Getting Serious

Scripture:  Hebrews 10:19-25

I remember way back when getting ready to be a parent for the first time, we bought and read all the books about being a new parent.  I read a lot and the biggest lesson I learned is that there is a LOT those books left out.  One of the small things I was not prepared for, is just how many times I would end up watching the same movie over, and over, and over again.  For instance, even though my kids are both older now I am fairly sure the lyrics to Let it Go from the Disney movie Frozen will probably be stuck in my memory forever.  While most families with young children end up watching what is popular at the time, I think a lot of young kids also latch onto something more obscure.  A lot of parents end up watching a single episode of an obscure kid’s show or a little-known movie many, many times.  For us one of those movies was Leap.
 
I do not expect you to be familiar with this one.  It was released in 2017 and went really under the radar.  It is an animated kid’s movie about a poor, orphan girl who wants to be a ballerina.  She conned her way into the most prestigious dance school in Paris and then eventually earn her spot.   By and large the plot progresses about like you would expect it to, but there is small detail of the movie that has stuck with me.   The head of the dance school, did not just demand perfection in form, but the most important question he would ask the students is “why do you dance?”   The movie establishes that this teacher is a perfectionist who demands absolute precision from the students, but this question lifts up why they dance is just as important, if not more important, to how they dance.  The importance of the “why” stuck with me from this movie, because I think the similar question can be applied to our faith.  The teacher wanted his students to know their answer for “why do you dance?” and I think we should know the answer to the question, “Why are you a Christian?”  

There are a lot of possible secondary answers to this question.   Perhaps your parents were faithful in bringing you to church and you have never known life where faith was not part of it.  Or perhaps it was not a parent but a grand parent with a faith of deep conviction that made a lifelong impression on you.   Perhaps, someone invited you to church once and you found a community where you felt like you belonged.  Perhaps through Christianity you found a way to serve, to make a difference, and this fueled a greater sense of purpose.  There are all kinds of secondary reasons why we might be a Christian, but for each and everyone of us there should be only one primary reason:  Jesus Christ.     

This morning’s scripture from Hebrews is a reminder of who Jesus truly is.  This morning’s scripture is a reminder that it is because of Jesus that we gather together in the first place.    An obscure children’s movie that I have seen far too many times, elevates the importance of knowing our why, and it comes to being a Christian we should know our why.  We should know why we are a Christian, and we should take the message of Jesus seriously.

Hebrews is one of the harder books of the bible to study.  In part this is because there is quite a bit unknown about it.  The author is not known, the exact time it was written is not known, and the intended audience is not known.  From very early on biblical scholars have done their best to try and fill in these holes and there are a lot of good, educated guesses.  What is known is that both the author of Hebrews as well as the intended audience are from a Jewish background.   Hebrews is also a bit more challenging because it is different than the other books of the New Testament.  Most of the New Testament contains epistles or letters, but Hebrews is not that.  Hebrews is more akin to a 1st century sermon.  It is a sermon that draws deeply from the Old Testament and Jewish tradition to make the argument that Jesus is supreme over everything.  

Hebrews has what theologians and biblical scholars call a “high Christology.” This means it takes Jesus seriously.  This means there is a strong emphasis on the divinity and holy nature of Jesus.  We see that reflected in this morning’s scripture, because this morning’s scripture summarizes a couple of the major points that had been made in Hebrews up to this point.   The author of Hebrews spends a lot of the book making the case that Jesus is the superior and ultimate high priest.  In ancient worship a priest was the mediator between the divine and the people.  It was a priest who was set apart to make sacrifices on the behalf of others, the main connection that people had to the divine was through the priest.    The author of Hebrews puts forth that because Jesus is fully in the complete presence of God the Father forever, there is no one better to be our connection to God than Christ.  This means it is Jesus who gives us the gift of eternal life and lets us draw near to God.

