Hebrews 9:24-28 (NRSV)
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
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.
ELCA's daily Bible readings are chosen from "Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings," prepared by Consultation on the Common Texts, © 2005.
All text is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches USA, and is used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Hebrews continues to explore the role of the priests and Temple as a lens on what Jesus had done. When Jesus is pictured entering the heavenly sanctuary, He is pictured as doing so on our behalf our representative, intermediary. He stands on heavenly ground as an ambassador of sorts, crossing a boundary in our place.
ReplyDeleteIn life, who represents you? Union leaders? Team leaders? Politicians? Student government? Parents? Who bears consequences for you? Guarantors or cosigners? Spouses? Work friends? These are people tied up in our identity.
Jesus is tied up in our identity intimately to represent us. Late in the Gospels, he calls himself our brother (we are now children of God right?). Jesus is not distant from us.