Budding Themes in Hebrews

Book of Wisdom, Bible, Jonah, Truth, Gospel, Hebrews, homosexuality

Over the last several weeks at Sunday Mass, the second reading came from Hebrews. The latter chapters of what has traditionally been referred to as the Letter to the Hebrews have some foundational themes to the Catholic faith.

One strategy for reading the Scriptures is to recognize themes and draw out their implications. Try taking up these themes and allow the Word of God to blossom within you.

The New Covenant

The author of Hebrews spends a lot of time reminding his readers of the details of the Old Covenants, the role of the high priest, and temple sacrifices. Even though we are not first century Jewish converts, these details set up a crucial background to understanding the New Covenant. Jesus perfectly fulfills and surpasses the Old Covenants.

When we consider the theme of the New Covenant, our first reaction should be praise for the fidelity of our loving and patient Father for the Chosen People century after century.  After praise we give glory to the Holy Trinity for creation: birthed from love, sustained in love, and fashioned for humanity so that we can ultimately enter heaven.

For me, one of the most striking prophecies of the Old Testament is from Jeremiah 31. Some might even mistake this passage as part of the New Testament.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  . . . I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 10:31-34, cited in Hebrews 8:8-12).

We are living in the time of fulfillment! Put another way, God’s plan of salvation, from the creation of the universe over the centuries and through the patriarchs and prophets, is on display for us now. We can see and experience the fruits of this plan for the salvation of humanity. Praise God for going to such great lengths for you and for me!

(For a thorough resource on covenants from the master of covenant theology, Scott Hahn, check out the St. Paul Biblical Center’s free course on Covenant Love.)

Sacrifice

The author of Hebrews also wanted to impress on his readers the full weight of Jesus’ sacrificial death.

“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.” Hebrews 9:13-14

If we could travel back to first century Jerusalem, we would see the animal and cereal offerings mentioned in Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers.   Sacrifices and offerings made peace with God and sustained the human end of the covenant. It was part of the rhythm of life: annual feasts and festivals, offerings for a new baby, and more.

Part of the reason for the writing of the Letter to the Hebrews was likely to assuage a sort of homesickness for the Old Covenant.  (For an introduction to the practices of sacrifices and offerings, I recommend listening to the Ascension Press podcast Bible in a Year, especially episodes 40-51.)

Jesus’ Blood Overcomes and Surpasses

But we do not have to be first century Jews to have difficulty accepting Jesus’ full atonement for our sins. Anytime we stay away from God due to our sinful behavior, we effectively say the same thing: Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not enough.

I don’t know that many would argue for the inadequacy of Our Lord’s Passion on a strictly theological basis.  How can we presume that our sins are greater than Jesus’ offering?  Yet we often do view our sins as greater.  How could God want me back, we wonder.  But it is a dangerous spiritual gamble to avoid God.  Who better to heal us? How does it make sense to stay away from the Divine Physician?

Mediating on the theme of sacrifice can go in many different directions: Reflecting on the Passion of Jesus; thinking about Divine Mercy and the writings of St. Faustina; or looking at the typology of the Old Testament.

One of the many examples of typology is the sacrifice God asked of Abraham.  Abraham’s only beloved son Isaac carried wood for the sacrifice up a hill (which should sound familiar).  When Isaac asked his father where the sheep for the offering is, Abraham said, “My son, God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8, RSVCE translation).

Endurance

The words endurance and perseverance have similar usage in the culture today, but their definitions differ somewhat.

Endurance means to get through something difficult without being crushed by it. We endure through suffering of every kind. At the end of Hebrews 10, the author first cites how the faithful have come through abuse, affliction, and the confiscation of their property (v. 33-34).   Then he says,

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense.  You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

“But my just one shall live by faith, and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.  We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life.” (10:35-36, 38-39)

Perseverance

Perseverance has that same grit to it as endurance, yet with a slight adjustment.

Fr. John Hardon defines perseverance as “remaining in the state of grace until the end of life. The Church teaches that it is impossible, without the special help of God, to persevere in the state of grace to the end” (Modern Catholic Dictionary). The author of Hebrews includes some concrete advice on how to persevere:

“Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near” (10:23-25).

Related Themes

Endurance and perseverance are themes that are closely related and bring in a variety of other themes. Spiritual warfare comes into play, as well as redemptive suffering.

Living the moral life makes enduring and persevering easier in times of difficulty. We can look at the lives of the saints who endured and persevered through tremendous suffering. St. Teresa of Calcutta, for example, experienced a dark night of the soul for decades while still becoming the worldwide face of compassion for the poorest of the poor.

Fear of God

I feel like the phrase “fear of God” is actually more than three words long. The term “Fear of God” has an automatic, hurried appendage of ‘we love God and do not really fear Him, and we should never fear Him because fear is bad.’ We do have to communicate the truths of the faith well but not at the expense of the integrity of the faith. Fear of God does not mean we cower before a capricious, vengeful, smite-happy deity.

The theme of Fear of God is a notion that Jewish converts would have been very familiar with.  It starts from a standpoint of filial love. From there, it encompasses fearing sin, separation from Him, inflicting pain on our brothers and sisters, and throwing away our eternal salvation.

Living in accord with our Catholic faith is sometimes hard enough on its own. But if we throw in sin or a toleration of sin in our lives, the mountains grow higher. So do the stakes, according to the author of Hebrews:

“If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

Race to the Finish

After chapters 8-10, Hebrews then gives an entire chapter on the heroes of the faith (Hebrews 11). Taking the previous chapters as a build-up in a great crescendo, Hebrews 12 opens with a call to the walls.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2).

Even though St. Paul is not named as writing this letter, his influence is there. As Paul tells Timothy (1 Timothy 6:12, RSVCE Bible), fight the good fight!  And as he also tells the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:24, RSVCE Bible), they should run the race to win.

Pick up the Letter to the Hebrews this week and take a theme to pray on.  Let the Holy Spirit unfold it and speak to you!

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4 thoughts on “Budding Themes in Hebrews”

  1. Pingback: Two Things You Can Do to Increase Eucharistic Reverence, The Sneakiest Invalid Wedding You Ever Saw, and More Great Links! - JP2 Catholic Radio

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  3. an ordinary papist

    “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, …
    Sacrifices and offerings made peace with God and sustained the human end of the covenant. It was part of the rhythm of life: annual feasts and festivals, offerings for a new baby, and more.

    No one in their right mind could believe this.

    1. God’s people believed this, not by their own reasoning, nor because some proverbial tribe invented it during some proverbial O.T. “dark age”, but because the Lord showed them by example (Gen 3:21). Who would argue?

      It is still true 4000+ years later. Jesus gives himself, saying “do this in memory of me”, yet most are not in the right mind to believe Him. If the Lord specifically says, “this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins”, what sort of mind would argue?

      From the rising of the sun to its setting,
      my name is great among the nations;
      Incense offerings are made to my name [always and] everywhere,
      and a pure offering;
      For my name is great among the nations,
      says the Lord of hosts.
      But you profane it by saying
      that the Lord’s table is defiled,
      and its food may be disdained.

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