24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Reflection
Hebrews 10:24–25 is often read as a gentle reminder about church attendance. But in truth, it is far more radical—and more hopeful—than that. These verses were written to a community under significant strain. They were tired, discouraged, and tempted to pull back from one another. The world around them was marked by violence, domination, and systems of death-dealing power that made faith costly and community risky. In that context, this word is meant to be an act of care and encouragement spoken into fear, fatigue, and fragmentation.
The writer invites their reader to “not neglect meeting together,” for it is in gathering that something powerful happens. When we come together, we do so to “provoke” one another—toward greater love and good works. (Some translations use “stir” or, my personal favorite, “pester.”) The writer prioritizes relationship and assumes that faith is not something we can fully live out alone.
This is profoundly countercultural – then and now. Our world is skilled at creating and promoting the conditions for separation and division. Algorithms sort us into camps. Fear teaches us to withdraw. Busy schedules convince us we don’t have the time. Conflict convinces us that it is easier—and safer—to separate. Even when we long for connection, we wonder if it is worth the effort, the vulnerability, the disappointment. The community addressed in Hebrews asked: What’s the point of gathering? Does it really make a difference? And the truth is – so do we.
Well, did you know that the gospel answers that question with a resounding yes?
Over Christmas, we celebrated the incarnation – God coming to be with us in the person of Jesus. When faced with a fractured, suffering world, Jesus did not keep his distance. He drew near. God chose to be present in human flesh, to live in human community, to love from the inside. Jesus shared meals, touched the untouchable, wept with friends, and formed a community that practiced love and justice together. The incarnation itself is God’s declaration that presence matters – and it has a profound impact.
We were created for community. From the beginning, God names isolation as something that is “not good.” We are made to exist in relationship—not idealized, conflict-free community, but real, imperfect, grace-dependent community. Hebrews does not deny how hard this is. It acknowledges that some had already stopped gathering. It recognizes the temptation to pull away when the cost feels too high or the hope feels too thin.
And still, the call remains: do not neglect to meet together. Not because it is easy. Not because it is always pleasant. But because in a world shaped by death, we are called to practice resurrection. When we gather, we bear witness to another way of being human. We remind one another that love is still possible, that good works still matter, that God is not finished with us yet. We create the conditions for hope and new life to occur.
In a world of unjust systems and violent powers that depend upon our separateness, gathering becomes an act of resistance and hope. It makes transformation possible.
So when we wonder if it is worth it—when community feels exhausting or fragile—Hebrews invites us to look again. Look at Christ, who drew near. Look at one another, whom God uses to stir love and courage. And look for the Day that is coming, when all that divides and destroys will be undone.
We gather because together is how God created us and meets us. And it is how God intends to send us back into the world, shaped by love and committed to good.
by Kate Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
Where is the world tempting you to pull away, and how might God be inviting you to draw near instead—so that both you and others can be stirred toward greater love and good works?
Incarnate God,
you chose to draw near to us when the world was broken and afraid.
Forgive us for the times we choose distance over presence,
and isolation over community.
When gathering feels hard, give us courage.
When conflict tempts us to withdraw, give us patience.
When weariness tells us it isn’t worth it, remind us of your love
and of the strength you place within your people.
Use our presence with one another to bring encouragement,
to nurture hope, and to stir up love and good works
in a world that so desperately needs them.
Make us a community that practices resurrection
in the midst of crucifixion-shaped realities.
And help us, day by day, to follow the way of Jesus,
who draws near and makes all things new.
Amen.
