refreshing sort of way we only experience in the fall-time. A gentle breeze kept the air swirling comfortably, but when it gusted, a small shiver could been seen shooting through a body. The skies were blue, with an occasional cloud surfing through the azure seas of sky. It was just another beautiful fall day.
It was so nice infact, that a father and son decided to go for a walk in the woods. They lived with three women…mom and two older sisters…and Ol’ Red, their part time pet and part time coonhound. Home was a small log cabin on 60 acres of hardwood forest. Actually, it was very much like the valley…only smaller. The land was divided pretty equally by a small stream that over the years had cut a path in the hills, leaving a steep and awesome ravine. In front was the rustic cottage with a small line of smoke wafting from the chimney, a dying out garden where once had grown enough vegetables to last the year, and small pond where they fished when it was cool and swam when it was hot. You couldn’t see the ravine from the house, but it was there, just beyond the wood line. Hidden in the stand of elms and maples and oaks…all brilliantly strutting with their fabulous fall foliage… is the creek that separates the “yard” from the “back 40.”
Father and son set out for the woods. On their way, they stopped and turned out Red. The three men headed for the woods, strolling slowly just enjoying the beauty around them. There is only one place where it’s safe to cross the ravine, and that’s at the far edge of their land. Like the river had carved out the gorge, so had the many generations who had lived here before cut out a trail that ran along the lip of the ledge, and lead to safe crossing. It was a marvel just to gaze out over the deep valley. It was that dangerous kind of beauty that so easily draws your attention away that you quit focusing on the narrow trail. As they walked, the boy spotted an eagle perched high atop a towering elm just on the other side. The boy was captivated, and before anyone knew what had happened, the boy missed his step and let out a blood-cuddling yell as he began to plummet.
On pure adrenaline alone, the father tuned, and in an instant fell flat on his belly, thrust downward his arm, and caught his young son by the hand. The son dangled, just inches from certain death, but holding fast for dear life.
This morning’s text is Hebrews 4:14-16. Would you stand with me for the reading of God’s Word?
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews was written from a leader in the church to a church in very mortal danger. The general consensus seems to be that Hebrews was a sermon preached and then circulated to Christians who had Jewish origin. Times were tough then. The Christians were being persecuted from every side. The civil authorities didn’t like them much, nor did the Jews. There was just no getting away from the persecution they faced.
They were still living in the shadow of the first of the great persecutions by the government. Emperor Claudius had endorsed a great persecution of the church. Things were not about to change either. In the near future, Emperors Nero and Domitian would establish reigns of terror and leave the church with many martyrs. Times were obviously dangerous, but physical danger was only part of the issue they faced. It is likely that there was emotional and mental testing too. “Why do you do this?” “Why do you do that?” “That is so silly?” “That doesn’t make any sense?” And probably, as is usually the case with intense persecution, there was strong temptation, both internally and externally, to abandon the faith. “Hey, why don’t you just come back home?” “Just forget about Christ!” “Is it really worth it?” “Why do we put up with this?” “What difference has Christ really made for us anyway?” It seems clear that the persecution they were experiencing was causing them to doubt and to debate reverting to their old ways.
We have a word for that today don’t we? We call it backsliding. We all know that temptation. We’ve all had times in life where we wonder where God is. We all have times when it seems it would just be easier to let it all go. When things are going well, life is good and faith is strong, but when we find that edge, we can be distracted easily. It is very easy to let our distraction cause us to miss a step and to fall over the edge…straight toward the bottom of the ravine. We hold on, but our arm is so tired. We fight and we fight, but it would be so much easier to just let go. Is it really worth all the pain to hold on? How easy it is for us to see ourselves in the shoes of the Hebrews.
