Someone, Somewhere

Hebrews 2:1-10
I am always amused by this particular passage in our reading from Hebrews today. “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, or mortals, that you care for them?’” (Hebrews 2:5-6). Frankly it sounds like something I would say, especially if I was feeling too lazy to confirm that as a quote from Psalm 8:4. Recently in a sermon I mistakenly referred to Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” as “The Road Less Traveled.” I was sure I had the right title, so sure that I didn’t take the 30 seconds necessary to verify it on Google. Fortunately, the English teachers in my congregation were gentle in their comments.

The writer of Hebrews did not have the luxury of Google, of course, and may not have been sure of the exact source. But no matter! The verse quoted is apt and to the point, which I think helps to highlight an important aspect of scripture’s power. Scripture does not gain its authority from our mastery of it. This is God’s word; it comes to us with its authority already in tact, its relevance already assured. This is why we wrestle with and allow ourselves to be engaged by passages like those from Hebrews and the book of Psalms, because it is there that we find God’s word for us and for the world. A too-easy comfort with such verses, to me, indicates an unwillingness to be fully impacted by what God is saying. Scripture is hard work, it is long study, it is on-going conversations, it is prayer and reflection, it is honest disagreement and an open examination of preconceived notions. It stands up to and rewards our toughest questions with resilience and strength.

The writer of Hebrews had a message for God’s people. So did the psalmist. But the power of their words comes from God’s Spirit working in and through them. A breezy familiarity with scripture keeps us from appreciating the wondrous power at work there. To me it is far more important to honestly wrestle with words of scripture than to pass by them quickly or with blasé familiarity.

Prayer: Lord, give us ears to hear your word even as we wrestle with its meaning for our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Look Up From Your Books

John 5:30-47

Today's gospel reading contains a warning for all of us who take scripture seriously and who trust it to guide us in our lives of faith. "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life," Jesus says, "and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:39-40).

A few years ago I was asked if I believed in the Bible. After some thought I admitted that no, I did not believe in the Bible. "I believe the Bible," I said, "but I believe in God as he is made known through Jesus Christ." In other words, my faith is in that which the Bible itself points toward which is the love and mercy of God. Am I splitting hairs? I don't think so. I think the distinction is clear, especially the way Jesus describes it in John. If we are not careful we may find ourselves so intent on searching scripture - one form of God's Word - that we overlook the real presence of God in Jesus Christ - the Word of God incarnate.

I would contend that many contemporary communities of faith have become so fixated on what they are reading in scripture that they have failed to notice what God is actually doing all around them, touching lives, making men and women whole, anointing with the Spirit of hope and peace. I do not in any way discount the role of scripture as a witness to the saving grace of God, but I do believe it is worth looking up from our texts now and again - our reading about God's work - in order to see what it is that God is actually doing all around us. God may very well surprise us with the life we seek.

Prayer: Lord God, lead us beyond our own feeble efforts to explain or account for you so that we may come to know you as you would be known. In Jesus' name. Amen.