Daily Liturgy and Scripture

The writer of Hebrews brings another important factor in Jewish life into the discussion: Sabbath. Resting is an act of God, and it should be a time of true renewal. Making things new again is God's ultimate goal, and refreshing creation starts from a place of renewed people.

Once again for the benefit of the Jewish audience, the author of Hebrews brings important points to bear. This time, he talks about the Moses tradition and Jesus in comparison, who is greater than Moses and therefore the tradition Moses represents. This means that God has not rendered the Moses tradition as invalid, but that God has done a greater work to continue his own story.

Since Hebrews as written to a Jewish audience, the author is covering some pretty important pieces that relate directly to the Jewish experience: the humanit of God becoming man, Jesus joining the human experience, and becoming the high priest for all of us. A high priest was human, so it was critical that the audience understand that God had both fulfilled his promise in Jesus and charted a new future because Jesus is now Lord.

Jesus is not an angel, because he is higher than the angels. Jesus is the Son of God, and is God. If he were an angel or a man who was remade into a new being, he could not have been our Savior.

The reasons for the standard to which ministers are held is finally revealed: because these leaders will endure with their churches, working together through hard times. Paul seems to have hit a few of his own, having been abandoned and in need of friends who were far away.

There is a big difference between someone who is conforming their life to follow Jesus and someone who isn't. Paul seems to indicate that even when the example of Christ is before us, some will still follow their own way.

Reproducing ministry is more than just finding people who are willing to do the work, it also requires a standard to which those working can be held. Not because they are better than those to whom they minister, but because to represent Christ in his ministry is to act like Christ would act.

Perhaps one of the most important pieces of 2 Timothy 1 is the phrase, "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus." This is a pretty good encapsulation of what religion should be in the Kingdom of Jesus: what came from Jesus, passed through the disciples, and continued being handed along through generations is that same pattern of sound teaching we pursue today. And of course, the working of the Spirit is part of that.

Paul seems to have concerns for his leaders' development, even about trivial things such as quarrels about the law and also more serious topics such as enslavement to passions. The end result is leaders who are willing to be set apart, who will model what citizens of Jesus's Kingdom look like in person.

God has ordered the universe, and so the Kingdom which Jesus established will also be ordered. This means the chaos humans a capable of creating should not be its defining quality, but a more thoughtful approach to how we behave.