Reading: Hebrews 10: 5-10

Verse 10: “By that will we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Christ once for all.”

As we return to Hebrews 10 today our thoughts turn again to what they have been drawn towards throughout Advent: to “when Christ came into the world.” In just five days we will celebrate and rejoice on Christmas Eve. Yes, Christmas Eve is about worship centered on the birth of Christ, but it is also worship that keeps in mind what our passage today speaks of – Jesus Christ was born for a purpose.

Our passage from Hebrews begins by acknowledging that God was no longer pleased by the burnt and sin offerings being given. God desired a body. Christ’s was the one “you prepared for me.” Born into this world to be the living example of God’s love, Jesus came “to do your will, O God.” This body planned for since the beginning of time and prepared for the incarnation would become the sacrifice “once for all.” By following through with God’s will Jesus provided the way for us to be made holy again and again. Through the acts of confession and repentance we can be made once again holy in God’s sight.

Just as Jesus came to bear God’s love to the world, so too are we to bear God’s love to the world. We do this primarily by living as Jesus lived, being love, joy, hope, peace, mercy, contentment, kindness… in the world. We also do this by giving of ourselves for others. Following Christ’s example, sometimes this involves sacrifice as we give of our time, talents, and resources. We also bear God’s love into the world as part of the body of Christ. This too is a desire of God: to see the body of Christ in action. As part of a faith community we collectively bring the love of God to our neighbors and to the strangers we meet.

May we as individuals and as the body of Christ serve God this week by bearing love into the world.

Prayer: Lord God, the call is to love: to love you, to love family, to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, to love our friends and colleagues, to love the stranger – all with the love of Jesus Christ. Use me to love well. Amen.