Horizons Bible Study 2017-2018
“Cloud of Witnesses: The Community of Christ in Hebrews”
Lesson 1: Hebrews 1:1-4
A good novel will grab our attention quickly. Beautiful language or quirky characters engage us. The tension of a person stumbling upon a dead body makes us want to discover who has committed the murder.
The Letter to the Hebrews is gripping in quite a different way. The first verses are poetic and soaring, meant to lift up those who struggle to be faithful to Christ. Phrase upon phrase pile up in one long, breathless sentence as if the writer cannot pause because what he has to say is so important. (The English translation uses three sentences.) Like a child spilling out a story, the words tumble one upon the other. We can see this better if we line out the rich descriptions in Hebrews 1:1-4:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son,
whom God appointed heir of all things,
through whom God also created the worlds,
the reflection of God’s glory and
the exact imprint of God’s very being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word.
having made purification for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
having become as much superior to angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Such complex language is challenging to decipher. Yet there can be no missing the point. The Son is the focus of this letter and the significance of the Son is cosmic. Let‘s examine this long, run-on sentence.
The Son is one through whom God speaks. God‘s word has power to create life (Genesis 1). God‘s word brings light into being, heaves up the mountains, fills the skies with swarms of birds and the seas with an array of creatures both as tiny and as delicate as the seahorse and as massive as the whale. In Genesis 12, God‘s word calls a couple (Sarah and Abraham) to leave their homeland and journey to a new place to which God will lead them, promising them descendants as numerous as the stars. God‘s word pours out of the mouths of Jesus‘ friends at Pentecost and God‘s word has power to give new life still. The opening verses of the Gospel of John begin with similar affirmations. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and was God and all things were created through him.“
The word of the Son sustains all things. Though we may not have heard the words often, we know what words uphold us. “I love you“ enlivens us. “It wasn‘t your fault“ lifts a burden of guilt. “I forgive you“ gives us a fresh start. “You are a daughter of God“ gives us identity. “You are God‘s own people“ gives us a community of faith that we desperately need. How I wish that someone had shared the following quote and prayer from Howard Thurman because his words are both freeing and noble: “Do what makes you truly alive because the world needs alive people” and “Keep fresh before me the moments of high resolve.“ What words keep you vitally alive? What words enliven and refresh your joy in God and empower you to Christ-like actions?
The powerful word of the Son sustains all things – all things. Every cloud, the magnetic field that protects the earth from the sun‘s radiation, groves of trees, hives of bees, quarks and atoms are kept alive by the beat of love at the heart of the universe. This affirmation is not like a science with data we can test. We cannot prove that the Son sustains all things, we can only cling to this affirmation, trust in Christ‘s care and live like it is true even in the face of suffering and doubt. Knowing these affirmations in Scripture and calling them to mind can be the words that give us power to make it through another day.
The Son is the reflection of God‘s glory, God‘s character, the exact imprint of God‘s being. Ancient rulers would erect enormous stone likenesses of themselves and have their image replicated on coins as a reminder of their power and often crushing cruelty. In contrast, the Son reveals God‘s very being, full of love, justice and mercy. We see in the Son the true character of God that does not crush humanity, but pursues us with goodness and mercy. In Jesus‘ life, death, resurrection and continuing presence, we experience God‘s love at work, washing away the grime that blocks out God‘s light. In the Son, we encounter the one whose tender compassion brings us to the very throne of God.
Rosalind Banbury is the interim pastor of Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church in Fishersville, Virginia.
