“Parting words”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, February 5, 2024
Hebrews 13:1-16 (Forward, p. 7) CEV p. 1270
I shall never forget my father’s farewell as I left home to travel east to seminary. He stood ramrod still on our front lawn, grasped my hand firmly and said, in a gruff but clearly emotional John Wayne voice, “Good luck, son!” It was as if I was about to depart for the Battle of the Alamo or the Battle of Midway in the Second World War.
Well, while my father’s parting words, his farewell, was pretty terse in terms of words, today’s farewell from the Letter to the Hebrews is not. It covers quite a bit of ‘territory’, namely a scattering of advice that its author thinks is important to his reader. His admonitions can be groups under several headings:
a) Love for each other: they were to sincerely care for each other, to be truly loving, and not just to people within their own orbit. And they were to be loving in very practical and tangible ways. For instance, travellers were especially vulnerable and so it was important to show hospitality to them. And as for the imprisoned or hurting, they were to visit them and help them, for there was little by way of communal resources for this.
b) Faithfulness in one’s relationships. Set in a world that made light of commitment—and often, of marriage itself, this advice was most pertinent and needful.
c) Contentment: they were not to fall in love with money but to be content with what they had. God is there and will support us no matter what.
d) Steadfast loyalty to the leaders of their church community. They are to take note of their lives and imitate them in their faith. But more than this, they are to remember their leaders’ message, their message about the God who doesn’t change, the God who bestows grace on the undeserving—that is, us, and doesn’t demand that we depend on faddish human laws or regulations like the eating of only certain foods, but only on what Christ Jesus has done for us.
e) Resolve: We should stick with Jesus no matter what, even if it proves to be uncomfortable or unpopular. After all, our ‘eggs aren’t all in this basket’. We are hoping for an eternal city and an eternal destination.
f) Worship: We should continually offer praise to God, and not just with our lips—our words—but also with the way we live. Sharing with others is also a way of worshiping God and praising Him, for it expresses our thanksgiving and appreciation for what He has done for us and given us.
Many people might question whether these words, written for first century Christians, still apply to us today. However, I would suggest that these ‘parting words’ still have a remarkable relevance to present day life. Church members are not always known for the love and respect that they show to each other, or for showing sympathy to the needy within their wider community.
Commitment to each other, to one’s community and to one’s tasks often seem to be waning. Our society promotes discontentment and dissatisfaction, constantly promoting the ideas that ‘we need more and better’, that we aren’t ‘good enough’ just as we are. And, as for leadership, sometimes our people are incredibly fickle in their loyalties, easily changing their allegiances and church membership.
And, as for resolve, I often wonder why so many people have seemingly fallen away from church worship and participation. Is it that their children no longer ‘need’ Sunday school? Or that other priorities, like Sunday sports or other weekend activities, have displaced church? And, of course, where is Christ in this, at least in terms of priorities?
I happen to think that we need to hear, and to heed, these ‘parting words’ from the Letter to the Hebrews just as much now as ever. Amen.
Forward notes: “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (verses 1-2).
“These verses have always summarized for me how we should live out the gospel through kindness, hospitality to strangers, and ministering to those society oppresses.
“When I read this passage from Hebrews, I am reminded of the song my husband and I played at our wedding: ‘Waiting on an Angel’ by Ben Harper. The lyrics echo the Scriptures, calling on us to treat strangers with kindness as we may be entertaining angels without knowing it. Harper also sings the haunting lyric, ‘I don’t wanna go alone.’ We danced to this song on the day we dedicated our lives to each other, but the lyrics apply not only to marriage but also to life in community with others. We vowed to treat each other in the community/ society of our marriage in the same way the gospel instructs us to treat everyone. When we embrace this way of life and love, we need not worry about walking alone.”
Moving Forward: “What songs remind you of Scripture? Share them with us at #ForwardDaybyDay.”