Verse for the week of October 4th:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son. (Hebrews 1:1)
This opening line to the letter to the Hebrews sets the stage for the author’s purpose of this letter (or more probably a sermon). This verse tells us that God has acted in many and various ways in the past, but now God is doing a new thing. In these days, God is speaking not through prophets but through His Son.
The author is setting the stage for all to see that Jesus is superior to all those who came before him. Jesus is the supreme high priest… he is above all the angels… he is greater than Moses—all this points us to the understanding that Jesus is the one in whom we should put our trust and faith in. At least 15 times the author uses the word for either better or superior in reference to Jesus throughout the letter. The point is that while the prophets spoke for God and had a significant message for the people of their day—the reality is that Jesus trumps all others and that in these days Jesus is the one who speaks to us today.
This leads me to the question of: How does Jesus speak to us today?
The easy answer is that Jesus speaks to us through the Bible. The Bible is to be the ‘rule and norm for faith and life’ (as the Confessions of the Lutheran Church state). This means that we need to rely upon the teachings of Jesus for the decisions we make in our lives. However is the Bible the only way that Jesus continues to speak to us?
What about those think that Jesus speaks to them while they pray? What about those who simply sense that Jesus is placing something upon their heart? What about those who believe that Jesus is speaking to them through a sermon or another person? What about those who think that they are receiving a message from Jesus as they as reading a book (not the Bible)? What about people who sense a message from Jesus as they listen to a song or a hymn? And the list could go on and on and on.
When I reflect upon this verse, the message that I receive is that we need to be open to the fact that God sent His Son to us and that the Son, Jesus, still speaks to us today. In our busy world, we may miss how Jesus is speaking to us.
In these days, God is speaking to us through His Son—what message is Jesus speaking to you this day?
It is important to listen to God in the many ways he speaks to us. We should respond in a way that shows we not only heard the message, but listened too
It seems that in my life busyness is the most frequent barrier to listening to God. Even if our lives are filled with activities which God might “approve of”, we still need to intentionally set aside time to listen. (Staying awake is the challenge. I don’t think sleeping is what God had in mind when he said, “Be still…”.)
For me, overcoming the “too busy to listen” problem is a matter of routine. It’s hard for me to say “at 6:30 every night, I’ll do bible study”. Something always comes up!
But if I say “every time I get out of the car today, take a deep breath and a minute or two just to listen”…then that’s something I can accomplish. Baby steps, I guess.