Sacrifices Pleasing to God—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 12C/Proper 17 (Hebrews 13)

 


Hebrews 13:1-16 New Revised Standard Version UpdatedEdition

13 Let mutual affection continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper;
    I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefited those who observe them. 10 We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. 13 Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.  

15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

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                We began our four-week tour of the Book of Hebrews in chapter 11, which defines faith as the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” According to the message of that passage, our spiritual ancestors gained divine approval due to their faith (Heb. 11:1-2). In that passage, we were reminded of Abraham’s faithfulness. As we moved forward, we encountered other heroes of the faith, including Jesus, the “pioneer and perfector of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).  We also heard that Jesus mediated a new covenant through the shedding of his blood, which is better than the blood shed by Abel. This saves us (Heb. 12:18-24). Now we come to the concluding chapter of the book, which provides a set of admonitions, that encourages the reader to do what is right and pleasing to God.

                It is always good to remember that the authorship and the dating of Hebrews are unknown. Once upon a time, it was attributed to Paul, but it doesn’t sound anything like Paul. Whoever is the author, in the farewell statement, we read that greetings are sent from Italy (Heb. 13:24). One thing is certain, and that is the author, whomever she (Priscilla is a suggested possibility) or he is, they make use of Jewish Temple/Tabernacle traditions, including the sacrificial system. That system is spoken of in the present tense, which can be taken to mean that it was written before 70 CE. That’s not proof of a date, but it suggests the possibility that it is a rather early text. One of the key messages of Hebrews is that Jesus is the great high priest whose offering of himself serves as the final and ultimate sacrifice, which is pleasing to God. In previous reflections, I’ve noted that Hebrews can and often is read in a supersessionist manner, such that it is assumed that Judaism is superseded and obsolete. That has led to anti-Jewish sentiment and actions down through history.

                I want to address briefly the middle section of the chapter, which I’ve italicized. These verses have been omitted by the creators of the Revised Common Lectionary. This section warns against those who offer strange teachings and offerings of animals, whereas Jesus has suffered on behalf of the people, sanctifying the people through his blood. Therefore, let us follow him outside the city and share in his suffering. While we need not encourage suffering, for the readers, this served as a reminder that even as Jesus suffered, those who follow him might suffer as a result. Finally, there is the promise of the city to come, that is the heavenly city we encountered previously. 

                With this sidebar, taking note of the omitted section, which provides the foundation for what we read in verses 15-16, we return to the top of the reading in verses 1-8. As noted above, chapter 13 brings things to a close by offering a series of admonitions or moral imperatives, beginning with a call for “mutual love to continue.” That love is expressed first and foremost through hospitality, which the reader is admonished to offer to strangers. That is because, as Abram and Sarai discovered, they may be “entertaining angels without knowing it.” The first word, “mutual love” is philadelphia, which speaks of love among siblings. It is paired with the word philoxenia or “love of strangers” which is translated here as showing hospitality to strangers. Luke Timothy Johnson writes of hospitality, which is defined as “making place for strangers in one’s own place— is at once one of the simplest and most transparent, yet also most complex and culturally embedded, of human interactions. Making room for another is a form of sharing possessions. It also demands the sort of “stretching” and “suffering” that characterizes obedient faith.” [Johnson, Hebrews (The New Testament Library) (p. 585). Kindle Edition]. As for the angels, we might think in terms of that encounter with the three angels by Abram and Sarai, which has served, especially in the Eastern churches, as a symbol of the Trinity (Gen. 18:1-5). Of course, there are other angelic visitations in Scripture that the author could have in mind. Nevertheless, offer hospitality to strangers because you never know who is knocking at your door.

                If love expressed through hospitality, whether to strangers or not, is the first admonition. The second speaks of remembering those in prison as if we are with them. Not only imprisonment but torture as well. We might think here of Jesus’ word about visiting him in prison as one of the criteria of judgment in Matthew 25. So let us remember those who are imprisoned and tortured, perhaps for their faith. Consider the stories in the book of Acts, where Peter and John are imprisoned, as well as Paul and Silas. For us today, how might this word speak, especially in a nation like the United States marked by significant levels of incarceration, levels that are often distinguished by racial and economic disparities?  The call here is for empathy, but we might also hear this as a call to action on behalf of those who are caught in a disordered system.

                Hebrews continues with another moral imperative, and this has to do with marriage. Hold it in honor and keep the marriage bed undefiled. In other words, don’t commit adultery. Be faithful to your vows, because God judges fornicators and adulterers. This imperative draws on Jewish expectations of fidelity and thus draws on the commandments and Holiness Codes of Torah (Ex. 20;14; Lev. 18:1-30). The author also uses honor/shame language here, so that we are to honor marriage by being faithful to the marriage bed. That’s because it’s shameful to do otherwise Those who defile the marriage bond will face divine judgment. Sometimes this is used in puritanical ways that leave scars, especially on those who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The point here, as I read it, concerns fidelity to one’s mate (for more on marriage I point to my book Marriage in Interesting Times).  

                The moral imperatives keep coming, with the next one focusing on money.  This time the call is to “keep your lives free from the love of money.” Just be content with what you have because Jesus tells us he’ll never leave us or forsake us, a word that draws on Deuteronomy31:6, where Moses tells Israel as they prepare to enter Canaan that God will be with them.  This is a word given to a community that appears to be dealing with difficult times. But it’s a word that is worth hearing for those who are doing well for themselves. The author of Hebrews doesn’t agree with Gordon Gecko that greed is good. So, we can then “say with confidence” that “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” (Heb. 13:6, Psalm 118:6).   

                The next admonition (vs. 7) calls on the readers to remember their leaders “who spoke the word of God to you.” Not only are they to remember these leaders but consider the way they live and then imitate their faith. With that, we return to the word we heard in Hebrews 11 about the exemplars of faith, including Jesus, the “pioneer and perfecter” of our faith. The leaders, who bring the word of God, if they live according to the way of Jesus, should be imitated. 

                These admonitions lead to a declaration in verse 8 concerning the nature of Jesus, who is the “same yesterday, today, and forever.” That doesn’t mean that Jesus is a static being, never changing. The philosophical word that is often used for God would be immutable. That’s not the message here.  The message here is simply that Jesus is dependable and faithful. He is true to his word. In other words, as noted in verse 5, Jesus will not leave or forsake his followers.

                Now, after skipping over that word about the strange doctrines and animal sacrifices in 9-14, we hear the author issue a call to worship. Yes, “let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God.” This is the sacrifice God wants from us—not animal sacrifices, but worship. So, let us confess with our lips the name of Jesus. But not only should we gather for worship but be sure that you “do not neglect to do good and to share what you have.” Now that is a sacrifice truly pleasing to God. As the prophet Micah reminds us, what God truly wants from us is that we “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6:8).  What a way to end a reading that begins by calling us to mutual love and sharing hospitality with strangers.  It is a word given to a community that requires such behaviors if it is to endure. These are the qualities, according to the author, that God expects of God’s people who represent Jesus in the world.

                Although not included in the lectionary reading for the week, we might benefit from hearing the author’s benediction, as this reading brings our journey through Hebrews to a close:

Now the God of peace, who brought back from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the everlasting agreement, equip you thoroughly for the doing of his will! May he effect in you everything that pleases him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  (Heb. 13:20-21 J.B. Phillips)


 Image Attribution: Swanson, John August. A Visit, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56535 [retrieved August 20, 2022]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.

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