Scripture Text (NRSV)
9:11 But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that
have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with
hands, that is, not of this creation),
9:12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood
of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal
redemption.
9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the
ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that
their flesh is purified,
9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience
from dead works to worship the living God!
Comments:
I am going to use this passage to lead into our monthly Holy
Communion. The passage mentions several times the importance of blood
in the offering for sin, and the direct parallel of Jesus becoming
both the sacrifice and the blood for our eternal redemption. I believe
my congregation needs to be reminded frequently of the rich meaning of
what we are doing in observing the Lord's Table. John in NH
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The sacrifice of Christ, the high priest, not only cleanses from
ritual impurity, but brings about forgiveness and thus the worship of
the living God.
The blood sacrifice imagery may seem inaccessible if not repulsive to
persons unfamiliar with the ritual system of ancient Israel. In those
times and in that system, blood represented life. The sacrifice of
Christ "with his own blood" equates with the sacrifice of his whole
life. Nothing was withheld for the sake of our redemption, an ancient
word often used in the context of freeing hostages or obtaining the
release of prisoners. For such purposes, similar to God's actions
recounted in today's psalm, Christ invested the whole of his self in
embodying God's love for all creation.
I'm thinking of this overlayed onto the Gospel. I'm fleshing something
out, thinking out loud, so bear with me ...
In the Gospel, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions when Jesus
told the scribe that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. My hunch
is that they were afraid because to view God face to face was to be
obliterated, put to death - and not just death but a kind of
nonexistence death.
Anyways, here is the reassurance that it is through Christ that yes,
we CAN enter into the Kingdom of God, see God face to face, without
being put into nonexistence (old-fashioned word for this was:
"confounded" but now means something else).
In the Requiem Mass (if I'm remembering correctly), it's a pleading
for "salva me" - "Save me!" at the time of judgment. The pleading is
to not be put away from God, thus ceasing to exist at all.
Profoundly promising, existentially speaking ... especially on this
All Saints' Sunday.
Sally in GA
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That is so profound! I think I will use it in my sermon this week!
Glossalalia! (Tee hee hee)
Susan in Wa
Grace and Peace!
I'm working, this Sunday, with focusing on the idea of a "perfect
tent." It is through this greater tent, a tent not of this creation,
that Christ enters to reach the Holy Place. I need to do some more
research here, but if any of you have thoughts about this
"perfect tent" or what the Holy Place is, I'd be grateful.
I'll add my own thoughts as I begin to delve into this text!
Pastor Pam in PA (how's that for East Coast Alliteration? *g*)
