Being His People
Key Bible Passages : Hebrews 10:25
Author : The Rt Revd Ruth Worsley, Bishop of Taunton
I’ve just been given a gift this morning from someone who said she valued my support, prayers and belief in her, which had encouraged her in her calling to be a priest. I don’t know about encouraging her… I felt encouraged by her! Just yesterday I was told off for not having responded to someone in the way they wanted and as often happens it left me questioning myself and my actions. It doesn’t take much to doubt ourselves or to have our confidence shaken. I often think that encouragement is the missing gift within the Church. It is all too easy to slip into patterns of criticism or unhelpful argument rather than to see what is good and appreciate it. And yet we do need the helpful critique of another to cause us to think and reflect on our actions and motives. Encouragement isn’t just about warm strokes and appreciation but it also helps to strengthen our resolve and shape our behaviour.
Social media has given us the ability to access an ever bigger world than we inhabit, and yet we often find ourselves drawn into a diminishing echo chamber reflecting our own negative behaviours. Rather than open ourselves up to new ideas which encourage creativity and help us grow and develop we allow ourselves to be defined by algorithms that mirror our narrow preferences and prejudices.
As a Twitter user, I am often struck by the viciousness of some posts. People seem willing to make destructive comments about another person without knowledge or understanding of who they are or their circumstances. It isn’t that there is no affirmation and empathy shown on the platform but the noise of the voices of criticism and hate are often heard loudest. I wonder if the Church can show another way is possible?
The book of Hebrews recounts the history of the people of God and seeks to show Christ as being the ultimate fulfillment of the promises of God. It tells stories of the faith of the Hebrew people through the ages and encourages the early Christians to build on that faith by drawing closer to Jesus. Rather than retreating into an ever-narrowing religious perspective these new believers in ‘the Way’, as those early Christians were known, were being invited to expand their vision and encounter the living Christ in the person of Jesus. This must have felt a terrifying journey to make. Moving beyond the norms of their traditional religious experience to something less defined and open to new discovery.
Of course in the exploration of any new venture, checks and balances are always needed. The Research and Development units of any company seeking to expand their business are all about that. The discovery of new medicines such as the Covid vaccines required a rigorous period of trial and error, testing formulae before getting to a positive result. And even then there’s the necessity of faith to commit to a course of action which might not be able to answer all the unknown questions. R and D departments are littered with failed experiments before the right solution is found and even when it is that doesn’t mean that all are able to be financed or authorised.
The writer of Hebrews is inviting those reading the letter to engage in a similar journey of discovery. To take the next step of faith, to draw closer to God by finding out more about this Christ Jesus whose entry into the life of humanity has given access to deeper understanding. But it’s not without its challenges and pitfalls. Hence the directive to join together, to support one another in such a journey.
It’s really no different for us today. ‘No one is an island’ as the saying goes. None of us can manage to be upbeat all the time. We all need others to encourage us when we feel that we have run out of ideas or options. And we also need the correctives of other opinions and perspectives to help shape our thinking.
The apostle Paul uses the image of a human body to talk about how Christians connect, relate and depend on one another. I believe that the imperative of ‘meeting together’ in this passage is not merely speaking of a gathering of people once a week to worship God but rather a commitment to a way of being. It reminds us of the necessity of each individual member. There’s no room for amputation! You can hardly leave a piece of yourself behind.
That isn’t easy! As we know from our recent conversations across the Church around Living in Love and Faith, there are different views held amongst us on what we consider to be God’s voice. Over these past years of listening we have sought to walk together synodically, recognising that to do so is painful and challenging. Living with difference and disagreement is hard. How we achieve it will signal the reality of our walk of faith. ‘They will know you are my disciples by the love you have for one another’ were Jesus’ words. How will you respond?
Questions
To help with further reflection, thought or application.
1: What might you need to change to play your full part within the body of Christ?
2: What one thing might you do to encourage another in their faith journey?
Prayer
Jesus help us to step up and step out in playing our part in being be apart of your body. Amen
We’ve created an audio version of this devotional that can be listened to as a Podcast.