Pastor's Weekly Word

 

On Sunday we read selected verses from the beginning of the letter to the Hebrews, which is actually a sermon originally preached to a group of second generation Christians during the infancy of the church. It starts off with audaciously grand descriptions of a Christ who seems beyond our reach. “In these last days God has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds and is the reflection of God’s glory, the exact imprint of God’s very being.” In just a few phrases, the preacher captures our feeling of a far off, inaccessible, out of reach kind of God. Do you feel like that today?

 

We can find ourselves in that place in life, looking out at a world we don’t understand anymore and wondering if there is a God at all. And if there is a God, we think, where is he? We can find ourselves in the place that the preacher of Hebrews seems to paint for us, a far off God who speaks to us through a Son who seems no different. But then, just when we are about to put the book down, utterly convinced that God is completely beyond reaching, in walks a line in chapter 2 that changes all of it. “As it is, we do not yet see everything, but we do see Jesus.” With just a few powerful words, the whole thing is turned on its head.

 

We live in a world that often seems too far gone, a world so divided and toxic that any shred of decency withers away the second a word is spoken by anyone, and we struggle to see God in it. God seems so far away that we find ourselves wondering if there is any hope to be found at all. At first, the Hebrews preacher seems to agree with us. But then, then the reminder: we do see Jesus. The one who seemed far off and otherworldly became flesh and blood. This is a God who is not unreachable but is up close and personal. This is a God we can see and feel and hear and touch. This is a God who is as close as the person standing right next to us, a God who pulls us close like family and makes us whole. Four simple words remind us of that. We do see Jesus. May these words sink into your heart today and give you hope.