Learning Obedience

Sunday, October 22nd, 2006
Proper 24 B
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Hebrews 5:1-10

1 Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3 and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4 And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; 6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” 7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

A few weeks ago Time© Magazine’s cover story was entitled “Does God want you to be Rich?” The cover pictured a close-up of a Rolls Royce, and the hood ornament was not the double R’s that are normally seen on a Rolls, but a gleaming, golden cross.

I remember the same argument raging, as it were, in the early ‘80’s while I was in college. It seems to have resurfaced. It is an ongoing debate within Christianity, but to be fair, it would seem to be a debate concentrated among Christians from developed countries. If we were to ask a brother or a sister from a developing nation of the world whether or not God wants us to be rich, I suspect we’d get an exasperated shake of the head and the reply would be, “You already ARE rich! Why are you asking if God WANTS you to be?”

There was a quote from one of the leading ‘prosperity theology’ proponents in the story. Her words were, “Who would want something where you’re miserable, broke and ugly and you have to muddle through until you go to heaven?”

Who indeed? That actually sounds like life, to me.

It would seem to be that popular culture marketing and advertising has sunk its claws into the realm of faith. It’s not a new phenomenon. People have always been drawn to those who promise them a life of ease and freedom from worry. Who wouldn’t be? If the promise can be delivered, then all the better. There’s enough pain in the world why NOT try to avoid as much of it as possible?

The question is not one of how much pain and misery we can avoid, but rather, what would that accomplish in our lives of faith?

You may already be familiar with the story of the little boy who is watching a butterfly struggle to emerge from its cocoon, and as he sits engrossed in watching it strain and strain against the enclosure, he feels sure that it is about to give up and die, and so he reaches out and widens the opening with the slightest of motions, and the butterfly climbs out, finally free. You know the rest of the story. The boy’s father comes by and notices what is happening. When the boy tells him what he did, the father, with a sad look on his face, explains that now the butterfly is doomed to die much sooner than it otherwise would have, because the struggle to free itself from the cocoon that imprisoned it, while terrible in itself, had the effect of strengthening the muscles with which the butterfly would be able to flap its wings in order to fly. In freeing it too soon, the boy sidestepped the necessary exercise that would have enabled the butterfly to fly from flower to flower and feed.

The lesson must not be lost on us. It is the same one that the writer of Hebrews is attempting to communicate. Indeed, the likelihood that he or she had personally experienced suffering and anguish similar to what they describe in this morning’s passage is high indeed, if not a certainty. The history of the early church is full of example after example of the martyrs of the faith. Men and women, young and old, who suffered what to us would be inconceivable pain and agony for the sole reason that they professed Christ as their Lord. Some of the hymns we sing, that hold the deepest lessons of the Christian life were born from the womb of unimaginable grief and anguish.

I can’t remember who the speaker was, but a Pastor was relating a comment that one of his parishioners shared with him as he was exiting the sanctuary after the service one Sunday. The comment was roughly this: “your preaching seems to be getting worse. You must be happy.”

I can identify with that statement on one level – as one who enjoys writing, I can say from experience that, at least from THIS perspective, the writing that happens in the midst of some life crisis is more cathartic – more healing, energizing, or invigorating – than the writing that happens when I am happy. There’s something TO being able to sit down and put down in words something to the effect of “OH GOD why is this happening” than there is to sitting down and writing “today we had a family picnic and the weather was beautiful.” There is less angst, of course, there is more peace, and there is more contentment. None of those things are readily conducive to some blazing insight on the human condition.

But what is it that is being discussed? The ability, qualifications and character of the high priest to SERVE as the High Priest – to preside and instruct people regarding their status, or offering of sacrifices.

Glancing back for a moment to our text from last week – we read in Hebrews 4:15:

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

And the thought is continued here in chapter 5. There is an emphasis on the fact that in the incarnation, God did not exempt his son from the rules laid out – including the rule about suffering that is a result of the broken relationship WITH God which colors every aspect of our lives.

I think we need to remember that God’s call on our lives is not a call TO suffer for suffering’s sake, but a call to care, a call to be compassionate – literally, to suffer alongside – those who DO suffer. What you can probably tell me better than I can understand from my own experience is that there simply IS no avoidance of suffering. We have all, to one degree or another, lived through events in our lives that we would rather have not lived through – for the sake of the sorrow – if asked to live through them again, we would most likely say “That’s okay. Once was enough.” Even though we understand that what and who we are now was and is being formed in no small way by what we experienced in that ‘vale of tears’.

What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?

The learning can happen on an individual level, of course, but can it happen as well on a corporate level?

What experiences has Jerusalem, as a family of faith, walked through together, pain and all? Have those experiences drawn us closer together or caused us to distance ourselves from one another? Have we learned to “deal gently” with each other in the wake of those trials? Have we truly learned how precious we are to each other, as individuals, as family, as brothers and sisters seeking to honor God and follow God’s will for our life as a congregation?

We must not, will not, cannot sidestep an experience into which we are thrust simply because it is painful. We must understand that it is through those experiences that we are learning what it means to follow Christ in the fullest sense of the word – through whatever circumstance we are passing.

As we have noted before, as Christ followers, we are following the example of Christ. We are living the life of Christ through our participation in the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God. While that has moments of incredible glory, as we well know, it also has moments of incredible sorrow. While we pray for blessing and protection and health of loved ones and family members, we know and understand that there is no guarantee that we will not be struck down in any number of ways – cancer, an accident, there is really no way to know what might happen this afternoon or this evening, much less tomorrow. Christ himself claimed no special knowledge of what was to come, but accepted what came – up to and including his crucifixion and death – and relied wholly on God to be with him through it. So let that be our lesson – to rely wholly on God, no matter what our condition.

Let’s pray.