IF I COULD ONLY TOUCH HIM
Introduction
The Letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish converts to Christianity who suffered much on account of their faith. On account of persecutions from the Jews, many of them had fled from their home country Palestine, to live among pagans. They felt insecure and threatened as “displaced persons;” hence, they were in danger, like their ancestors in the desert, of grumbling, contesting God, perhaps giving up their faith. Today, they are told: “Do not harden your hearts, but keep trusting and listening to God.” Are these not fitting words today to a Church in transition, a Church that is unsettled?
There is the story of the father whose child had been born badly deformed. He was disheartened and could not love it. But one day he said: “If I can only kiss and touch it, then I can completely accept it.” And that is what he did. Jesus did not only heal the leper but he touched him, showing that he loved and accepted the man completely.
Heb 3:7-14
Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we’re the house! That’s why the Holy Spirit says,
Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in “the bitter uprising,”
that time of wilderness testing!
Even though they watched me at work for forty years,
your ancestors refused to let me do it my way;
over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked, oh, so provoked!
I said, “They’ll never keep their minds on God;
they refuse to walk down my road.”
Exasperated, I vowed,
“They’ll never get where they’re going,
never be able to sit down and rest.”
So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as God’s still calling it Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.
These words keep ringing in our ears:
Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising.
Mk 1:40-45
A leper came to him, begging on his knees, “If you want to, you can cleanse me.” Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there the leprosy was gone, his skin smooth and healthy. Jesus dismissed him with strict orders: “Say nothing to anyone. Take the offering for cleansing that Moses prescribed and present yourself to the priest. This will validate your healing to the people.” But as soon as the man was out of earshot, he told everyone he met what had happened, spreading the news all over town. So Jesus kept to out-of-the-way places, no longer able to move freely in and out of the city. But people found him, and came from all over.
Prayer
God, our Father,
you let your Son Jesus Christ,
share the lot of outcasts
and bear the sufferings of all.
Let us become like him,
so that among us no one stays an outcast,
no sin remains unforgivable,
no misery is a cause for rejection.
Make us with your Son,
people who lift up the despised
with words of welcome
and deeds of encouragement.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Reflection:
12 January 2023
Hebrews 3: 7-14
Faith in the Lord cannot be postponed
The author of the letter to the Hebrews addresses some of the serious difficulties that the community of Jewish Christians were facing in accepting Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord. Today’s reading is a warning to the Christian community not to fall into the unbelief, of which their forefathers – the Israelites were guilty of in the past. A large part of the reading is a quotation from Psalm 95:6-11 which is also the Responsorial Psalm for today.
The author begins with the call “Do not be stubborn…” and bases his warning on the experience of Israel during the Exodus. In the New Testament, the saving work of Jesus is the new exodus. Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem for his suffering, death and resurrection is described as a “going out” (Luke 9:31) and similarly, his followers who are called to “go out” from a life of slavery in sin and unbelief to a life of faith and freedom.
Psalm 95 speaks about the hardness of heart of the Israelites who refused to trust in God’s care for them, even though “they had seen the work of God for forty years”. When the Israelites in the desert had no water, they began to complain and abuse Moses for bringing them out of Egypt. In complaining against Moses, they were in effect, complaining against God. This incident took place at Massah and Meribah. ‘Massah’ means ‘place of testing’ and ‘Meribah’ means ‘place of quarrelling or rebellion’.
Although angry with the people for their lack of trust, Yahweh tells Moses to strike a rock and water comes out from it. In the version of the story in the book of Numbers, the focus is on Moses himself. He struck the rock not once but twice and this was taken as a lack of faith on his part. As a punishment for his lack of faith, he could not reach the Promised Land.
The readers of this Letter would have been very familiar with this story and with the Psalm and the implication. If they continue in their unbelief, a similar fate awaits them and “They will not enter my rest.”
In the final sentences, the author turns directly to the Hebrew Christians and warns them against similar forms of unbelief and turning away from the “living” God. The reading touches on three periods: the rebellion of the Israelites against Moses and Yahweh in the desert, the weakening faith of the Jewish Christians to whom the sermon was delivered and, finally, our own experience now.
God is to be found, loved and served in the now. It cannot be postponed to another day.
Video available on Youtube: Faith in the Lord cannot be postponed