( Hebrews 5:7-9 ) - [ Deutsch ]
Topic: Life is learning obedience in the face of God for eternal blessedness
Dear family Le Roux, dear congregation,
We baptise little children because we are convinced that God's love is there from the very beginning and is the foundation on which our lives stand. You want to accompany Zoey on the path of faith. And you have also affirmed that you want to learn with her and from her: standing in awe before God and trusting Him. And this formulation clearly shows that not only children learn from older people, but that we adults also learn from children. The hardest lesson in life to learn is obedience. Obedience sounds rather unattractive at first.
Thoughts like "immature" or that you are not allowed to have your own opinion resonate. I am all the more surprised that this is exactly what the sermon text from Hebrews 5 is about. Obedience is a learning task. Also for Jesus. I read verses 7-9:
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.
Dear congregation, the New Testament and in particular the letter to the Hebrews show a keen interest in the historical Jesus.
Today, on the Sunday called Judica, lent, the suffering and death of Jesus, are casting their hard shadows ahead of them.
Jesus brought his prayers and supplications before God with loud cries and tears- the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane on Maundy Thursday arises in my mind. Jesus is afraid, he wrestles with God, asks that this cup may pass him by and finally comes to consent to what is in store for him: "not my will, but yours be done".
You can see what it costs him, because this is not about doing nice and enjoyable things. Now it becomes difficult and hard for Jesus.
Jesus did not passively accept his fate, but he struggles to freely say "yes". He first had to learn that. Even though he is the Son of God. A true human being.
As a child, you learn to walk; later in life, you continue learning to get up again and again. Jesus got the strength to stand up in prayer, to be upright in suffering.
The ultimate obedience can only be learned in suffering, in the struggle with that which everything in us resists and which we would only too gladly avoid or run away from.
Many signs point to the fact that Jesus knew what was in store for him. The Gospels show that Jesus' words and actions had to provoke the hostility of the sinful world. He contradicted rules that were hostile to people. And he lived what he preached.
When we hear about people in the Bible who encountered Jesus, then it becomes clear what our watchword for this week means. (Matthew 20:28): Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Jesus served. Many a person who has reached a high position can take this as an example.
Obedience begins with listening. Learning to listen is the first thing. Hearing, listening. Paying focused attention. Look, see, look closely. Sharpen your own senses. That nothing escapes them. Blind obedience is not what is called for here. Obedience with sharpened senses. That must be learned.
The Son of God has learned obedience. It says in the Letter to the Hebrews. That is a unique statement in the Bible. But it expresses what we hear in the watchword for this week and what is also often told in the Bible. Paul formulates it in a similar way in the letter to the Philippians: The Messiah Jesus "emptied himself and took on the form of a slave... he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross". In this obedience he serves God and at the same time us humans.
Fortunately, none of us is required to walk the path that Jesus walked. We don't even need to - because the Bible and especially the Letter to the Hebrews tell us, everything has been done with Jesus' obedience and his path. What remains for us is difficult enough.
It is a matter of adhering to God's word and his instructions. It requires an upright walk and standing up for what the Bible calls us to do, for example, "love your neighbour". The foundation of such an attitude is Christ.
By being obedient to God, Jesus opened up a new world for us. The Letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus "author of eternal salvation and blessedness." This has consequences. It calls for "walking uprightly." But before that, we are given a great gift:
We have a God who knows what suffering is. No one has to feel alone in times of greatest need. Jesus is with us in life and knows our worries and needs. Whether it is fear of failure, fear when things are not going well with our partner, when the doctor's diagnosis scares us.
All this fear is not wiped away. But the fear is well taken care of. Jesus had to go his sorrowful way....through and not past it.
We too are not spared many things in life.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and rely not on your understanding, but remember him in all your ways, and he will guide you aright.
This saying is to accompany Zoey in life. You have chosen it for your daughter.
The goal of the path is indicated in the Letter to the Hebrews: eternal salvation. Fulfilment, completion, closeness to God.
May your paths as a baptismal family be such that you feel guided and accompanied by God.
We can have a foretaste of eternal blessedness:
When there are people who turn to each other in Jesus' name, that is a piece of blessedness. When we celebrate communion and baptism together. A common prayer, an outstretched hand in the name of Jesus can alleviate fear and suffering.
Nothing else has that strength and power.
So we are meant to be a community of learners and comforters for one another.
Learners, namely, in being in awe of God and in trusting in God.
Comforting because we comfort one another.
Jesus himself sought this comfort and found it in prayers to God. When people find themselves on the side of the comforters, they receive strength from the one who has walked this path before them.
And the peace of God, which is greater than anything we can imagine, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.