Wednesday 14 January 2009

Background

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews is addressing a group ofChristians being persecuted for their faith, and suffering a lossof nerve. At this point they are fearing for their lives and areacutely aware of rampant evil in their world at large - they are inthe hands of their persecutors.

The writer reminds them that Jesus shared in a human life liketheirs, and that he also suffered persecution and indeed death. Youmight say he was completely aware of their fears and the sort ofsituation they were going through, and because of that, his spiritwould be able to strengthen them.

Jesus, however, came though death and was able to destroy the onewho has the power of death - the devil: a cosmic struggle betweengood and evil. In baptism (initiation in Christian living) throughthe Spirit we share in the power of Jesus to overcome evil and thefear of death. We are released from the fear of all that intimatesdeath, deadens the spirit and restricts the promise of fullness oflife (John10:10) in our personal, community and global lives. We areempowered to work with a Christian community to make visible thereign of God with its signs of healing, forgiveness, hope and newlife.

The death and resurrection of Jesus demonstrates God decisivelydealing with the evil in the world. It shows that the coming ofGod's reign cannot be prevented by the shortcomings of human beingsor the forces of evil, even though we sometimes fear this is thecase. God has the final word.

Jesus is the like the high priest (a term only used in Hebrews)offering a sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (at-one-ment) for thegeneral sins of the people. Sacrifice (often of an animal) for thepeople of Israel was a costly, God-given means of restoring a rightrelationship with God. In their eyes, it was a release from thewrath of God.

To Ponder

Are you aware of situations where fear, evil andlack of hope seem to be uppermost and you wonder where God is in itall? Describe your feelings.

Hebrews describes Jesus' decisive triumph overevil like a faithful high priest making atonement for the sins ofthe people. How do you picture the decisive hope that Jesusbrings?

What sort of picture of 'being human' does Jesuspresent us with?