November 9, 2015

“For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”   Hebrews 9:24 – 28

“Every time we — both clergy and laypeople — work off guilt by all that we do for the church, we make it a mechanism for atonement. Such a mechanism can create apparently successful churches. But the side effects can be lethal: a cold shoulder towards newcomers who haven’t “earned their way,” or even the scapegoating and expulsion of some members (including the clergy!).

What a difference it makes to experience the church as a community of forgiven sinners, who don’t need to sacrifice each other, whose consciences are cleansed “from dead works to worship the living God” (9:14). When it comes to Christian community, this is the real deal.” (Working Preacher website, Commentary on Hebrews 9:24-28 Susan Eastman)

“What a difference it makes to experience the church as a community of forgiven sinners, who don’t need to sacrifice each other…”. Wow! I could not say it any better. It always amazes me how quickly “believers” are prepared to throw a church member under the bus of “right practice”, or in front of the trolley of “being right”. Someone new comes to the church and hopes to have a voice, even maybe be involved in ministry, and the “established” members sacrifice them on the altar of “we have it all under control, no need for you or your voice”. It frustrates me so much as a pastor. Grace is thrown out the window time and time again because people feel “threatened” – like the Alpha lion trying to fend off opponents to his “pride”. The church was never intended to be a place where individuals could stake out their own personal place of power and authority. The church is the gathering of individuals who, while being simultaneously Saint and sinner, they come to hear the word preached rightly and the sacraments administered properly, and work toward the completion of the Great Commission: to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching people everything Jesus had taught them. (Matthew 28:19ff)

Again, as I ended my November 7 devotion, I will say again: “We might be un-equal in society, but we are one in the Lord, brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Pastor Dave