Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Based on Hebrews 10:11-25. Podcast linked below. YouTube archive:
It’s been a few weeks, so I want to once again remind you about the nature and context of Hebrews. It’s essentially a sermon transcript. In medieval times, it was used to support anti-Semitism and supersessionism, that is, the idea that Christianity had superseded Judaism. But that’s an anachronistic reading of it, since at the time of its authorship, Christianity did not exist apart from Judaism. Rather, Hebrews could perhaps be read as anti-religious. That makes it particularly relevant for today’s prevailing trend of people being “spiritual but not religious.” The anonymous author of Hebrews would probably describe himself as Spirit-led and freed from the religious obligations of his predecessors.
In the first few centuries after Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, various thought leaders now called “church fathers” helped to interpret Jesus’s teachings, and indeed his very essence, to create Christianity as we know it today. Many of these church fathers, including Clement, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Athanasius, believed in universal salvation through Christ. Richard Murray has written extensively on this patristic universalism, distinguished from other forms of universalism because it is based on the beliefs and writings of these early theologians. He wrote:
Simply put, Patristic Universalism believes Jesus will win all people back, come Hell or high-water. God, through Jesus Christ, will ultimately rescue and convince ALL to receive their rebirth, even if it is after (in some cases) much “gnashing of teeth,” prolonged emotional anguish, and stubborn mental resistance. Many will hold out for extended periods of time, but all will eventually see that against an irresistibly virtuous God there is no eternal defense. As the lies are burned away, every soul will come to itself and behold this champion truth– Jesus Christ is God’s rescuing love.
For the first few centuries, this belief was commonplace among both church leaders and Christians broadly. However, there was also a recognition that the sins of the present age must be rectified. The Roman Catholic Church developed the principle of indulgences, which are, in the words of their catechism, “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and all of the saints.” In essence, eternal guilt has been forgiven, but some action must be taken to rectify guilt in the present age.
I’m on board with that concept in principle. However, as time went by, greed and corruption took over the doctrine of indulgences. Unscrupulous “pardoners” used the sale of indulgences to fund projects like cathedrals. They quantified the indulgences in terms of how many years of purgatory they would buy out. Most of us know that Luther strongly opposed the sale of indulgences, but in 1392, more than a century before the Reformation, Pope Boniface IX wrote a condemnation of the practice of obtaining money from the simple-minded faithful by promising them perpetual happiness in this world and eternal glory in the next.
Into this fray stepped John Calvin. He developed a theological principal that was later called “total depravity.” Basically, he taught that our original sin permeates every aspect of our selves. Calvin’s theological descendants, such as the Puritans, used this principle to guilt and shame church members.
I think I’m old enough now that I’m allowed to be a cynic. Agreed? Well, we have on the one hand a theology that teaches universal salvation and God’s eternal, unconditional love, and on the other hand a theology that teaches us that we have guilt that cannot be removed but must be addressed “day after day.” Which one is more lucrative? Which one gives the church power over people’s lives? I think that explains why the main teaching of many churches is that we are sinful creatures who must make amends. That keeps butts in the seats and money in the plates. There is good money in guilt, and even better money in shame.
Guilt is a response to a particular bad act. You might think, Wow, Friday night was a little wild. I’d better throw an extra $20 in the plate today. Guilt is OK if it provokes action and change. I mean, after throwing in that extra $20, you might change your plans for the next weekend. Shame is different. Shame is believing that not only have you done bad things, but that you are a bad person. How can you ever remove that shame? Well, if you listen to certain preachers, the only way is to come to church every week, or twice a week, or to give the church everything you can or everything you have. But no amount of restitution can ever remove shame.
That’s why the author of Hebrews writes, “every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But Christ … offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins.” Jesus did not come to set up a new system of bookkeeping to replace the old Temple sacrificial system. He came to share God’s grace. And after he offered himself, “he sat down at the right hand of God.” Christ offers us eternal rest. No longer do we need to work “day after day” to earn forgiveness. The work has already been done. We are already forgiven. God’s grace is stronger than any guilt or shame we might feel. We can look forward to our eternal sabbath, our eternal rest from the hard work of living together and loving one another in all the messiness of this life.
The author of Hebrews goes on to say that we can approach God “with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Here, he’s using language that describes priests. Those priests who offered sacrifices day after day had been sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice and had been ritually bathed. Like them, we have been cleansed so that we can approach God. There is nothing we need to do to earn this access. Jesus has done all the work already. We are already cleansed, already forgiven, already free to come to God. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love, but also nothing we can do to lose God’s love.
Our shame has been removed. Whatever Calvin may have thought, our total depravity has been overcome by God’s grace. The opposite of shame is honor: we are raised up out of our sinfulness and given a place of honor in God’s eternal family. Through Christ’s reconciling love, we have been adopted into God’s family and are honored for all eternity. No matter what the world might think of us, God loves us.
