Title: Being Human: Bummer and Blessing!
Text: Hebrews 2:10-18
Thesis: The good news is that where we are, God is at work in our behalf!
Introduction
The Merriam-Webster Word of the year in 2007 is “w00t.” It is a new word that emerges from online gaming and is an acronym for “we owned the other team.” It is a word used online to express joy or triumph. It is a word a fan might use when cheering after a touchdown at a football game. It is the word used by Julie Roberts in Pretty Woman when she cheered the scoring of a goal in a field polo match when she pumped her arm into the
air and shouted, “Woot! Woot! Woot!”
Last year the Word of the Year was “truthiness.” It finds its origins in Stephen Colbert’s, The Colbert Report and refers to concepts or facts one wishes to be true rather than concepts or facts known to be true.” (American Dialect Society, January 2006)
These words catch on and become part of our vocabulary when used by someone of prominence. For example, when President Bush said, “I am the decider, and I decide what is best,” the word “decider” became the new way of speaking of decision making.
I think one of the most interesting words is the Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year, which is locavore. I am currently reading a book titled, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. We know that an omnivore eats both plants and animals. A caranivore is a flesh eater. A herbivore is a plant eating animal. So what is a locavore?
The effects and threats of mad cow disease, e-coli, fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides as well as the high cost and time involved in shipping food from region to region, country to country, and sometimes continent to continent has generated a movement that encourages consumers to buy from local farmers’ markets or pick food that is grown locally. Hence, we now have “locavores” who look for food produced locally.
Our words today are bummer and blessing:
• Bummer is actually a word and is used in reference to an unpleasant experience. When you say, “Oh, bummer!” You mean, this is really a downer or a negative.
• Blessing refers to God’s care or favor. A blessing is a benefit or a good thing.
So being human has its downsides, which we refer to as bummers. And being human also has its upsides or blessings. We are going to look at the bummers and blessings that emerge from out text today.
The first bummer in being human is that we are lost or separated from God. But we are blessed in that through Christ we are found and returned in relationship to God.
1. He brings us or leads the way for us into our salvation
It was only fitting that God who made everything and for whom everything was made, should bring his many children into glory. Through the suffering of Jesus, God made him a perfect leader (author, pioneer, captain), one fit to bring them / us to their salvation. Hebrews 2:10
At first reading, it seems there was a problem. God wanted to bring his many children into glory but they did not know the way or were incapable of finding their own way.
We, as humans, are described in scripture as lost. In Isaiah 53:6 states, “All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s path to follow our own.” In Luke 15, we are likened to a lost sheep, or a lost coin, or a lost son. In Romans 2:19, people are described as “lost in darkness and without God.”
We are also said to be in darkness. Before we became followers of Jesus Christ, we are said to have been in “darkness, but now we are in the light.” Ephesians 5:8 We are said to have been “brought out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
So we have it... we are lost and in the dark. We cannot see the way nor find the way out of our lostness or our darkness.
In describing Jesus, the writer to the Hebrews used a word that may be translated in many ways: as the leader, author, pioneer, captain, founder, or originator are among them. Commentator William Barclay describes this kind of person as one “who begins a family that someday others may be born into it; he founds a city in order that others may live in it; he founds a school so that others may follow and discover the truth he has discovered… he is a trailblazer who blazes a trail in order that others may follow.” William Barclay, The Letter to the Hebrews, 2:10-18, P. 26)
In 1805 President Thomas Jefferson organized a secret mission, we now refer to as The Lewis and Clark Expedition, to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean. On December 15, 1805 the expedition reached the Pacific but they had not discovered a practicable or navigable passage across the continent of North America.
In 1810, John Jacob Astor, hoping to establish a fur trading business at the mouth of the Columbia River sent two parties to find the best way to the Pacific. One went by ship around Cape Horn and the other went overland. Both arrived but the ship was burned by Native Americans and the overland party lost most of their supplies. So, they sent a man named Robert Stuart with a party of men, back to St. Louis to get help. Along the way, he inadvertently discovered the South Pass over the Continental Divide in southwest Wyoming, which became the trail rutted by the wagon wheels of immigrants traveling the Oregon Trail. Robert Stuart was the first man through, so to speak, charting the way so others could follow.
(The Oregon Trail, Discovers and Explorers, http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Discoverers.html#Astoriananchor)
Jesus Christ is the trailblazer who leads the expedition so that we too may arrive at our destination. The writer wrote that Jesus was the “perfect leader; the one fit to bring us into our salvation.”
Interestingly, the way out of our lostness and darkness is through the way of suffering. “Through the suffering of Jesus, God made him a perfect leader, one fit to bring us to our salvation.”
A second bummer in being human is that we are born with a sinful nature. The blessing is that through Christ we are reborn with a new nature.
2. He makes us his siblings with Jesus and children of God 2:11-13
So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them / us his brothers and sisters… Hebrews 2:11-13
Sometimes members of our families are an embarrassment to us. We love them… but we are reluctant to claim them.
