Sunday,
October 30-November 5 (B) – Hebrews 9:11-14
Focus:
Making Things
Right
word
of life
“…
how much more will the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the
living God!”
Hebrews
9:14 (NRSV)
Read
Hebrews 9:11-14
Our
reading continues the theme of Jesus as the great high priest. The
verses for today make reference to the most significant and important
responsibility of the high priest. On the Day of Atonement (Yom
Kippur) the high priest offered blood sacrifices for his sins and the
sins of his people. (The detailed ritual is found in Leviticus 16.)
No work was to be done that day. Fasting and penance were observed.
The high priest was to enter the temple and offer a bull (without
blemish) as a sacrifice for his sins and the sins of his
house/lineage. Then, he was to take the blood of the bull and the
blood of a goat (also without blemish) and go behind a veil to enter
the Holy of Holies. (This was the only time during the year the Holy
of Holies was entered.) The blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat as
a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Another live goat was then
presented, and the priest was to lay both hands on the goat and
transfer all the sins and faults of the people. This goat – the
scapegoat – was then caste off into the desert, carrying with it
all the people’s sins.
- What was the purpose of animal sacrifice in the Jewish faith?
- How do we understand sacrifice in the Christian faith?
The
author of Hebrews obviously knew the ritual well and used the theme
of the blood of the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement to articulate
and interpret the sacrifice of Jesus. The sacrifice of Christ –
the shedding of his blood – reconciled us to God and restored or
atoned the relationship between God and sinful humanity
(at-one-ment). Christ as the great high priest entered “…once
for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves,
but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”
(Hebrews 9:12 NRSV) Once again, the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient
for all time. It does not need to be offered again and again.
This
theme echoes the Gospel of Matthew’s account of the Last Supper.
After blessing and distributing the bread, Jesus took a cup of wine,
blessed it, and gave it to his disciples saying, “Drink from it,
all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28 NRSV)
The old covenant of the Day of Atonement, with the blood of animal
sacrifices, is replaced by a new covenant, sealed by the blood of
Jesus.
- How would you define “atonement”?
- How is Holy Communion related to atonement?
This
section concludes by comparing the sacrifice of animals with the
sacrifice of Jesus. If the blood of animals sanctify and reconcile
God’s people defiled by sin, “… how much more will the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the
living God!” (Hebrews 9:14 NRSV) In Christ, the great high priest
becomes the pure, unblemished sacrifice which restores us to God.
- What does it mean to you for Christ to have been sacrificed?
- How does the sacrifice of Christ change your life?
word
among us
The
Christian faith is one of great paradox. Those who are last will be
first; the lowly will be lifted up, and mighty will be caste down;
strength is found in weakness; death brings life. A cross becomes a
crown.
- Can you think of other paradoxes in the Bible?
- Are the paradoxes of the Christian faith comforting or unsettling? Why?
The
reading from Hebrews describes yet another paradox of the faith.
Jesus, the great high priest, pure and sinless, offers a holy
sacrifice, not of animals as an earthly high priest. No, Jesus’
sacrifice is of himself. Through his suffering, death, obedience to
God, and resurrection, Jesus bridges the chasm between God and
humanity. He pours out his life-blood for all. The priest becomes
the perfect sacrifice, putting us in a right relationship with God.
- What does it mean to have a right relationship with God?
Sometimes, when a relationship
has been strained, one of the parties will say, “I want to make
things right.” It is an acknowledgement that something is broken
and needs to be repaired. It is an expression of commitment to the
relationship. It reflects a desire for reconciliation. Through his
sacrificial obedience and his suffering and death, Jesus says in word
and deed, “I want to make things right. This
is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins.” The words from Hebrews express it well: “…
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience
from dead works to worship the living God.”
(Hebrews 9:14 NRSV)
- Give other examples when someone has said, “I want to make things right.”
- What impact did this expressed desire have on the situation or the relationship?
- Take a moment to silently reflect if there are some relationships you need to make right.
faith
practice in daily
life
Hear
God’s Word and share in the Lord’s Supper
We
gather weekly to celebrate a new covenant – one sealed by Jesus.
We not only hear the words of the covenant; we experience it as we
gather around bread and wine. Our relationship with God is restored
through the sacrificial gift we receive in Holy Communion.
As
we celebrate this reconciliation, we proclaim the paradox of the
faith: “Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set
us free to be people of God. This is the feast of victory for our
God, for the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign.” (Evangelical
Lutheran Worship, p.
140) The Lamb who was sacrificed is the risen Lord of all
creation, and we know the freedom of forgiveness.
- Think through the liturgy in your worship service. Are there other instances of paradox? Are there other expressions of Jesus’ sacrifice?
Prayer
O
Jesus, you were willing to die on the cross to make things right. We
praise you for your sacrifice for us.
Amen
last
word
Take
the initiative to make things right
with
someone in your life
used with permission
Daily
Faith Practices
Written
by John and Robin McCullough-Bade
Copyright
© 2012 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
May
be reproduced for local, non-sale use provided the above copyright
notice is included.
www,ekca,org/dailyfaithpractices
Words like atonement don't usually pop up in daily conversation at work or when we are out with friends. Without looking it up, what does the word mean to you?
ReplyDeleteIn modern language we talk about sacrificing our family time for our career or sacrificing our career for our family or even sacrificing our bodies for a physically demanding career. Is it reasonable to equate this idea of sacrifice with the idea of sacrifice put forth by the author of Hebrews?
ReplyDeleteMy thought of the animal sacrifices as depicted in the Bible are that they had to occur. They seem to be the prequel of the ultimate sacrifice. If the Hebrews didn't offer up animals to atone for their sins, would the world had understood what Christ's sacrifice meant? It just seems to me that the idea of offering a sacrifice for sin had to be started before anyone could possibly understand the enormous debt that was paid when Jesus died on the cross. I think so many times we don't consider the horror, the pain, the humiliation, and the love of that one event. That, in my mind, maybe one of the greatest paradoxes of the Bible.
ReplyDelete