So there they were, father and son. Ol’ Red was standing on the edge too. Sensing danger, he barked as if encouraging the son to not let go and as if telling the father to pull him up quick! The sons arm ached excruciatingly. His palms grew sweaty and his grip faltered. The father, laying face down on the ground, held on tightly and prayed fervently on behalf of his young son…for the safety of his young son…his three-year-old son. But the son could hold on no longer. His cries became wails as his hands finally slipped from the father’s. But he did not fall! Surprised, the three-year-old boy realized his father was holding him. He looked up to see the face of the father reassuring him. “I have you son,” he said. “I will not let you fall.” The wailing ceased. The boy quit struggling. He realized all his fighting was unnecessary because all along it was not he who was holding onto the father, but it was the father who was holding onto him!
We do not have to fall. We do not have to sin. Why not? The writer of Hebrews draws our attention to the sympathy of Christ. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness…” Sympathy is the ability to understand the experience of the other. Many religions believe God cannot be sympathetic because God is completely transcendent. God is way far out somewhere. God is completely separate and distinct from us. Sympathy requires participation in the other’s experience. To sympathize, one must feel what the other is feeling and experience what the other is experiencing. For many, this cannot be true of God. Our faith, however, teaches us of a sympathetic God -- a God, who while he is transcendent (far away), desires to be quite close.
“We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens.” Christ, our great high priest, became a man! God, who many say cannot enter the world of humans, became human in the person of Christ. St. Irenaeus wrote, “He became as we are, in order that we might become as He is.” Jesus, the Son of God, became human. He understands what it is to be human because he became human. He understands the tough times in life because he had tough times in life. He can sympathize with us because he became one of us!
“We have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” Christ, our great high priest was tempted! Tempted? The writer is emphatic. Christ was tempted just as we are tempted. What’s more? Christ never yielded to temptation! The Gospel writers tell us of Christ’s temptations: self-preservation, wealth, power. Christ was tempted in every way, and Christ had victory over temptation. He understands what it is to be tested because he was tested. He understands what it is to be tried because he was tried. He understands what it is to be tempted because he was tempted. He can sympathize with us because he was one of us!
Because Christ is sympathetic, we can hold fast to our faith! Like the young son, however, we must realize that the power to hold fast is not within ourselves. We don’t have the power to hold fast any more than a three-year-old could hold fast while hanging over the edge of a cliff. Neither can we hold fast because of some experience we have had. Neither salvation nor sanctification gives us the ability to hold fast. Saved, sanctified, or all of the above, we cannot hold fast alone, only Christ can hold us fast. The irony of it all is that holding fast really means letting go. “The secret to holding fast our confession is not something finally that we do, but what Christ has done and continues to do.”
It is sheer grace that we have a sympathetic God. We worship a God who listens to us -- not defensively, not critically, not suspiciously. Our God listens compassionately. We worship a God who participates in our experience -- not symbolically, or metaphorically. Our God participates in our experience by Christ’s life and death. God feels what we feel. God experiences what we experience. It is all so that we can hold fast… so that we can let go… and find ourselves held in the grip of a gracious God.
That is good news indeed isn’t it? But there is a bit of a challenge here as well. Being Christian means being like Christ. If Christ was our sympathetic High Priest, then we too should be a kingdom of sympathetic priests to one another and to the world. We must listen to others compassionately. We cannot listen with a defensive spirit. We cannot listen with a critical spirit. We cannot listen with a suspicious spirit. We cannot listen to another with the mindset of a jury, for we are not judges but priests. We must listen to one another with compassion.
We must seek to participate in the experience of the other. We cannot live as some who are “holier than though.” We cannot live segregated from the world around us. We must enter into the world. We must participate in the life and experience of others. We must celebrate with them when they celebrate. We must mourn with them when they mourn. We must laugh with them when they laugh…cry with them when they cry…work with them when they work…play with them when they play. We must seek to participate in the experience of the other. Only in being sympathetic did God provide us the grace to hold fast to faith. Only in being sympathetic can we point others to Christ who gives them the grace to find and hold fast to faith.