In 1978 The Little House on the Prairie Series ran an episode titled, The Man Inside.
The Blevins family had moved to Winoka, Minnesota where Mr. Blevins, who was very obese, was employed as the handyman for the School for the Blind. The blind children loved Mr. Blevins because he was kind and caring but he was ridiculed by the townspeople. So, his daughter kept her identity secret from everyone in town because she was embarrassed by her fathers appearance and ashamed to be known as the handyman’s daughter.
There are many ways we may be embarrassed by our relatives. We may be embarrassed by appearance… tattoos, piercings, hair, or the lack thereof. We may be embarrassed by a relative’s profession or poverty. We may be embarrassed by where or how a relative lives. We may be embarrassed by a relative’s reputation. We may be embarrassed by a relative’s political views, behavior, idiosyncrasies, or addictions.
The inference in our text is that at some point, Jesus could well have been embarrassed to call us his brothers and sisters. But, now that we have been forgiven our sins and are recognized as God’s children, Christ is not ashamed to admit that we are relatives.
There is the sense that all people are generically, children of God. All people are God’s creatures. However, the bible teaches that:
• Once we were dead, doomed forever because of our many sins. We were born with an evil nature and we were under God’s anger just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life through Christ. Ephesians 2:1-5
There is a time when we are not recognizable as God’s children. We are rebellious and alienated form the household of God, so to speak. But God did something about our alienation from the family of God.
• John wrote, “all who believe in Christ and accept him are given the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan – this rebirth comes from God.” John 1:12-13
• This is what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus in John 3, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3
Jesus went on to explain what he meant by saying, “Humans can only reproduce human life. But the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don’t be surprised by my statement that you must be born again.” John 3:7 This new birth business is not about being physically reborn, it is about the mysterious rebirth of the human nature from being doomed to being bound for glory. So now, we have a special kinship with God.
• Once it was not so but because God made us his children through adoption, we are members of his family and we may call him, “Father.”
• And the Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15
Paul adds to that thought in Ephesians 2:19 where he states,
• We are no longer strangers and foreigners, but citizens along with all of God’s holy people. We are members of God’s family.
In the First Epistle of John, John captures the wonder of this mystery saying,
• See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! I John 3:1
Another bummer related to our being human is the fear of death. But the blessing of being in Christ frees us from that fear.
3. He delivers us from the fear of death 2:14-15
Because God’s children are human / flesh and blood, Jesus was made like us in every way... For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Hebrews 2:14-15
Fear is a bummer… there is a phobia associated with just about everything. If you are curious you can access the phobia list web site where a phobia hobbyist has identified and categorized 530 phobias. If you like, you can purchase an attractive phobia list poster, suitable for framing in your family room as a conversation piece, for only $12. (http://phobialist.com)
Humorist Dave Barry says, “All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears… falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club, and (especially pertinent for this time of year) of the words, “Some Assembly Required.’” (http://phobialist.com/fears.html)
Thanatophobia is the fear of dying. The fear of dying is different than the fear of death or dead things, which is necrophobia. Thanatophobia is the fear of dying or death anxiety.
I have been a follower of Christ for many, many years and other than having some concern about the way I might die, death seems to me to be more of a friend than an enemy. I know that death can be tragic and untimely. I know the gut wrenching grief of the loss of a loved one is not something that we welcome. However, experience has told me that there are things worse than death. And, if our hope of eternal life is true… if in Christ there is victory over death, then we die with hope.
But not everyone can welcome death, even as a relief from suffering, because they either know what lies before them or fear what they do not know. Francis Bacon said, “Men fear death as children fear to go into the dark.” (http://phobialist.com/fears.html) Some people have good reason to fear death.
The bible teaches that:
• There is behavior that places you in danger of “the fires of hell.” Matthew 5:22
• Hell is a place of “unquenchable fire.” Matthew 18:8
• Some will be sent, “into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons… and they will go away into eternal punishment.” Matthew 25:41 and 45
• There is a place described as, “the lake of fire. Andy anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life is thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15
But, the blessing is this:
• God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life! John 3:16
Another bummer in being human is the reality of facing the consequences for our behavior and sin. The blessing is, Jesus acted as our substitute… he stood in for us as our substitute and faced the consequences for us.
4. He offers a substitute sacrifice to take away our sins 2:16-17
Therefore it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful high priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would make atonement for or take away the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:16-17
Under the Old Testament sacrificial system, the priest’s job was to stand between the people and God, offering sacrifices for the sins of the people. There was no end to it… people sinned and priests offered sacrifices.
Jesus is the kind of priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He does not need to offer sacrifices every day like other priests. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he sacrificed himself on the cross. Therefore he is able, once and forever to save everyone who comes to God through him. Hebrews 7:25-27
A couple of years ago Alka Seltzer recycled a classic commercial originally aired in 1972. In the remake, Peter Boyle is sitting on the edge of the bed, deadpanning misery saying, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” His Everybody Loves Raymond wife, Doris Roberts, is trying to sleep… she is minimally sympathetic but she finally turns over and whacks him on the shoulder and says, “Take your Alka Seltzer!” The ad man pipes in at that point and says, “People overdo it. That’s why people have been reaching for Alka Seltzer for over 75 y ears.”
