29^th August 2013

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 25 August 2013

Lessons - Psalm 84; Luke 12:22-24; Hebrews 12:12-29

'But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem . . .' [So] 'See to it that no one fails to
obtain the grace of God.' (Hebrews 12:22,15)

Hebrews pictures the Christian life as a long march towards the city of God. Along the way there are many distractions. People become weary and despondent. Complacency, resentment, dissension and unholy behaviour threaten harmony. People need to be reminded of the grand adventure to which they have been called and the glorious destination that awaits them.

In particular they are warned against 'becoming like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal . . . and found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears' (vv 16,17).

Why pick on Esau? Surely it is unfair to single out a bloke who was robbed of his birthright by his scheming brother! (Genesis 25 - 27) Recall the story. Jacob, the younger son, took advantage of Esau and their father Isaac. When Esau, after a hard day's hunting, returned home famished, Jacob exchanged a meal for his birthright. (Genesis 25:29-34) Then, with the connivance of his mother, Rebekah, he dressed in Esau's clothes and wore 'kid gloves' to fool his blind father into conferring a blessing reserved for the 'first born' son that gave him authority over nations.
(Genesis 27)

Why, then, is Esau singled out for special rebuke? Why not Jacob, or other dodgy characters in the annals of the people of God?

Remember - this tale of family intrigue (worthy of any modern soap opera) is told as part of a much larger family history. It is the story of a flawed people who are called to be righteous and merciful as they go on a long journey to the Promised Land in response to the grace of God.

In this history, Jacob is remembered as a flawed figure who, nevertheless, accepted the calling to lead the flawed people of God along the path.
Esau, though, is remembered as one who turned his back on God! Perhaps it was because he married a couple of unbelieving Hittite women who 'made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah'? (Genesis 26:34,35) That would explain why Hebrews warns Christians against causing bitterness and trouble (vv 15,16a). Perhaps it was the gluttonous desire to satisfy his hunger?
(Genesis 25:29ff) Why then is he singled out? His short-comings seem relatively insignificant!

The answer is found in his cavalier attitude. He exchanged the privilege of grace for a single meal to satisfy his immediate hunger and thirst. He did not see beyond his short-term needs to the long-term adventure in which he was being invited to play a leading part. He is concerned only about himself. 'I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?
(v32)' The storyteller sums it up perfectly: 'Thus Esau despised his birthright. (v34c)' He thought it worthless.

The writer of Hebrews uses the example of Esau because some of the writer's fellow-travellers on the journey of faith had let themselves get side-tracked by personal wrangles and resentment (vv 14,15). Some were back-tracking to a fearful, legalistic form of religion associated with the Mosaic law (vv 18-21). Some had stepped back from the religion of grace revealed in the cross of Christ (v24). Many were despondent about the future, unable to see beyond their immediate concerns to their present calling and future destination (vv 12,13).

The basic problem was that, like Esau, they had become complacent about the blessings of grace (v25)! Belonging to the Church had become routine.
Apart from a few petty tiffs, life in the community was fine. The old-time religion felt very comfortable. God was in his heaven and things were relatively good on earth. Faith in God had become humdrum. Nobody expected God to require anything of them. They had forgotten what an incredible adventure they had been called to share and the glorious hope that awaited them.

Hebrews jolts them out of their lethargy. It reminds them that, in the old covenant (on Mt Sinai), God's holy and righteous will had been disclosed in frightening ways (vv 18-21). And the writer reminds them of the very different way in which the new covenant (on Mt Zion) had fulfilled ancient promises.

The 'city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem', toward which the pilgrims are marching, is a place of great joy and celebration where 'countless angels gather for the festivities', where the 'assembly of the first born' (who, like Jacob, receive the blessing of grace) are 'enrolled' and where the faith and humanity of pilgrims is 'perfected'. In this place, the Church shall rejoice eternally because God shall right wrongs through the mediation of his Son Jesus (vv 22-24).

Here we come to the heart of the matter. Hebrews can speak confidently about the 'heavenly Jerusalem' toward which the people of God are marching, only because the splendour of God's grace has been embodied already in the self-giving love of the 'first born Son of God', the truly human Jesus, who was crucified in the 'earthly Jerusalem'.

Hebrews emphasises the humanity of the 'mediator of the new covenant'
(v24). He is often referred to simply as 'Jesus'. He is 'a high priest who sympathises with our weaknesses and who has been tempted in every respect as we are yet without sin' (4:15). Unlike high priests (of the old covenant), whose ritual sacrifices mediate God to the people and the people to God, Jesus is the High Priest (of the new covenant) whose sacrificial death on the cross mediates God's grace to us and thereby reconciles us to God.

The brief reference to the crucifixion in verse 24 helps us understand the difficult doctrine of the atonement. The 'sprinkled blood' (also mentioned in 9:19ff) refers to the priestly practice (old covenant) of sprinkling the blood of calves and goats over the people (Exodus 24:6-8) in an act of ritual cleansing of sins.

In this passage, however, the contrast is not between two religious forms of sacrifice.

Where the shed blood of Abel (Genesis 4) is symptomatic of the vengeance that scars the human family in our journey through history, the shed blood of Jesus atones for the sins of humanity. This 'better word' (v24b) speaks of 'costly, life-giving grace' that is without parallel in history. Where we, in our sin and weakness, contribute to human suffering that involves much bloodshed, Jesus suffers evil and sheds his blood on our behalf to reconcile us to God.

News of this unsurpassable act of love, which we have done nothing to earn, is worth celebrating in the spirit of joy depicted by Hebrews in 'the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God' (v22). Because God's reconciling grace has already been displayed in Jesus' life-giving death, the festivities that await pilgrims at the destination of their long journey may be enjoyed now.

As they enjoy the privileges of grace they are to 'See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God' (v15). This is the heart of the Christian message. It is the basis on which the writer of Hebrews writes to urge his fellow-travellers to encourage the despondent (vv 12,13), chastise troublemakers (vv 15,16) and warn the complacent against taking God lightly (vv 16,17,18-21).

Hebrews speaks to the Church today as we take our part on the long road toward the 'heavenly city'. We must guard against being flippant about the blessing and privilege of grace. The pilgrim people - among whom we are numbered, but not because of our faith or good works - have been called to be a community of hope to celebrate the magnificence of God's grace to sinners in Jesus. We are invited to rejoice in the Gospel and encourage one another: supporting the weak, forgiving the sinful, healing the broken, disciplining troublemakers and correcting falsehoods.

'See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. (v15)' And beware of the consequences of taking for granted the privilege of belonging to the community of grace. The 'living God', whose unparalleled love has been so powerfully displayed through the cross of Jesus, will not be mocked - either by those who cause bloodshed on earth (v24) or those whom he has called to witness to the life-giving blood of Jesus.

The stubborn refusal of the pilgrim people to accept the invitation of grace will not thwart God's eternal purposes. Be assured, says Hebrews, that God will put things right. Be glad that, although 'heaven and earth will be shaken to their foundations' (vv 25-27), you may glorify the God of unsurpassable grace and look forward to the glorious consummation of history that he has promised in Christ.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.