Twenty Second Sunday of the Year: The New Covenant Worship (Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24)

In a certain community of priests the daily celebration of Holy Mass is an occasion for petty bickering. At the “I confess to Almighty God,” half of the community says “and to you my brothers and sisters” as in the missal. The other half looks round and seeing that there is no woman in attendance, says “and to you my brothers.” Should a woman be in attendance they say, “and to you my brothers and sister.” Why mention sisters when there are no women present, they argue. Yet, properly understood, Christian worship always includes more than eye can see.

In the past we regarded Hebrews as one of the Letters of Paul. Today, it is generally believed (a) that Hebrews was not written by Paul, and (b) that is not a letter written to people who are absent from the writer but a sermon delivered to believers gathered in worship. With this understanding, today’s second reading from Hebrews 12:18-24 can be seen as an attempt by the preacher to give the congregation a better understanding of the mystery we walk into when we attend Christian worship. There are two parts to the reading. The first part begins in verse 18 “You have not come to …” and the second part begins in verse 22 “But you have come to …”

First the preacher tries to correct a wrong impression that some people in the church have about Christian worship.

You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom [that can be seen], and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice [that can be heard] whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them (12:18-19).

These observable things were signs of God’s presence with His people in the Old covenant worship on Mount Sinai. They can all be perceived by the senses of sight, sound and touch. The grandeur of the worship was measured by its audio, visual and emotional effect. According to the preacher, this is not what we gather for when we assemble for Christian worship.

When we gather in worship, the preacher then goes on to teach, we participate in a seven-fold spiritual reality.

You have come (1) to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, (2) to innumerable angels in festal gathering, (3) to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven [that is, fellow believers who are alive and worshipping with us], (4) to God the judge of all, (5) to the spirits of the righteous made perfect [believers who are dead, whose souls are now with God], (6) to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, (7) and to the sprinkled blood [of Christ] that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (12:22-24).

We can see that what we have come to are spiritual things, as opposed to those things that we have not come to, which are things perceivable by the senses. To appreciate and participate meaningfully in Christian worship what we need above all is not eyes or ears or feelings but faith. Secondly, the things we have not come to have to do with things, whereas what we have come to has to do with persons: God, Christ, angels, spirits, and fellow believers. We come not to experience some-thing but to fellowship with some-one: God together with all who belong to Him. Communion is not something we receive into ourselves, communion is something we do with others: fellowship with God, God’s angels, and our fellow believers, living and dead.

Do you perhaps know some brothers or sisters in Christ who complain that they get nothing out of the church service because the singing is dull and the preaching boring? Maybe you should tell them that next time they come, they should bring more faith than eyes or ears. The good music and the good preaching we hear, the altar decorations and the flowers we see, these can contribute to our appreciation of the worship, but the most important thing we need to have a great worship is faith.