Today, we begin a series of reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. The author of this letter is not known for sure - although some believe that it might have been St Paul or someone well-versed in his teaching. Nor is it known for whom it was written although opinion tends to veer towards Jews who had either converted to Christianity or who were considering taking such a step. As such, great emphasis is placed on the person of Jesus and of his relationship with the Judaism of the Old Testament as found in the Hebrew Scriptures.

 

It would be useful to read the introduction to the letter as, in this, the stature of Jesus is celebrated as Son of God - of the one who is higher than the angels. It is in that context that the paradox of his exaltation was brought about by his entry into human life - in effect, a humiliation - a reduction in status. Further, to achieve the name which is above all names, Jesus had to suffer death.

 

These are deep theological truths and the human mind can only glimpse the full import of the teaching. However, the purpose of such a sacrifice is explicitly shown in this reading as being the sanctification of humanity.

 

It is impossible to know what Jesus existence before the Incarnation was like: he was the creating Word - the prophetic Word - the liberating Word - but we can have no idea what that meant - any more than we can understand the Beings of God or Spirit. What is clear is that, in order to sanctify humanity and open the way for them to reclaim eternal life, the Word became flesh. A transcendent Being took on human form and lived “as one of us”. That incarnation was shown to be complete when the eternal one accepted the human lot of death. He did not disappear from the cross - but had to be lifted down as a human corpse and placed in the arms of the one who had given him birth.

 

This is the mystery at the heart of our faith - a mystery we can only stand before and marvel at so great a love which offers such a sacrifice for mere human beings.