Hebrews as Muse -- Facing Inevitable Death -- Hebrews 6
I remember it well. We were viewing the inside of St Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. We had seen Michelangelo’s sculpture “La Pieta” toward the back, went down to see the altar in the front (where St Peter is supposedly buried), then walked down the left side. Suddenly we were looking at a glassed-in tomb, the preserved remains of Pope Innocent IV (died Dec 7, 1254AD). Why put this on display?
“You will die someday.” Those four words, called a memento mori, are posted every day on the Twitter account @DailyDeathReminder. Why? Both the displayed remains of Pope’s and this Twitter account are aimed at doing the same thing: reminding us of our inevitable death. Along the same line, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a style of art called vanitas was popular across northern Europe. These were still-life paintings of ordinary objects, but mixed among them were images of human skulls, hourglasses, or maybe a shriveled plant. This was to remind the viewer of how life does not last and how it can be vain to accumulate meaningless things.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded repeatedly that life is a “chasing after the wind” if not anchored in God and his ways. Psalm 39 shares these thoughts: “Show me, Lord, my life’s end, and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”
And yet most of us continue to live life as if it will last forever, as if we won’t stand before a righteous God someday, as if death is for someone else, not us. That is dangerous. My wife and I decided to go camping for only the second time of 2023 in the third week of September. We took our small RV to Montauk State Park where Rexanne’s best friend from High School days and her husband were camp hosts. We told stories around the campfire one night, had supper with them another, and ate breakfast with them on that Friday before we came home. On Sunday Jerry (Rexanne’s best friend’s husband) collapsed near their camper with a brain aneurism, and he died two days later. Completely unexpected. He had strong Christian faith, but it is one example of how quickly life can end.
Chapter 6 of Hebrews emphasizes that believers must be careful not to fall away from their faith, because it is possible in this sin plagued world. And it offers these sobering words. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. They are crucifying the Son of God all over again.” Hebrews 6:4-6. I’m not sure how the “once saved, always saved” people dance around this passage.
Life does not last forever. We must come to faith in Christ, and then we must stay faithful. Not perfect, God’s grace covers our continuing mistakes, but we must not abandon Jesus. We can, if we allow world values to take hold of us. The warning is about more than moral failure or backsliding, it is about deciding to reject the Messiah we once embraced. That is a serious thing and recovery from this looks to be impossible. So, let’s not go there. But to stay faithful requires intention on our part.
Hold onto Jesus! “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. A hope that enters the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone” (Heb. 6:19, 20). That inner place is the Holy of Holies, where Jesus offered the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Don’t let go of that. Keep the faith!
Cross Point: When in Rome we also visited the catacombs. Christian faith was not even honored by allowing normal burials, so bodies were put in these underground cave systems. But not the end for the faithful!
“You will die someday.” Those four words, called a memento mori, are posted every day on the Twitter account @DailyDeathReminder. Why? Both the displayed remains of Pope’s and this Twitter account are aimed at doing the same thing: reminding us of our inevitable death. Along the same line, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a style of art called vanitas was popular across northern Europe. These were still-life paintings of ordinary objects, but mixed among them were images of human skulls, hourglasses, or maybe a shriveled plant. This was to remind the viewer of how life does not last and how it can be vain to accumulate meaningless things.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded repeatedly that life is a “chasing after the wind” if not anchored in God and his ways. Psalm 39 shares these thoughts: “Show me, Lord, my life’s end, and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”
And yet most of us continue to live life as if it will last forever, as if we won’t stand before a righteous God someday, as if death is for someone else, not us. That is dangerous. My wife and I decided to go camping for only the second time of 2023 in the third week of September. We took our small RV to Montauk State Park where Rexanne’s best friend from High School days and her husband were camp hosts. We told stories around the campfire one night, had supper with them another, and ate breakfast with them on that Friday before we came home. On Sunday Jerry (Rexanne’s best friend’s husband) collapsed near their camper with a brain aneurism, and he died two days later. Completely unexpected. He had strong Christian faith, but it is one example of how quickly life can end.
Chapter 6 of Hebrews emphasizes that believers must be careful not to fall away from their faith, because it is possible in this sin plagued world. And it offers these sobering words. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. They are crucifying the Son of God all over again.” Hebrews 6:4-6. I’m not sure how the “once saved, always saved” people dance around this passage.
Life does not last forever. We must come to faith in Christ, and then we must stay faithful. Not perfect, God’s grace covers our continuing mistakes, but we must not abandon Jesus. We can, if we allow world values to take hold of us. The warning is about more than moral failure or backsliding, it is about deciding to reject the Messiah we once embraced. That is a serious thing and recovery from this looks to be impossible. So, let’s not go there. But to stay faithful requires intention on our part.
Hold onto Jesus! “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. A hope that enters the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone” (Heb. 6:19, 20). That inner place is the Holy of Holies, where Jesus offered the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Don’t let go of that. Keep the faith!
Cross Point: When in Rome we also visited the catacombs. Christian faith was not even honored by allowing normal burials, so bodies were put in these underground cave systems. But not the end for the faithful!
Posted in Cross Points