14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he also shared the same things in the same way. He did this to destroy the one who holds the power over death—the devil—by dying. 15 He set free those who were held in slavery their entire lives by their fear of death. 16 Of course, he isn’t trying to help angels, but rather he’s helping Abraham’s descendants. 17 Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way. This was so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, in order to wipe away the sins of the people. 18 He’s able to help those who are being tempted, since he himself experienced suffering when he was tempted.
Reflection
When we were growing up, we went to a couple of different churches. Two of them I remember vividly for messages of hell fire and brimstone – with preachers pounding on the pulpit and people being hounded to come forward at the altar call. I don’t remember any speaking in tongues, but there were some pretty intense feelings of being on our way to hell unless we followed the particular guidance that the church had set out for us. The list of rules went way beyond the Ten Commandments and included no drinking, no movies, no dancing, etc. They also taught that Catholics were not Christians because they were “idol worshippers.” I could not have married my husband in one of those churches. There was a big emphasis on “witnessing” and sharing your faith in the world. Ultimately, this kind of faith had one goal: to get into Heaven when we died, and to bring along as many people as we could.
This isn’t a terrible message in itself. But after years of hearing this, I became terrified that I might be on my way to Hell. I believed and I had been saved, but as a young person I also did a lot of the things that our pastor said were wrong. I have to admit, I didn’t really think most of them were wrong. But how could I be sure? I was so confused by the idea that God loves you, but only if you do things “the right way.” There was not a lot of room for individuality, and I have always pushed back on that a bit.
Our scripture today makes clear that Jesus shared in our flesh and blood. When we create Nativity scenes, we always think of a halo around him like an angel, but remember he was also swaddled, got cold, cried, and needed to be changed like any baby might be. Jesus came to earth as a human in order to help humans. Sure, he could have stayed with the angels, but it says in verse 16 that he was not trying to help the angels. That wasn’t his mission. They didn’t need his help, but we most definitely do.
Sometimes as Christians we can get so focused on our reward – on spending eternity with Christ in the spiritual realm (with the angels) that we miss the focus on the humans that are next to us every day. Rules-based religion often causes us to look down on our fellow humans, instead of lifting them up the way Jesus did. It’s easy for us to become so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good.
Maybe, at this time of year, we can think about how to balance both.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
Are we living this life just to get to Heaven, or are we living this life everyday with the intention of being in relationship not only with Jesus but also with people? What can we do to be better at being present for others and serving others as we live our day-to-day?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your example. Give us the wisdom to live our lives for you by living for the people that you have so graciously shared with us. Thank you for the blessing of relationships and for your sacrifice for us. In your name, amen.