At the same time the author of Hebrews also makes the point that this is possible because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.   Again, in ancient religious practice the primary role of a priest was to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people.  It was these sacrifices that both reconciled and connected the people to the god they worshipped.  On the cross Jesus made the ultimate and final sacrifice to reconcile and connect people to God. The author of Hebrews writes as much in Hebrews 10:10: “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”.    So, Jesus is not just the one who gives the gift of eternal life, but through his death and resurrection Jesus is also the gift itself.   As John famously wrote in his gospel, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only sone, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

To have a high Christology is to believe that Jesus is both the gift and the giver.  Because of Jesus we are saved.  Because of Jesus we are forever changed.  Because of Jesus, as this morning’s scripture states, we can “draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.”  If you consider yourself a Christian, then you know just how good of news this is.   You know that through Jesus, the love of God has been proven.   Christ died for us while we still sinners.   The love of God is so great that, we are worth dying for.    If you consider yourself a Christian, you know that the love of God does not fail and does not give up on us.   Because of Jesus we have been given a second chance, or a third chance, or fourth chance, or whatever chance you happen to be on.  God has loved us at worst.  The primary reason why we should be a Christian is because we believe Jesus loves us and we love Jesus.   Because we love Jesus, we should take the message of Jesus seriously.   

 The whole book of Hebrews is dedicated to communicating the premise that Jesus is the main thing.  The author of Hebrews elevates Jesus as the ultimate savior and puts Jesus first on all things.  If Jesus is the reason why we are Christians, then Jesus should be our main thing as well.  The way we talk about our faith, the way we express our faith, and the way we live our faith out should all point to Jesus.  As this morning’s scripture points out, Jesus is the very reason why we gather like this in the first place.  It is only in getting together with other people who love Jesus that we can best keep the main thing the main thing and take the message of Jesus seriously as we encourage one another and spur one another on to be more Christlike. 

This morning’s scripture and all the book of Hebrews holds Jesus in high regard.  It centers Jesus as the most important thing, and we should as well.  Unfortunately, the good news of Jesus Christ that saves us and transforms us, sometimes gets lost in translation by the church.  In 2022 the Episcopal Church conducted an extensive national study called Jesus in America, and the results should be convicting.   This study found that among non-Christians, only 2% report the Christians they know represent the values and teachings of Jesus.   To put it another way 98% of the people who do not follow Jesus, think that we are doing a terrible job at following Jesus.  When people outside of the church think of Christians, they do not think of Jesus.  Instead, this study found results that have been consistent for the past twenty years.  The characteristics that non-Christians are most likely to associate with Christians are hypocrisy, being judgmental, and self-righteousness.  None of that is of Jesus.  None of that is Christlike. 

Collectively, as American Christians we have not let the main thing be the main thing.  The discourse around Christianity has gotten lost in the weeds.  Too much of the rhetoric is caught up in pointless culture wars, too much of the focus is on an us vs. them narrative, and not enough of it is on Jesus.   When the world outsides our walls thinks of us, if they think of us at all, it is because of what they believe we are against and not what we are for.   Friends, this is not how it should be.   We must- we absolutely must- keep the main thing, the main thing.  We must take the message of Jesus seriously, so that it being like Christ guides us.  Jesus should be the reason why we exist as a church.  If Jesus is not our reason for why we are here, then we might as well turn the lights off and go home. 

This morning’s scripture keeps Jesus front and center.  It reminds us that because of Jesus we can have confidence, and we can draw near to God with the full assurance of faith.   We need to keep Jesus the main thing because it is too important not to.  There are too many people who need Jesus.  There are people who need to know that they are worthy of a second chance.   There are people who need to know that no matter what is in their past, they are still loveable.   There are people desperate to draw near to God and people who are desperate for an assurance and faith in something that will not fail them.  People need Jesus, and the only way we can help people find him is by taking his message seriously.  

 If we want to reach people outside our walls, especially younger people, then we must keep the main the main thing.  This is not just a theory I have, it is backed up by research.  In the book Growing Young the authors wrote, “According to our research, churches that communicate the gospel of Jesus as the centerpiece of God’s story are more likely to have young people with greater faith vibrancy and maturity.”   When we take the message of Jesus seriously, we do not focus on abstract beliefs, but we focus on how we are following Jesus in our daily lives.  We focus on sharing and celebrating how Jesus is transforming us.  We commit ourselves to loving others like Jesus loves, and we draw near to God with confidence and the assurance that faith can bring.   

This morning’s scripture from Hebrews centers Jesus and elevates Jesus.   May we do the same, may we not give up on meeting together but may we gather regularly so that we can encourage one another and push each other to keep Jesus the main thing.  May Jesus be the reason why you are a Christian.   May Jesus be the first thing that people associate with you, and may you take the message of Jesus Christ seriously. May your hope be found in Christ and may that hope draw others to Jesus.  In a world of shifting and sinking sand may Christ be the solid rock upon which your life is built.  May your words, your actions and your very life glorify Christ above all else.