To be the church is to be the Body of Christ. Christ was sympathetic, making holding fast possible. If we are less than sympathetic…if we are judgmental, critical, defensive, suspicious, or unforgiving…if we are not compassionate to the experience and reality of others…then we are less than Christian. But we don’t have to be judgmental or critical, defensive or suspicious! In Christ we have been given the power to hold fast to our faith…we have been given the power to let go and be held in God’s gracious grip. To the Glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
It was so nice infact, that a father and son decided to go for a walk in the woods. They lived with three women…mom and two older sisters…and Ol’ Red, their part time pet and part time coonhound. Home was a small log cabin on 60 acres of hardwood forest. Actually, it was very much like the valley…only smaller. The land was divided pretty equally by a small stream that over the years had cut a path in the hills, leaving a steep and awesome ravine. In front was the rustic cottage with a small line of smoke wafting from the chimney, a dying out garden where once had grown enough vegetables to last the year, and small pond where they fished when it was cool and swam when it was hot. You couldn’t see the ravine from the house, but it was there, just beyond the wood line. Hidden in the stand of elms and maples and oaks…all brilliantly strutting with their fabulous fall foliage… is the creek that separates the “yard” from the “back 40.”
Father and son set out for the woods. On their way, they stopped and turned out Red. The three men headed for the woods, strolling slowly just enjoying the beauty around them. There is only one place where it’s safe to cross the ravine, and that’s at the far edge of their land. Like the river had carved out the gorge, so had the many generations who had lived here before cut out a trail that ran along the lip of the ledge, and lead to safe crossing. It was a marvel just to gaze out over the deep valley. It was that dangerous kind of beauty that so easily draws your attention away that you quit focusing on the narrow trail. As they walked, the boy spotted an eagle perched high atop a towering elm just on the other side. The boy was captivated, and before anyone knew what had happened, the boy missed his step and let out a blood-cuddling yell as he began to plummet.
On pure adrenaline alone, the father tuned, and in an instant fell flat on his belly, thrust downward his arm, and caught his young son by the hand. The son dangled, just inches from certain death, but holding fast for dear life.
This morning’s text is Hebrews 4:14-16. Would you stand with me for the reading of God’s Word?
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews was written from a leader in the church to a church in very mortal danger. The general consensus seems to be that Hebrews was a sermon preached and then circulated to Christians who had Jewish origin. Times were tough then. The Christians were being persecuted from every side. The civil authorities didn’t like them much, nor did the Jews. There was just no getting away from the persecution they faced.
They were still living in the shadow of the first of the great persecutions by the government. Emperor Claudius had endorsed a great persecution of the church. Things were not about to change either. In the near future, Emperors Nero and Domitian would establish reigns of terror and leave the church with many martyrs. Times were obviously dangerous, but physical danger was only part of the issue they faced. It is likely that there was emotional and mental testing too. “Why do you do this?” “Why do you do that?” “That is so silly?” “That doesn’t make any sense?” And probably, as is usually the case with intense persecution, there was strong temptation, both internally and externally, to abandon the faith. “Hey, why don’t you just come back home?” “Just forget about Christ!” “Is it really worth it?” “Why do we put up with this?” “What difference has Christ really made for us anyway?” It seems clear that the persecution they were experiencing was causing them to doubt and to debate reverting to their old ways.
We have a word for that today don’t we? We call it backsliding. We all know that temptation. We’ve all had times in life where we wonder where God is. We all have times when it seems it would just be easier to let it all go. When things are going well, life is good and faith is strong, but when we find that edge, we can be distracted easily. It is very easy to let our distraction cause us to miss a step and to fall over the edge…straight toward the bottom of the ravine. We hold on, but our arm is so tired. We fight and we fight, but it would be so much easier to just let go. Is it really worth all the pain to hold on? How easy it is for us to see ourselves in the shoes of the Hebrews.
So there they were, father and son. Ol’ Red was standing on the edge too. Sensing danger, he barked as if encouraging the son to not let go and as if telling the father to pull him up quick! The sons arm ached excruciatingly. His palms grew sweaty and his grip faltered. The father, laying face down on the ground, held on tightly and prayed fervently on behalf of his young son…for the safety of his young son…his three-year-old son. But the son could hold on no longer. His cries became wails as his hands finally slipped from the father’s. But he did not fall! Surprised, the three-year-old boy realized his father was holding him. He looked up to see the face of the father reassuring him. “I have you son,” he said. “I will not let you fall.” The wailing ceased. The boy quit struggling. He realized all his fighting was unnecessary because all along it was not he who was holding onto the father, but it was the father who was holding onto him!
