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GOD HAS SPOKEN
Sunday Worship Sermon
OCTOBER 4, 2009 - “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.
But in these last days, he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:1-2, NRSV)
Fred Craddock writes, “With a literary artistry unmatched in the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews begins addressing the readers.” Paraphrasing Fred Craddock, “In the original language of Greek these four verses were one sentence called a period. But so rich and full of meaning are these four verses that English translators divided them into four separate statements.”
Why begin the Book of Hebrews this way? To answer this question, we have to look at the people for which Hebrews was written and their situation.
Hebrews was written in about 65 CE, just over thirty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was written to Jewish Christians, people who were once Jews and had become Christians. There community is believed to have been in Palestine or Rome at a time when Christians were being severely persecuted. This persecution tempted some in the community to return to Judaism. The writer of Hebrews is reminding this community that Christianity is superior to the old sacrificial system they came from and that Christianity is the way to salvation.
The writer opens Hebrews with an introductory statement of faith. Listen to the words of verses 1-4 again:
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angles as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (Hebrews 1: 1-4, NIV).
These words from God spoke to early Christians just thirty or so years after Jesus’ time, and they continue to speak to us now. They are a summary of God’s great plan for humankind. This plan is known as “salvation history.”
In verse 1, we learn that in ancient times, the prophets spoke for God. But each prophet, being human, had limitations. Each spoke primarily about only an aspect of God. Amos revealed God’s justice, Isaiah God’s holiness, Hosea his forgiving love.
We’re like that too, aren’t we? Each of us brings only a limited understanding of all that God is. For example, when I study the bible alone I am bound by my limitations, no matter how much I study. But when I do bible study with a group, I am able to understand more because of the group discussion. I learn from others and they learn from me as we practice being the body of Christ.
In verse 2, we learn that there was a point in God’s salvation history when God decided to send his Son to live among humankind. Notice the difference in the beginning words of verse one and verse two: “Long ago God spoke by the prophets” (verse 1) “but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son” (verse 2). With Jesus, God came from eternity and entered into time. He decided he had to in order to save us from ourselves because we were important enough to him to be saved, even though we didn’t deserve it.
Well we can certainly identify with that, can’t we? Taking an honest look at ourselves, we know we could never earn our way into heaven even if it were possible. Each time we sing the hymn we’re left both convicted and reassured: “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound – that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, Was blind but now I see.”
In verse 3 we learn an astonishing thing about Jesus: that he is the “reflection of God’s glory, and the exact imprint of God’s very being.” We also learn that Jesus is a prophet, priest, and king like no others. Unlike the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus reveals not just an aspect of God but all of God. Unlike the priests of the Old Testament, Jesus sacrifices not lambs on the altar but himself on the cross. Unlike the kings of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ reigns not on an earthly throne but seated at God’s right hand, ruling over all of creation.
Just as Jesus Christ overturns the meaning of prophet, priest, and king, Jesus challenges our lives. He meets us where we are then strives to make us what we were created to be: aware of the talents he gave us, sharing those talents to serve others, becoming more and more like him, more and more and more until the day we pass from this earth and enter into his eternal kingdom.
In verse 4, we learn that the Son is greater than anything else in heaven and on earth. It is a smart woman, it is a smart man who knows this and makes Christ Lord of their lives.
This introductory statement of faith, this record of salvation history: the prophets, the coming of the Son, his death and resurrection, Christ reign over all. This was meant to inspire those early Christians to keep the faith even under the toughest of times because the reward in heaven is worth the cost here on earth.
I want to tell you about a woman named Bettye Tucker. She was the person chosen for the NBC News “Making a Difference” segment which aired on Friday evening. Bettye is the night cook from 9 PM to 6 AM at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She is referred to as the resident chaplain because she ministers to people as they wait in line for the food she is preparing for them. One woman said she has watched Bettye make a grilled cheese sandwich and has made hers at home exactly the same but she admits, “It just doesn’t taste as good as Bettye’s.” “Why do you think that is?” the reporter asks Bettye. Bettye responds “because my sandwiches are made with love.”
This is a wonderful example of one that is living out her life working with God as God’s salvation history marches on. Her job title is “night cook” but she’s known by those she serves as a “minister.” No matter what our job title, we too can be ministers within God’s kingdom, reflecting God’s love to others, brightening another’s day and in doing so bringing joy into our own lives. Hebrews challenged its readers to stay with the faith and Hebrews continues to challenge us today.
If you have not yet given your life to Christ do so today. If you have given your life to Christ but have slipped back into a life controlled by sin, rededicate your life to Christ today. God’s salvation plan marches on to the end time. At that time the living and the dead go before Christ and give an account of their lives. God’s greatest desire is that all humankind will be in heaven on that day. From behind the grill at Children’s Hospital, Bettye seems to be on the right track with her life. The living God stands ready to help each of us who desire his eternal reward to get there. But he won’t force us; each of us must make that decision on our own.
Amen.
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