When we have overdone it with sin, Jesus comes and brings total and complete relief from the consequences of our sinfulness.
This week our grandchildren enjoyed playing in the newly fallen snow. They slid down the hill. They build snow forts. They made snow balls and waited for me to come out the front door… sometimes snow balls are light and fluffy and explode on impact. But, sometimes snow balls are well packed missiles that explode whatever they hit, be it a window or a grandpa.
One of my favorite passages of scripture is one that packs the work of Christ into a powerful missile of truth. It goes like this:
• Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once all. He died for all the sins of all mankind for all time. He never sinned but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God. I Peter 3:18
The last bummer related to our being human is that we are weak… being human means we struggle with the trials and testings of life. The Psalmist reflected on our weakness by suggesting that weakness is what befits us because, after all, we are just “dust” people. Psalm 103:14 The blessing is, Christ supports us in our weakness.
5. He supports us in our weakness 2:18
Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are suffering and tempted. Hebrews 2:18
The writer makes a very specific claim in the text. He says that Jesus Christ has been “put to the proof” through suffering, afflictions, and temptations to see if his character would stand the test. And because his character has been tested through personal experience, “he is now qualified to sympathize with us.” (Albert Barnes, Barnes Notes on the New Testament, Hebrews 2:18, P. 75-76)
Empathy is a good thing. Unless you have had the experience of another person, the best you can do is empathize with them. If you have not lost a spouse or a child, at best you can try to put yourself in their place, you can be aware of their sadness and be sensitive and caring. But, you cannot sympathize because you have never experienced what the other has experienced or felt what the other has felt. You cannot hold a grieving widow in your arms and say, “I know just how you feel, my gold fish just died too.”
William Barclay wrote, “A person without a trace of nerves has no conception of the tortures of nervousness. The person who is physically fit has no conception of the weariness of the person who is easily tired or the pain of the person who is never free of pain. A person who learns easily cannot understand why someone who is slow finds things so difficult. A person who has never sorrowed cannot understand the pain at the heart of the person into whose life grief has come. A person who has never loved cannot understand either the sudden glory or the aching loneliness of the lover’s heart. However, Jesus has met our sorrows and faced out temptations.” (William Barclay, The Letter to the Hebrews, P. 27-28)
When I was twenty-two years old, I began leading a bible study for inmates at Stillwater State Prison in Stillwater, Minnesota. One night a week I drove up to Stillwater and went through a series of security gates and was ushered into a large glassed-in room, within a larger room. I worked hard to prepare good bible studies and lead stimulating discussions. The men were very warm and always welcomed me graciously… but I was out of my element. How could I know what it is like to be a forty-six year old man sentenced to life for murder. How could I possibly know what it is like to be a twenty-six year old man whose wife has not answered his letters or visited him for months… who has no idea where his children are or who is watching over them? How could I possibly sympathize with men who could sit together as brothers in Christ in a glass room but the minute they left the room, had to blend back into a segregated prison population for the sake of survival? I could empathize but I could not sympathize.
Jesus is able to sympathize with us because the genius of the incarnation is that Christ became one-of-us in every way. The theological term used to describe the mystery of Christ is called the hypostatic union. By that we mean, Jesus was both fully God and fully man. He was God but he was also man and fully subject to the trials and testing common to human kind. That is why Jesus can say,
• Come to me, all of you w ho are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
And that is why when we have failed miserably in the face of temptation we can turn to Christ because,
• Our High Priest understands our weaknesses, for he faced the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find help grace to help us when we need it. Hebrews 4:15-16
Conclusion
Our lives are defined as bummed or blessed. We are bummed and living a bummer life if we are living outside of Gods blessing:
• Without God’s gift of salvation… still unforgiven, because you have not accepted Christ’s death as your death and Christ’s life as your life.
• Unable to call yourself a child of God’s.
• Afraid of dying
• Trying to go it alone in weakness without the help of Christ in the trials and testings of life.
Or, we are living blessed lives because we are living in the blessing of God.
• Forgiven from the guilt and penalty of our sin
• Called a child of God
• Hopeful in the face of death
• Strong in the strength of Christ
An expression that has become popular over the years is the term, “no-brainer.” A no-brainer is some thing that requires little mental effort or intelligence to perform, or understanding. A no-brainer is a straightforward, easy decision.
If you do not want to receive telemarketing phone calls, then signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry is a no-brainer. If you are weary of living outside of the blessing of God, then receiving the blessings that accompany a life committed to Christ is a no-brainer. So, what is it going to be? Bummer? Or blessing?
In closing I want to do three things:
1. I want to affirm your life of blessing, if that has been your choice.
2. I want to cause you to question living outside of the blessing of God, if that has been where you are.
3. I want to convince you to receive the life of blessing God offers Christ, if that is where you would like to be.
