Ordinary Time Week 19

Psalm: Psalm 26 or Psalm 8
Old Testament: Job 1:1, 2:1-10 or Genesis 2:18-24
Gospel: Mark 10:2-16
Epistle: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

We continue Ordinary Time this week, and just as a refresher, "ordinary" does not mean basic or plain, but rather it comes from the Latin word, "ordinal," or counting. Ordinary Time is the weeks that are counted between Pentecost and the last Sunday before Advent. So actually the majority of year is dedicated Ordinary Time. The interesting and difficult thing about how the Lectionary is set up during Ordinary Time is that the four Scripture readings do not revolve around any particular theme. In fact, all four passages have pretty distinct emphases. So this makes it pretty difficult when one is trying to integrate the readings and find connections through the text. The challenge is that we don't want to read things into the text (referred to as eisegesis) and make connections that aren't there. We still want to let each text speak for itself and still try to figure out what the original authors and hearers meant and understood. So, that is the challenge and often this year during Ordinary Time connections just haven't been there. That has led me to many weeks during this Ordinary Time to just discussing one or two passages on their own rather than trying to integrate the readings.

All of that to say, today I am going to focus on the passage from Hebrews. We're going to be in Hebrews for a few weeks in the Lectionary, so I think it would be prudent to get some background information laid down. The main issue with Hebrews is that there is just a dearth of evidence when it comes to the Epistles' setting. No one is sure who the author is or from where it was written or to whom it was sent to. No one is sure of its date, although it would seem to be that it was written before 70 AD when Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans and the Temple was raised. These are all the types of questions that biblical scholars and the discerning reader want to know because they help us to interpret the text and understand what the author was meaning. The interesting thing is that typically most questions and doubts about biblical authorship and context are fairly recent and modern. Not so with Hebrews. The question of authorship goes back at least to the 2nd-3rd century. In fact Eusebius, who was quoting Origen, wrote in the 4th century, "But who wrote the epistle, in truth, God knows." (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.xi.xxv.html) Origen also didn't think Paul wrote it, but he also couldn't fault those in the church who wanted to believe that.

The main argument in the Epistle to the Hebrews is that what God did in and through Jesus Christ is better and supersedes that of the Old Covenant and sacrificial system. And that is exactly where he starts in the opening of the letter. (As an aside here, one of the issues with trying to figure out the background information to the letter is the fact that the author does jump straight into his argument. None of the customary elements are there for an ancient letter.) The author opens the letter by comparing the ways that God had previously spoken, namely through the prophets but also through other means, to the new way in "these last days" when he has spoken to us through his Son.

The Son is the best way to get the message across, as the author will expand on in the next 2 verses. This reminds me of the Parable Jesus tells in Mark 12 about the vineyard and the tenants who kill all the servants and then even the master's son so that they can take control of the vineyard for themselves. Both the master and the servants knew that the son was the ultimate representative of the master.

In the next verses of Hebrews 1, the author delves a little more into why Jesus, the Son of God, is better than the methods that came before. Jesus is the "heir of all things" and the one through whom all things were created. Jesus is "the radiance of [God's] glory," and "the exact representation of His nature." None of these things can be said for any of the prophets, the Law, or the Tabernacle/Temple which came before. Jesus also, when his mission on earth was accomplished, "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." He now occupies a place of honor and power and that no one else can or ever has occupied.

Verse 4 starts an interesting theme that Hebrews returns to on multiple occasions. The text says that Jesus, "is much better than the angels." Scholars are not really sure why the author continual makes this point and keeps returning to the idea that Jesus is superior to the angels. Since we don't know who wrote the epistle, or the audience, it is impossible to know the context in which these arguments were made. Perhaps the author was trying to counteract some form of angel-worship in certain groups of believers. There might also have been a problem with some believing that Jesus himself was just one of the angels. But perhaps more truer to the text, the author may be making the point that Jesus is now the new and better way through which  God is working in the world. Angels were viewed as intermediaries of God's covenant and messages. They were also viewed as powerful, active and even "responsible for the governance of the entire universe, including nations." (NBBC, 78) So while angels do continue to serve their assigned roles, they were present after all on the morning of the Resurrection, Jesus is still superior to and different from the angels.

I encourage you to read through Hebrews if you get the chance. It is definitely one of those texts where you need to understand a lot of background information, in this case the Old Testament, to understand what is going on. But it contains a lot of deep arguments that we now take for granted in terms of our Christology. To me it is amazing that this was written so early in the life of the Church.

Let us remember that Jesus, the Son of God, is above ever power and force in our lives. And remembering that, let us actually let Jesus reign in our lives. It is one thing to believe Jesus is king of creation, it another and much harder thing to let that kingship actually be internalized and have an effect on how we live. Let us be faithful to the lives Christ has called us to.

Grace and Peace.