Ritual and/or Relationship

Hebrews 7-12

Hebrew 7:11 talks about attaining perfection. What in your world is perfect? What is the perfect meal? The perfect evening? The perfect you? We can be very critical of others, not realizing that we are just as imperfect in many ways.

The writer of Hebrews talks about ritual not accomplishing the perfection that was desired by the people of God. I grew up in a church that did not use rituals like an affirmation of faith or communion liturgy. What I find comforting now about these rituals is that I feel "a part of" a larger Christian community when I visit other mainline denominational churches because we have something about our "order of worship" in common. I am not a total stranger to strange customs as I once was. Even though we are different denominations, we know similar words.

When I go to services where there is no ritual, there is a tendency to not know what exactly that church believes. There is an acceptance because of using the same book and talking about the same stories, and it takes awhile to get down to what actually makes those churches "non-denominational".

The writer of Hebrews uses the word "conscience" several times (9:9, 14; 10:2, 22; 13:18). Conscience would refer to "the center of our being, doing, and valuing...the seat of all conduct and relationships" (The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. XII, pg. 117). Ritual without relationship, to me, is empty. Except as I mentioned, the ritual does help me feel a part of a group.

Knowing that Christ is my mediator (Heb. 9:15) helps me because I know sometimes what I am trying to say or do isn't making any sense, and asking for help from the source of what I am trying to get across makes me a little more confident (Hebrew 10:19) in the outcome.

Jeremiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Deuteronomy, Habakkuk, and even Haggai are quoted. When was the last time you even read Habakkuk and Haggai? Have you ever read them?

I like Hebrews 10:24 "Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds". That is definitely the "work" of the church. Through the constant reminders, if we take advantage of the opportunities, the people in a church are "provoked" to do lot of good in this world. The local church is the hope of the world! The hope begins in me, and with the help of others, I can accomplish more than I ever could by myself. So, then I am not frustrated with the little that I can do.

I learned another new word - ennui. This is the sentence, "If the writer of Hebrews thinks the church being addressed is even approaching ennui, then one can better understand the intensity of the warning against apostasy." According to Webster's dictionary ennui means a feeling of weariness or dissatisfaction. Good word! But definitely not a good feeling.

Hebrews 11:1 is the most familiar verse in the whole reading. What do you hope for? I hope for a day when Christians can get along with each other. Come Lord Jesus Come.

Enough for today.