THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT
March 14, 2004
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel , Jr.
Hebrews 10:19-25
“Formed for God’s Family”
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we bow in your presence. May your Word be our rule, Your Spirit our teacher, and your greater glory our supreme concern, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
As one who played hockey growing up, and who enjoys watching a game now and then, I was appalled by what happened in Vancouver on Monday night. Todd Bertuzzi, the all-star forward of the Vancouver Canucks punched Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche in the side of the head, and as Moore was falling, Bertuzzi grabbed him and shoved his face into the ice. Moore suffered a broken neck, 2 broken vertebra, a concussion, and deep cuts on his face from the attack. It was the ugliest thing that I have seen in a hockey game.
I’m not sure whether it’s ever been determined what is most popular about hockey, the game or the fights, yet we know that there is at least a minority of fans who enjoy the mayhem when the gloves come off and the fists start flying. We also know that there are some folks whose favorite parts of a NASCAR race are the wrecks. Some people will slow down to gawk at a highway accident; hence the term heard in many a traffic report: “rubbernecking.” Third millennium people aren’t so genteel that they can’t handle, or even enjoy, a little gore.
Then there’s the negative reaction to Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, but I mentioned that last week. Still, millions of Americans have stepped up and paid their money to see a bloody movie about a crucifixion. It isn’t a pretty sight, but it is central to our faith. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews is constructed around a theology of the cross. It is important to the writer of Hebrews to convey why the death of Christ is important and how Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for all sin.
The author stresses that the cross is intended to be a visible event, something to be seen and witnessed – a public and provocative display that confronts us with an all-important divine invitation. When we stand at the cross, as we will in three weeks, we are required to make a decision: Are we going to enter the presence of God by the blood of Jesus (10:19) or not?
From our second lesson this morning, we read
vv. 19-21 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,
The "therefore" at the beginning of verse 19 clues us in to the fact that the writer of Hebrews is beginning a summary statement. This summary continues through verse 21. First, all who have accepted Christ’s death on the cross for their sins have confidence before God. Through the cross, Jesus provided a "new and living way" for us. The New Covenant through Jesus Christ is the new way of God. It is a living way because its’ basis is our Living Lord who is the great high priest of God. Jesus Christ, the great high priest over the house of God offered Himself as the final sacrifice for the sins of the world. No more sacrifices need be offered; the ultimate sacrifice has been made.
Considering what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross, the writer of Hebrews gives us three exhortations in the next three verses. First, in verse 22:
v. 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
The cross is as provocative today as it ever was, exciting people to anger, vitriol, grief and confusion. The cross is provocative, no doubt about it, but we cannot avoid it. This agonizing instrument of death is central to the new and living way that God has provided for us. Because of the priestly work of Christ in offering Himself for us, we are exhorted to come into the presence of God "with a true heart." Full assurance is the by-product of complete trust in Christ, and if in all sincerity we know that we belong to Jesus, our hearts have been sprinkled clean with Christ’s own blood. The washing with pure water refers to baptism, the outward sign of the inward cleansing work of God. Because of God’s work in us, we are freed from a guilty conscience.
Exhortation #2 is in verse 23.
v. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful,
"The confession of our hope" pertains to the future work of God for all who put their trust in Him. Hope is described earlier in Hebrews as "an anchor for the soul" (6:9). It looks forward to the time when God fulfills all the promises that He has made to His people. In the meantime, there is one more exhortation for us. In verses 24 and 25, we read
vv. 24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
When I was growing up it was fairly common for adult study groups in the Episcopal Church to read and discuss the works of Keith Miller. Miller has written over a dozen books and he is a popular speaker. In his book, The Passionate People, he talks about "balcony people" and "basement people." Miller explains the work of Sigmund Freud as being focused on "basement people." These are people from our past, like parents, teachers, and others, who we carry with us everywhere we go. They are rooted in our subconscious and they too often drag us down. Basement people are the negative influences in our lives that tell us things like:
"You can’t do that."
"That was a stupid thing to do."
When are you ever going to get it right?"
"Balcony people" are people who are full of love, who encourage us, cheer us one, and give us courage when our own courage is flagging. These folks sit in the balcony of our lives like a heavenly cheering section, telling us things like:
"You can do it."
"Remember how you handled this one before!"
"You can make it!"
"Go for it."
Christ’s people are called to be balcony people to one another. While verses 24 and 25 are the only places in the Epistle to the Hebrews where we find a reference to "one another," these two words are found together in numerous other places throughout the New Testament. In fact, there are 26 other one another statements in the New Testament. In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren tells us that the phrases “one another” or “each other” are used over fifty times in the New Testament (p. 134).
