Thursday 30 December 2021

Psalm  117

Background

The writer of the Hebrews is using the Bible in a way that we may find odd, the chosen section of the passage is from the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. Because the writer of the letter to the Hebrews believed that Isaiah was speaking of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews put those words into the mouth of Jesus, making them words, he believed, Jesus would say. We may not use the Bible in such a way today, but we need to be aware that is how it is being used – these are not words of Jesus as we see in the gospels, they are prophetic words spoken by Isaiah that the writer of the Hebrews believes to be fulfilled in Jesus and therefore they can be used as if they were Jesus' words.

 This passage reminds us that the Christmas narrative is not simply an interesting story, a quaint historical footnote. The coming of Jesus into the world at Christmas carries a purpose and that purpose is to point us to God’s desire to bring redemption and forgiveness into the world.

For the writer of the letter to the Hebrews the incarnation, where we believe God became human, is an essential part of the Christian spiritual experience. Because Jesus was fully human, he was able to experience suffering and this suffering leads to our being forgiven by God in one sense, but also allows Jesus to be in solidarity with those who are being tested and feel themselves to suffering, so we never need to believe ourselves to be alone and isolated.

To Ponder:

• Reading this verse from Hebrews, it could seem that only a few – the ones given to Jesus – are saved. Does this reflect human freedom to choose, or God limiting the numbers of those whom he calls?
•  In what ways can we say suffering is redemptive? Does this mean we can leave people in suffering because it may be a good thing?