A Reflection for Friday, December 19, 2024 by Melanie Marie Myatt
Lectionary reading for 12/19/2024: Psalm 80:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 10:10-18
Selected passage for reflection: Hebrews 10.10-18
Read
Hebrews 10.10-18 New Living Translation
10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,
16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he says,
“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.
Reflect
T.S. Eliot wrote a distinctive poem from the perspective of one of the magi that can often be found at this time of year. He begins with the observation:
‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
Obviously he shows us this was not exactly an ideal time to start a journey. He details many of the hardships of the journey and their desires to be in summer palaces being served sherbet. In fact, he gives more details about the difficulty of the journey than of their arrival:
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins,
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.
The picture is so much different than what we imagine, whether we imagine the wise men at the stable coming just after the shepherds, or if we imagine Jesus as a toddler and Mary and Joseph living in a house in Bethlehem. It was, he tells us, “satisfactory.”
But it is upon reflection of that memory that the significance has come to his mind:
All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
Why do I bring this poem up when reflecting on Hebrews 10? I think that the Hebrews passage also reminds us that we are no longer part of an “old dispensation.” And if we find ourselves returning to the old ways of rules and regulations, of earning our salvation, of being a “good person” or, at least we hope, “good enough,” then we have gone back to the “old dispensation” and we have found ourselves “at ease here.” We then are in need of “another death,” but not the death of Jesus.
Hebrews reassures us, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus died “once for all time.” By Jesus’ one sacrifice “he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.”
We are forever made perfect. Forever. Because of what Jesus accomplished on our behalf. And, we are being made holy. Now. Every day. But notice we are being made holy. My English teacher would want me to change that passive verb. But that is the whole point: we are being made holy. Jesus does the work in us. The fact is our “sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.
My hardest time as a chaplain is when my residents are talking about what might happen after death. Every one of them tells me either they believe they are “good enough” or they hope they are “good enough” for life with Jesus after death.
The “death” we need this Advent season is the death of the idea that we can be “good enough” to have a life with Jesus. As we wait for the time when Jesus comes again, let us “set down / This set down / This”.
Respond
As you reflect on the Hebrews passage from today, hold your hands out before you to God, showing that you bring nothing with you. The gift of this season is the gift of forgiveness made complete and perfect. Listen for Jesus’ words for you today.
Rest
God, in the busyness of the holiday season, we often add the burden of being properly thoughtful and thankful for the “reason for the season.” But whenever we lay a burden on ourselves, we take away from the freedom and liberation that Jesus achieved for us through his sacrifice. Today, let us lay our burdens down. Help us put to death the anxiety and the responsibility for our own salvation. Let us truly accept the rest, peace, and grace that can only ever come perfectly from you.
About the Author
Melanie Myatt currently works as a chaplain at a retirement community in Glenview, Illinois and as program assistant for the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction. She is also a spiritual director, writer, mom of four, and master of the 15-minute nap. If you like her writing, you can also find her on Substack.
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