16 January 2015 - no man is an island

But the word that they heard did not profit them,
for they were not united in faith with those who listened.

Because they were not united in faith they didn't enter into the rest which God had for them. He swore in his anger, "They shall not enter into my rest". We don't want to hear the same thing. That is why we try not to harden our hearts. We try to remain open to the faith. We try to keep the faith. We are often very concerned with doctrinal precision, with wording, with formulations, and with ideas. And this is laudable. But the author of Hebrews envisions something more. He warns us that the Good News might not profit us if we aren't united in the faith with those who listen. It isn't all about individualism. We are to be united by the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace (cf. Eph. 4:3). Are we our brother's keeper? The implicit answer is yes, we are (cf. Gen. 4:9).

This is a great responsibility of course. But it can also be a great blessing in our weakness.

They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

In each and every heart there is paralysis that keeps us from God. The kingdom is designed in such a way that our brothers and sisters can carry us to Jesus to be healed when we cannot or will not move on our own. We are not islands of strength. We are not sufficient onto ourselves. We all have different roles to play. We don't have to have every sort of strength to make it through.

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 12:4)

The body is not one member, but many (cf. 1 Cor. 12:14). But this only functions as intended when we are united by the Spirit. But we are united in the Spirit by virtue of our baptism. We need to live this unity!

We need to strive to enter in the rest God has prepared for us. We need to do this together. When we realize that forgiveness and healing aren't simply heavenly abstractions, when we realize "that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth", we come to him with our earthly brothers and sisters. It is no longer purely spiritual because we aren't purely spiritual beings.

Jesus wants us to know and trust his authority. He wants us to come to him united and with malleable hearts so that he can guide us to the rest he intends us "at the foundation of the world". Let us declare his authority to one another. Let us declare his love to one another. Let us make firm our hope in him.

That they too may rise and declare to their sons
that they should put their hope in God,
And not forget the deeds of God
but keep his commands.