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Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
St. Stephen's Anglican Church
The Rev. Jeffrey O. Cerar, September 1, 2013


Get Out of God's Way: He Wants to Be with Us


Text: Hebrews 13:1-8

The Letter to the Hebrews is one of the most enigmatic books of the New Testament. For one thing, no one knows who wrote it. The author never identifies himself. Over the centuries, commentators have proposed at least nine possible men and women who might have written it, but no one knows for sure. We also don't know of a specific audience in a specific place where the letter was sent. You get the feeling that the letter is addressed to fence-sitters. It seems to be speaking to people who are wrestling with making the leap from traditional Judaism to the new sect of Judaism called Christianity. And it also speaks to those who have made that leap but are having second thoughts, people who may be tempted to return to the old ritualistic practices of Judaism.

What we have, then, in this letter, is a study in Biblical theology. Its Bible is the Old Testament, and it is a valuable guide for understanding the continuity of God's work and God's plans. The message of the Letter to the Hebrews is that, in Jesus, God has given us His best. By looking back at the Hebrew Scriptures and the practices of the Old Covenant, the author presents a convincing case that Jesus is:

In Christ, the promised Messiah, God has given us His best.

For chapter after chapter, the author proves this point. And then, as it is wrapping up toward a conclusion, it turns practical on us. In Chapter 13, the last chapter, the letter gives us practical advice on how to live together as the disciples of Jesus. This is a critical point. What God is saying to us is that the Christian faith is lived out in real life. Theology is important for understanding. But ultimately, theology is nothing more than words if it is not incorporated in the lives of the people who understand and believe.

The passage we read this morning is the first part of the practical exhortations in the Letter to the Hebrews. In particular these eight verses focus on love, purity and contentment. If we were to read a few more verses, we would see the additional life qualities of loyalty, boldness and worship. But today, let us focus on love, purity and contentment. And I want to propose something for you to take home and think about. It is suggested by verse 5, which says, "Because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." God is with us always, and in many ways. But by our own actions, we often get in God's way. When we fail to love, when we fail to keep the marriage covenant, when we fail to be grateful for Good's blessing, it is as if God is far away. I want to propose that what the scripture is urging upon us is that we get out of the way so God can be with us.

Love

First, of course, the advice of Hebrews is, "Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters" (Hebrews 13:1) Love is the bottom line. Love is pervasive in Christian ethics. The Great Commandment is about love. The second great commandment is about love. And Jesus said that all the law and the prophets are summed up in these two commandments. Every single letter in the New Testament talks about love. Love is the whole enchilada. And why is that? We have explored that many times, but it always bears another look.

First, God wants us to love one another because love unites us. He has given us a difficult mission. He has assigned this mission to a ragtag army of sinners who will end up criticizing, fighting and dividing if left to our own devices. Only love can prevent that. Only love can heal it when it breaks out.

Second, God wants us to love one another because love is our most powerful witness. When people see Christians together, living in peace and unity, they see something different from what is at large in the world. It makes them susceptible to the Gospel.

And third, God wants us to love one another, because love is one of the ways He keeps His promise to be with us. God wants to love us through our love for one another. When we cooperate with Him, the blessing is enormous. That is why we want to be together in our worship and Bible Studies and fellowship events—because we can feel God's love. And when we get in His way, we clog up the pipe through which His love flows.

So the letter to the Hebrews mentions a couple of contexts in which our love gets expressed and allows God's love to flow and bless. Hospitality to strangers is one. This is where the memorable phrase comes from, which says,

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. [Hebrews 13:2 (KJV)]

The author is reminding his Jewish readers of the time in Genesis 18 when three men came to visit Abraham and Sarah. These men were strangers, but Abraham and Sarah treated them like visiting royalty. They came with the message that Sarah would bear her miraculous child within the next year. In Old Testament times, these three visitors were regarded as angels of the Lord. Interestingly, in Christian times, many have said the three visitors were the Holy Trinity. The icon on the cover of our bulletin today is a rendering of Andrei Rublev's icon of the "three visitors," which dates back to 1410. This particular copy has words in Cyrillic above the painting which say "Holy Trinity."

Think for a minute about how hospitality to a stranger expresses God's love. Strangers are usually a little ill at ease, a bit out of place. They come to a gathering where they don't know people, are unfamiliar with their customs, and don't know what to expect. When they are greeted with kindness, and when they are embraced as if they were extended family, they experience God's love.

Think about a child coming to visit a Christian home. Many children today live in homes where there is no love. They are surrounded by chaos. And they come home with your kids after school to a home where everyone is happy to be together. They see harmony. They see peace and good order. They see Christian love. They see a place where God is keeping His promise, "I will be with you always." The power of that witness is incalculable.