We do not have to fall. We do not have to sin. Why not? The writer of Hebrews draws our attention to the sympathy of Christ. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness…” Sympathy is the ability to understand the experience of the other. Many religions believe God cannot be sympathetic because God is completely transcendent. God is way far out somewhere. God is completely separate and distinct from us. Sympathy requires participation in the other’s experience. To sympathize, one must feel what the other is feeling and experience what the other is experiencing. For many, this cannot be true of God. Our faith, however, teaches us of a sympathetic God -- a God, who while he is transcendent (far away), desires to be quite close.
“We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens.” Christ, our great high priest, became a man! God, who many say cannot enter the world of humans, became human in the person of Christ. St. Irenaeus wrote, “He became as we are, in order that we might become as He is.” Jesus, the Son of God, became human. He understands what it is to be human because he became human. He understands the tough times in life because he had tough times in life. He can sympathize with us because he became one of us!
“We have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” Christ, our great high priest was tempted! Tempted? The writer is emphatic. Christ was tempted just as we are tempted. What’s more? Christ never yielded to temptation! The Gospel writers tell us of Christ’s temptations: self-preservation, wealth, power. Christ was tempted in every way, and Christ had victory over temptation. He understands what it is to be tested because he was tested. He understands what it is to be tried because he was tried. He understands what it is to be tempted because he was tempted. He can sympathize with us because he was one of us!
Because Christ is sympathetic, we can hold fast to our faith! Like the young son, however, we must realize that the power to hold fast is not within ourselves. We don’t have the power to hold fast any more than a three-year-old could hold fast while hanging over the edge of a cliff. Neither can we hold fast because of some experience we have had. Neither salvation nor sanctification gives us the ability to hold fast. Saved, sanctified, or all of the above, we cannot hold fast alone, only Christ can hold us fast. The irony of it all is that holding fast really means letting go. “The secret to holding fast our confession is not something finally that we do, but what Christ has done and continues to do.”
It is sheer grace that we have a sympathetic God. We worship a God who listens to us -- not defensively, not critically, not suspiciously. Our God listens compassionately. We worship a God who participates in our experience -- not symbolically, or metaphorically. Our God participates in our experience by Christ’s life and death. God feels what we feel. God experiences what we experience. It is all so that we can hold fast… so that we can let go… and find ourselves held in the grip of a gracious God.
That is good news indeed isn’t it? But there is a bit of a challenge here as well. Being Christian means being like Christ. If Christ was our sympathetic High Priest, then we too should be a kingdom of sympathetic priests to one another and to the world. We must listen to others compassionately. We cannot listen with a defensive spirit. We cannot listen with a critical spirit. We cannot listen with a suspicious spirit. We cannot listen to another with the mindset of a jury, for we are not judges but priests. We must listen to one another with compassion.
We must seek to participate in the experience of the other. We cannot live as some who are “holier than though.” We cannot live segregated from the world around us. We must enter into the world. We must participate in the life and experience of others. We must celebrate with them when they celebrate. We must mourn with them when they mourn. We must laugh with them when they laugh…cry with them when they cry…work with them when they work…play with them when they play. We must seek to participate in the experience of the other. Only in being sympathetic did God provide us the grace to hold fast to faith. Only in being sympathetic can we point others to Christ who gives them the grace to find and hold fast to faith.
To be the church is to be the Body of Christ. Christ was sympathetic, making holding fast possible. If we are less than sympathetic…if we are judgmental, critical, defensive, suspicious, or unforgiving…if we are not compassionate to the experience and reality of others…then we are less than Christian. But we don’t have to be judgmental or critical, defensive or suspicious! In Christ we have been given the power to hold fast to our faith…we have been given the power to let go and be held in God’s gracious grip. To the Glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
posted by EF + at 10:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home