Living and Active Words

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Hebrews 4:12-16

On his death bed, a rich man pleaded with God that he might be let into heaven with his chest of gold.  God reluctantly Ok’d it.  “If that’s what you really want,” God said.  When he got to the pearly gates of heaven, Peter would not let the man in with his chest.  “But I cleared it with God!” the man protested.  After a few calls, Peter confirmed the clearances. Overjoyed, the rich man entered the pearly gates with his treasure chest.  Peter asked the man to show him what was so precious in that chest of his.  As he opened the chest to reveal bars of gold, Peter laughed, “You brought in more pavement?! All of this fuss about pavement?!” 
Perspective matters, doesn’t it?  Especially when it comes to money and our material possessions.  Most of us know the saying, “You can’t take it with you,” but when we look at how we live our lives from day to day, sometimes it can be difficult for us to separate ourselves from our stuff.  We love our stuff.  When we hear Jesus in our gospel tell the man to give up his possessions in exchange for treasure in heaven, we can understand why he might go away shocked and grieving, for he had many possessions.  WE have many possessions.  And sometimes it’s not the stuff itself, but the memories and stories that are attached to those possessions.  Grandma’s ring.  Grandpa’s antique coffee table.  Aunt Mabel’s fine china.  As we pray for the millions of folks who have lost most of their possessions, their homes, their livelihoods from the devastation of Hurricanes Milton and Helene, we recognize how difficult it can be to live without many possessions. Our possessions are tied up with our hearts in many ways, which makes it difficult, as Jesus notes, to part with them.
If we listen to the gospel in conjunction with our second reading from Hebrews, we hear, in 4:12, “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Jesus’ words in our gospel challenges us to separate ourselves and our desire to follow Jesus from our wealth.  Are the intentions of our hearts really to worship and serve God, or to live life as comfortably as possible? Jesus’ words can pierce and convict when we think of what we would have a very difficult time giving up so that our relationship with Christ is first– if not our money, then our time, or one of our favorite hobbies, etc.  
The book of Hebrews is not the only instance where God’s word is described as a two-edged sword.  Ephesians 6:17 refers to the sword of the Spirit as the word of God.  When Simeon blesses baby Jesus in the temple, he tells Mary, “a sword will pierce your own soul, too” in the gospel of Luke.  The return of Christ described in Revelation depicts Christ with a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth.  And Jesus himself says in the gospel of Matthew that he has come not to bring peace to the earth but a sword.  We understand the sword to which these New Testament verses refer consistently to be not a real weapon to do physical damage but the word of God that judges the intentions of our hearts. And we understand Jesus himself to be the word of God made flesh; the embodiment of God’s word.
    A basic Lutheran view of how to read scripture is the concept of “law and gospel.”  A two-edged sword is a good visual illustration of law and gospel.  On the one hand, this living and active word of God convicts us, judges us, lays bare our souls so that no one can hide from God.  This is what we would call the law.  Whenever we can go down the list of things we should do or shouldn’t do and measure how we’re doing based on these dos and don’ts, that’s the law of God.  When we think of the Ten Commandments, as the rich man and Jesus discuss, for example, we confess to God the ways we have failed to keep those commandments.  These are the most basic rules God gives us for living faithfully with God and others, yet we break those rules.  When we try to live a less materialistic, consumerist lifestyle and divide ourselves from our possessions like Jesus urges this rich man to do, and we recognize that we can’t, that is the law.  We know that God already knows what we have done and what we have failed to do – God knows us better than we know ourselves.  The law’s primary purpose is to help us be honest with ourselves, with others, and with God that we are not perfect. We cannot live fully by God’s law or follow Jesus faithfully by our own efforts.  We need help. We need Jesus.
    So thankfully, there’s another edge to the sword of the Word of God – Christ’s Word of forgiveness and grace, what we call the gospel – God’s good news for us.  The author of Hebrews encourages us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” Christ, our high priest and savior, in his human nature understands our human weaknesses, yet is without sin, unlike us.  Despite of ourselves, because of Christ, we are able to come to God to receive mercy and find grace in time of need, thanks be to God.  The gospel, the good news that Jesus has died for our sins to save us in spite of ourselves has the last, final word.  The sword of Christ’s word, the law, may pierce our souls, but it also drives us into the arms of God’s mercy and grace.  And so despite his inability to separate himself completely from his wealth, Jesus looks at the rich man and loves him.  Jesus says it’s harder than a camel going through the eye of the needle to enter the kingdom of God, but with God, all things are possible. And Christ makes salvation possible for us.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.