Sunday, June 14, 2015

Today’s Reading  |  Hebrews 2:5–10
Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere,

“What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
or mortals, that you care for them?
You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned them with glory and honor,
subjecting all things under their feet.”

Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (NRSV)

Reflection
As wise people knew in ancient days, it’s important to know your place in the world, because only then will you know what lies within your control and what lies outside of it, and only then can you live accordingly. Conversely, ignorance about such things leads to hubris, and hubris leads to tragedy.

Quoting the psalmist, the writer of Hebrews depicts where human beings fall in the cosmic order of things: a little lower than angels, but nevertheless higher than everything else in creation. By placing human beings over everything else in creation, God “left nothing outside their control.”

What could this possibly mean? Any honest person knows that we are deluding ourselves if we think that everything except for angels is under our influence, much less our control. Even the author of Hebrews knows this. And yet, lifting up the example of Jesus Christ, he helps us to make sense of what we do have within our power. Like Jesus, we have within our power the choice to put aside our self-interests and private preferences for the sake of others’ well-being. With every choice he made, Jesus worked for the good of all, even when he had to suffer for its sake. This was the power Jesus exercised, and it is why, millennia later, he is still heralded Lord of lords, King of kings, and Prince of Peace.

Prayer
Almighty God, like the psalmist, I too wonder what are human beings that you would “crown them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet.” Make me mindful, God, of the power you have given me. In the choices I make and the stances I take, help me to wield well what little power I have to make a big difference for the good of all. For the sake of Christ my Lord, I pray. Amen.

Written by Joyce Shin, Associate Pastor for Congregational Life

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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