Praying Together 24th August 2025

Tick-in-the-box religion or love-in-action?

For the most part, the Epistle to the Hebrews does more or less what it says on the tin – but it isn’t addressed to every Israelite, only those who have accepted Jesus as the Messiah. In order for them to gain a deeper insight into their new faith, it explains the doctrinal difference between the Old and New Covenants, and assumes a knowledge of the former on which to base the Christian understanding of God’s relationship with His people. It has been suggested (slightly tongue in cheek, but quite accurately), that the Book of Hebrews was written by a Hebrew to other Hebrews telling the Hebrews to stop acting like Hebrews. It rejects ‘religion’ in its discussion of faith and salvation – that gift comes through grace alone. In today’s readings, it talks about two mountains.

Sinai represents the unapproachable Old Covenant Mountain, on which God gives to Moses the series of laws by which Israel is commanded to live. But it shows that it is demonstrably impossible to live by the law in itself and thus achieve salvation – humans, however pious, are still subject to sin and tremble with fear as they realise the power of the untouchable and unclimbable mountain.

Instead, through Christ, the mountain we are offered is Zion – The New Covenant home, established through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, characterised by the internalization of God’s laws and obedience to the simple commandment to love God and our neighbour as we are loved through Christ.

Luke’s story of the healing of the crippled woman shows the significance of this difference in action. The leader of the synagogue wants to get a tick in the box; Jesus wants to heal. That isn’t to say the Priest is being malevolent – probably, he sincerely feels that Jesus is committing a rebellious – if not even blasphemous – act, that risks undermining his authority and position in the social hierarchy. He is only being true to his belief in the Mosaic Law as the foundation of Jewish society. Unfortunately, that belief has in itself become an idol, an object of worship, a closed-mind barrier to the truth. He can’t – won’t – hear Jesus. His hypocritical behaviour goes back to those Israelites in the foothills of Sinai who persuaded Aaron to make a metal image of a calf for their worship, causing Moses to shatter the stone tablets holding the commandments which God had given him. Through the ages, the story is the same – people want a god of their own design, with empty ‘religious’ rituals they can perform and then get on with their life, rather than the simple (but at the same time difficult) command to put love into action – a life not of religious prestige, but continuous humble service.

A human-designed religion doesn’t work in achieving salvation. Human nature and human sin renders it impossible. Salvation does not ever come through religious practice – it comes through Christ, the only sinless one, whose sacrifice is given as a free gift in love, to those who can’t help themselves. All He asks is that we are open to respond to His word in penitence and faith, and then His amazing Grace lifts us to the Mountain peak from which we go forth as Christ’s body to heal a broken world.