So what is the appropriate response? We have been given a great gift. There is nothing we can do to lose honor in God’s eyes. We are forgiven so that we may forgive others, loved so that we may love others, honored so that we can honor others. We are called to participate in bringing about God’s reign. All people will be a part of God’s realm in the age to come. We are called to bring them into God’s family now.
So what’s stopping us? Well, there are a lot of social pressures that work against us. For about a century, talking about religion and politics have been taboo in “polite company.” As a result, we are culturally incapable of having polite conversations about these sensitive subjects. It’s hard to have a conversation about what we believe without it turning into an argument about which belief is better. The public conversation—on TV, the radio, and especially the internet—has been taken over by the loudest and most extreme voices. As a result, the public perception of Christianity is not something I want to be associated with. I don’t want to be known as a judgmental homophobe who is against women in leadership. So I mostly stay quiet unless someone brings the subject up, instead focusing on living out my beliefs.
“Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” That’s a nice, pithy quote, usually attributed to Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Orders. The concept behind it is that our practice should be sufficient to spread the Gospel. But here’s the truth: St. Francis never said it. The closest quote that captures this sentiment is:
No brother should preach contrary to the form and regulations of the holy Church nor unless he has been permitted by his minister … All the Friars … should preach by their deeds.
In essence, he was saying that our words and deeds should match. He is saying, Don’t be a hypocrite. If you’re going to preach love, you must show love. If you preach charity, you should be charitable. If you preach welcome and hospitality, you should practice welcome and hospitality. He never said that you should keep quiet about your beliefs. In fact, there is nothing in the Bible that says you shouldn’t talk about the enormous gifts we have received from God through the sacrificial love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus even said, in Mark 8, “Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” You can do what you like, but I personally think we should pay more attention to what Jesus said than to a modern proverb that seems to have been totally made-up.
You might still be afraid to speak out. Let me assure you that God is on our side, on your side. And if God is for us, who can stand against us? As Paul wrote, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” No matter what we do, no matter how we are perceived by society, we are always, always bound to God’s kingdom through Christ. If we act from that place of love, we will be continually renewed and strengthened by the Holy Spirit acting in and through us.
You are beloved. You are forgiven. You are freed from the brokenness of this world. And yet, we all must live in this broken world. So what to do? We are freed so that we can love dangerously. We are freed so that we can share God’s love with every one of God’s beloved children, which is everyone: people like you, people different from you, people you agree with, people you disagree with, your friends, your enemies. There is no one you will encounter who is not beloved by God.
Let me give you a couple of examples of dangerous love. As you probably know, I volunteer at the Rolla Mission. I cook lunch every Friday and fill in occasionally when there are open slots. These days, there are usually lots of people around to help on Fridays, both staff and other volunteers. However, if I do, say, a warming center on the weekend, or an overnight, I am alone and in charge. Fortunately, I have never had a major emergency, knock on wood. Occasionally a few patrons will have heated discussions, but everyone acknowledges my authority to remove them from the building, so I can get things settled down.
In fact, The Rolla Mission could be described as one great experiment in dangerous love. It started when The Vineyard decided to open their church to people in need around them. From laundry and showers, it has evolved to providing meals, shelter, and case management. As the staff, board, and volunteers have learned more about the needs of the patrons, they have developed connections to services around the city, county, and state to help patrons become full members of our community. They work with patrons to resolve the issues that have created their homelessness. This requires vulnerability on both sides. Someone who is homeless, whether due to mistakes they have made or circumstances beyond their control, can be overwhelmed by shame. They will only trust a case manager who is open and vulnerable enough to have their heart broken. We are blessed as a community to have Ashley and others at the Mission who are willing to open up every day, risking stigma, risking heartbreak, risking everything to show love to people in need.
Last week, Rev. Morrison said that we change the world by our example. That’s true, but what example should we set? Too many Christians keep people who are different from them at arm’s length. They stay within their little social circle of like-minded people who share their demographics. What did Jesus do? He didn’t just surround himself with fellow Galileans who were observant Jews that kept the purity codes. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He spoke with Samaritans. He performed miracles for Gentiles. He didn’t just preach about love, he showed it. He entered into relationships. He met people where they were and changed their lives with his love.
That’s the example we should set. Not just some surface-level kindness, not just supporting charitable organizations with our money. No, we should embrace people who are different from us, enter into true relationships with them, wrap them in God’s love. Everyone, everyone, will one day encounter God face to face. Today, the only way they can encounter God is through us. Let’s go forth and be the hands and heart of Christ. Let’s take risks, knowing that not even the gates of Hell will prevail against us. Let’s love dangerously. Amen.
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