The point is that all of us are given by God a ministry of encouragement and mutual support to others in the church. We are called to be balcony people to one another. This ministry includes meeting together, provoking one another to love and good deeds, and acting as a passionate community of faith. In the church, we belong to each other. Our parish family is one of the most significant arenas where God shows forth His grace. That’s why we call St. Andrew’s a place of grace. God ministers to His people in powerful ways through other Christians. For Day 18 in The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says
Life is meant to be shared. God intends for us to experience life
together. The Bible calls this shared experience fellowship…
Real fellowship is much more than just showing up for services.
It is experiencing life together. It includes unselfish loving,
honest sharing, practical sharing, sacrificial living, sympathetic
comforting, and all the other “one another” commands found in
the New Testament. [PDL, p. 138]
As we act on the one another and each other commands of the New Testament, we build the kind of community that God wants in His Church. This kind of community takes a commitment of time, as Warren points out in our reading for Day 19 of our 40 Days of Purpose. After quoting the final verse of our second lesson, Warren says
We are to develop the habit of meeting together. A habit is
something you have to do with frequency, not occasionally.
You have to spend time with people – a lot of time – to
build deep relationships. This is why fellowship is so
shallow in many churches; we don’t spend enough time
together, and the time we do spend is usually listening to
one person speak. [p. 150]
You can guess who that one person might be! This is why meetings like our Wednesday night Lenten program are so important. They give us a regular time to come together for fellowship and sharing. This kind of activity is essential for our spiritual health. We need the support and encouragement of other Christians on a regular basis to be healthy Christians ourselves. This is why I am in a pastor’s prayer group that meets every other week. This is one of the benefits of our Tuesday morning Bible study and our Wednesday morning Eucharist service that is followed by breakfast. These times together allow us to go deeper with each other in ways that promote genuine Christian fellowship.
So the question this raises is, where are we with our personal commitments to the lives of others in our parish family. Warren identifies four levels of fellowship in the typical church. As I go through the four levels, think about where you are with this parish family. The first level is membership. This happens when we have made the decision that we want to belong. This is the most basic level since it involves simply finding the church family where God wants us to get connected.
Level 2 is friendship. This happens when we deepen our commitment by getting to know others in the church and beginning to share our lives with them. Developing true friendships takes time and the willingness to risk opening up to others that we don’t yet know very well.
Partnership is the third level. This involves doing my part. There are folks who like to treat church like a spiritual spa where they can go to sit and soak. The New Testament is clear that the nature of church is that God gives each of us abilities that we are to use for the benefit of others. Each of us has an important role in the Body of Christ. Each of us has a contribution to make that is vital to the healthy functioning of this parish.
Level four is Kinship. Kinship means having a level of relationship with other Christians that is so deep that you love them like your own family. The word for this level of fellowship in the Bible is the Greek word “koinonia.” It means that our commitment to each other is right up there with our commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ. Pastor Bill Hybels says about the level of fellowship that brings true community,
“…masks come off, conversations get deep, hearts get
vulnerable, lives are shared, accountability is invited,
tenderness flows and people really do become brothers and
sisters.”
That is koinonia. That is the deepest and most pure form of Christian fellowship. That is the kind of fellowship that Jesus was talking about when he said, “Greater love has no one than this – that he is willing to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The deepest level is the commitment to love other Christian believers as Jesus Christ has loved you.
Can you identify the level of fellowship where you are right now? To do so might be the most important thing that you do this Lent. It could be God’s way of gently prodding you to go deeper in His church. True fellowship has the power to transform our lives. It is a deeply significant part of God’s work in us.
The movement of our second reading today is from the cross to the community of service gathered around Christ. By Christ, we are being formed for God’s family. As we journey with Jesus in Lent we are moving ever closer to the foot of the cross. As followers of Christ, our role is to be truly “provoked” by the cross – a word that comes from the Latin provocare, which means “to call forth.” God uses the cross to provoke us, to call us forth, to stimulate us, to arouse our passion. The sacrifice of Christ leads Christ’s followers to the sacrifice of service to others.
Our lesson from Hebrews challenges me to think about the depth of our relationships at St. Andrew’s. I hope that God’s Word challenges you as well.
Where are we right now with each other at St. Andrew’s? Where do we want to be with each other by the end of Lent? By the end of Spring? By the end of this year? These are the kinds of questions that God can use to deepen our relationships with one another and with our Lord.
Ask them. Answer them. Allow the questions to draw you into deeper relationships with others in this parish family.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of Spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
