Tuesday • 2/8/2022
Tuesday of 5 Epiphany, Year Two 

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 78; Genesis 26:1-6,12-33; Hebrews 13:17-25; John 7:53-8:11

For comments on John 7:53–8:11 from 12/9/2020 

This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 13 (“A Song of Praise,” BCP, p. 90); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 18 (“A Song to the Lamb,” Revelation 4:11; 5:9–10, 13, BCP, p. 93)

Closing out Hebrews’ “brief word of exhortation”

We are learning precious truths about: our great God, our great Shepherd, ourselves, our great fellowship, the coherence of the New Testament’s message.

Our great God. “May the God of peace…” Notice who he is: the God of peace — our Father God is himself the source in eternity of a covenant to reunite heaven and earth. He is not the wrathful, vindictive tyrant he is often caricatured to be. He is not an insecure, fickle Zeus who is torqued because Prometheus has brought us fire. Our God’s goal and intent from eternity is our flourishing, and our rising to the full stature of bearing his own divine character (2 Peter 1:4). 

Our great God and Father is the one who sent his Son as Apostle and High Priest to reclaim us for that high calling. Notice what he has done: he raised Jesus from the dead. And notice the careful phrasing of verses 20 and 21: “May the God of peace …make you complete … so that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight.” Our great God works to equip us to do what aligns with who he is, and then he does that very work within us. 

Ourselves. Every one of us feels, I’m certain, the drag of “the sin that clings so closely” (Hebrews 12:1). Some of us have even, perhaps, felt the temptation to adjust the requirements of faith in apostate ways (like the congregation of the Hebrews — see Hebrews 6). But as we’ve just seen, we have something powerful within us: God himself working (as Paul put the same thought) “both the willing and the working” (Philippians 2:13). We have the privilege of cooperating with a most amazing, transformative process: our own makeover. We are created and destined to reclaim our stature as lords and ladies of the universe! Recall the way Hebrews 2:6–8 cites and comments on Psalm 8: “Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere, ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them …  you have crowned them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet.’ … As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus….” We see him, in fact, as Lord in advance of our return to the lordship we lost at the Fall. And now we enjoy the Father’s work in us, by the Spirit of his Son, molding us in that direction—an onboard presence to steer and to guide, as the hymns puts it. Amazing, but true. 

Our great Shepherd. “…our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep…” (Hebrews 13:20b). It is because Jesus has shed his blood for us that we can know we are forgiven. It is because he has been raised from the dead that he can now serve as our Shepherd, guiding us in our living and leading us in our worship. 

Our great fellowship. We have in front of us the example of Jesus. We have above us a great cloud of witnesses. We have the presence of one another around us “stimulating us to love and good works.” 

We have leaders so that we may “stimulate one another” well: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you” (Hebrews 13:17). The NRSV translation of the first sentence in this verse is perhaps a bit misleading (see discussion below). The thrust of the verse is that we trust that our spiritual leaders’ joy lies in helping us flourish. And the Lord will hold them to account for that. Our job is to receive  what serves to help us thrive in our relationship in Christ and with each other.  

Our great tradition. Nobody knows exactly who wrote this magnificent treatise on Jesus as our great High Priest and our need to stay true to him. Because the writer speaks of “exhortation/encouragement” (paraklēsis) in verse 22, because he is attentive to the contours of the priesthood, and because Joseph Barnabas was a Levite who came to be called “Son of Encouragement” (huios paraklēseōs — Acts 4:36), some people think Barnabas wrote the letter to the Hebrews. Some people notice how similar the Alexandrian manner of contrasting earthly things with heavenly things is, and they conclude the highly articulate Alexandrian Apollos wrote it (see Acts 18:24). Still others, sensing strong affinities with Paul’s thinking throughout Hebrews, and noticing that the writer references “our brother Timothy” and seems to be writing from Italy (the place of the last citing of Paul — see 2 Timothy), believe Paul may be the author. 

We just don’t know. What’s wonderful to me is that the overall coherence and congruence of the great teachers and leaders of the New Testament era is such that any of them could have given us this masterpiece from God. They were that much in sync. What a great tradition they have passed on to us!

I pray we can walk confidently in the great fellowship of those who know the God of peace, who has called us to life through his Son the Great Shepherd of the sheep, and who nurtures our life together in the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

Image: Pixabay

*The first verb in this sentence (which the NRSV renders “obey”) is peithesthe, a passive imperative from a verb that in the active voice means “persuade.” In the passive voice, it means “be persuaded by.” The second verb (which the NRSV renders “submit”) is hupakouete, and is normally translated “obey”; but its etymology is revealing. Its parts are hupo, which means “under,” and “akouein,” which means “to hear” — it’s not naked, unthinking submission or blind obedience that is called for, but rather a “coming under the hearing of.” In combination, peithesthe … upakouete mean “listen to your leaders with a readiness to receive what they teach; listen attentively and discerningly.”