Hebrews also tells us,

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. [Hebrews 13:3]

There is no environment where God's love is more needed than in prison. I hear stories from our Kairos prison ministers and our folks who go each week to minister in the jail in Lancaster. They tell phenomenal stories of conversion and hope among those who feel God's love through Christian visitors. And think about those who are in prison because of their faith in Jesus. There are millions of those all over the world. It was an issue at the time this letter was written, and may be why it was mentioned. Remember your Christian brothers and sisters who are in prison, and who are being mistreated. God has promised never to forsake them, and He intends to keep this promise partly through your love reaching out to them.

I am on the mailing lists for Barnabas Aid and Voice of the Martrys, two Christian organizations that encourage us to pray and show our love to Christians suffering for their faith. There is a Christian pastor named Saeed Abedini who is in prison in Iran. Pastor Abedini is an American citizen who converted from Islam to Christianity. His crime is that he is establishing secret house churches in Iran, where it is illegal to worship together as Christians. Last week, his 8-year sentence was confirmed. He is in the notorious Evin prison. Christians in the US are organizing prayer vigils for him. There will be a prayer time here at St. Stephen's on September 28. This is a chance to be with this brother in the spirit, and to be a pipeline for the love of God, who promised never to forsake him.

I see the same truth right here at home. When you are sick, or discouraged, or depressed, or lonely, or grieving, God comes to you through your Christian friends. They visit you. They bring you food. They send you cards. They pray for you. I see the notes of appreciation in our newsletter. And what I see is a lot more than, "Thank you for your kindness." I see people who have felt the presence of a God who said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Purity

The letter to the Hebrews also admonishes us to be pure in our marriages:

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. [Hebrews 13:4]

Was there ever a time more than today in America when this advice needed to be heard? Life-long fidelity in marriage is not seen as a fundamental value of society these days. But we Anglicans believe that it is. We say in our marriage rite that marriage is a sign of God's love for the church. Another way to say that is that, in the vows we take, we express the kind of faithful and eternal love God has for us. We promise to love, honor and cherish one another, and, forsaking all others, we promise to have and to hold one another, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live. In taking those vows, we attempt to commit ourselves to love one another as God loves us. And when we come anywhere near keeping those commitments, we can feel God loving us. A blessed marriage, a faithful, loving and permanent covenant, is a way God keeps His promise to be with us always.

And consider the witness it is to the world. Marriage is a maligned and broken institution in our culture. People have become cynical about marriage. But still, when your marriage is holy and pure, the love of God radiates from it and speaks boldly about this God we love.

Contentment

Finally, our passage in Hebrews tells us this:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." [Hebrews 13:5]

Keep yourself free from the love of money. I don't need to say a whole lot about that, since I made that point forcefully last week when we were talking about idolatry. If you missed that sermon, you can find it on the St. Stephen's Website at the address shown on the cover of today's bulletin. But let's do talk about the connection between being free from the love of money and being content. In this short list of pointers about the Christian life, contentment is included. Why is contentment so important?

The answer lies in recognizing the God we worship and serve. He is the author of life. He is the finisher of our faith. He is the Creator. He is the provider. He is our redeemer. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. From Him all blessings come. If we proclaim all those things, then what are we saying when we want more than God gives us?

Verse 6 says, "So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'" This sounds a lot like Romans 8:31 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" And Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I think what Hebrews is telling us by urging us to be content with what we have is found in the next phrase: "because God has said, 'Never will leave you; never will I forsake you.'" God is with us in the gifts He bestows upon us. And when we are not grateful for those gifts, when we want more, our attention is directed elsewhere than at God. When our attention is on something else, it might as well be as if God is not with us. That is why God tells us that He is the Lord our God, and we are to have no other gods before Him. He loves us, and He showers gifts upon us—gifts that He has selected for us—gifts that He has determined are right and adequate for us. In so doing, He is in our midst.

Conclusion

Hebrews is a theological treatise on the all-sufficiency of Jesus. He is God's ultimate gift. He is God's best:

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1:23) God does not rule us from afar and throw down orders and judgments to us from on high. He is with us always. He has fulfilled that promise in the Word made flesh, who came and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) His essence is love. (I John 4:16) And when we love one another, when we show hospitality to strangers, when we bless the prisoner, when we honor the purity of marriage, and when we are grateful and content for God's blessings, we become conduits through which God's love flows. He wants to be with us, as He has promised. Can we get out of His way

© The Rev. Jeffrey O. Cerar, 2013

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