November 18th - Reflection

Hebrews 9:23-28 (NRSV)
Christ has appeared once for all

Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than these. 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.

Reflection
It's interesting to contrast the Old Testament account with what Jesus did for us as sacrifice. The high priest would enter the sanctuary's holiest place once a year and bring the blood of offering. This was blood not his own but of the sacrifice offered for the sins of the people.

Jesus enters not a replica of the sanctuary, but heaven itself, with his own blood offered for the sins of the people. Since it is God's own blood and not the blood of another sacrifice, the blood only need be offered once. We are saved through the blood of Christ and this once for all. Jesus opens up the holy of holies to us and we are, through Jesus, in the presence of God. Wow! In the presence of God through Jesus. Jesus is God and we have been saved from sin. Just as Jesus died once, he now lives eternally. He died once for our sin, not year after year as in the Old Testament. Died once because it was his own blood that was sacrificed, not the blood of another.

And we come to Chirst with our very lives once. Once with all we have, we offer ourselves to Jesus in response to the WOW! that Jesus did once for us. We come to Jesus once and Jesus offers freely the grace of salvation. Our life is taken and changed. Changed into what God would have. Changed forever into a new person.

While even on this earth we struggle with the old person, God is making all things new. Our struggle is the struggle of letting go of the old. Like a baby struggles with letting go of the womb through the birth canal, we struggle to pass through to new life. And as we struggle towards that new life, we find the joy of Jesus in that light, helping us along the way and cheering us on to new life in the new Light of Christ. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Jesus, as I struggle towards you Light, help me along the way and gently guide me to new birth in You. --- Amen