“It’s a wrap!”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, November 14, 2021
Hebrews 10:11-25 (Forward, p. 16) CEV p. 1166
That is the way that one commentator recently summed up the concluding communique of the Glasgow climate summit. The majority of the world’s nations have agreed upon a shaky, somewhat fragile, and according to some, rather inadequate agreement about stemming global warming. All of that is merely on paper; it now needs to be fleshed out and given practical application. It is time to put words into action.
But far more completed than this climate accord is Jesus’ work on the Cross. He has not only done away with the need for the daily Temple sacrifices, but has offered, in Himself, a full, complete and sufficient sacrifice and oblation (to quote the old Prayer Book) for the sins of the whole world. Where the old sacrifices could not fully atone for or expiate for our sins, Jesus’ total and one-time sacrifice of Himself fully fit the bill. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten for all time, and a new covenant, in His blood, is now written in our hearts. It’s a wrap.
But, as fully as it is ‘a wrap’ in terms of what Jesus has done, there is still, as with the Glasgow climate account, work to be done on our part. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews suggests three things:
a) We must have courage and know that we now have a living and new way to draw near to God through the blood of Jesus. And we must remember that it is this new way that leads us to life. So we must maintain our faith in what He has done and come near to God with pure hearts and a robust confidence in His completed work.
b) We must respond appropriately to what He has done by keeping our hearts pure and our consciences free from sin, holding fast to the hope that is ours through Him, and fully trusting in Him who has paved the way for us and inaugurated us into this new agreement in His blood.
c) And finally, we should continue meeting together in order to encourage each other, not only in the faith itself, but also to doing good works and being thoughtful and helpful to others.
To me, it is something like a Christmas or birthday present. While still in its wrapping paper, it is great, and greater still, when fully unwrapped and taken out of its package. But, if it is like many presents, all of that means very little if it is not put to use. If it has an intended usefulness, it is rather a waste to just have it sitting there doing nothing.
Jesus’ atonement, His death on the Cross and His resurrection, is a bit like that. It is indeed ‘a wrap’, in that it is total and complete. But then it isn’t meant just to sit there and be admired and appreciated. It is to be put to work, applied, put into action, in our lives and the lives of others. It is only then that this application of ‘it’s a wrap’ really makes sense. Amen.
Forward notes: “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds” (verse 24).
“In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning.’ His words still ring true today.
“In my early twenties, I went to live in an Episcopal intentional community in Washington, D.C. There, I experienced a multicultural community and learned more about the legacy of Martin Luther King. I worked for a non-profit that helped house low-to-moderate-income families in the inner city. The team I worked alongside was made up of Black and White folks and led by a pastor who could preach a fiery sermon on Sundays, parlay with the city bureaucrats the next, and get his hands dirty with the work in between. I learned greatly and deeply from this time. When I left home at the start of the program, I was way out of my comfort zone; through that year, I was provoked by others to ‘love and good deeds.’
Moving Forward: “Have you been provoked to love and good deeds? Did you answer the call? Why or why not? It’s not too late.
