Then and Now, a Reflection on Hebrews 1:1-4

Here are some excerpts from the commentary of Hebrews and James written by Frances Taylor Gench:

"Hebrews addresses believers who have grown weary in the Christian way and who are in danger of abandoning their Christian vocation."

"....fading enthusiasm, waning commitment, dwindling church attendance, and arrested development in the Christian faith."

"God has spoken; indeed, God has never been silent. God has spoken through prophets throughout our history, and now has spoken to us by a Son"

Gench focuses on the high Christology in Hebrews: The Son was at the beginning. Through him, the world was created and continues to be sustained:

Moreover, contemplation of Hebrews' panorama will guard against a restricted vision and limited appreciation of the story of Jesus Christ....Christians who do not attend church regularly, making an appearance only at Christmas and Easter, may envision Christ only in diapers or nailed to a cross! Hebrews, however, encourages a broader perspective. It fills out the big picture, thereby laying the groundwork for a more mature understanding of the one who stands at the beginning and end of God's purposes for the world, and who makes available to us God's own life.

How limited is the vision and appreciation of the story of Jesus Christ? I go to church two or three times a week but surely I realize that a lot, a whole lot, of people go only two or three times a year if that many. What do they think about Jesus if they really do go only on Christmas and Easter? How do we get across to them that God's purpose includes our lives? How do we learn that ourselves?