Recently, I’ve noticed quite a diversity of opinion in the news about the state of domestic and foreign economic conditions.  Some experts predict positive economic conditions in the coming months.  Others are very concerned about the potential for negative economic impact caused by the conflict in the middle east or by the increasing severity and number of destructive weather events. 

The diversity of opinion about near-term and long-term economic conditions is just one example of the very common experience of differing opinions about world events, local events, and personal issues.  Differences of opinion about health, well-being, and all other imaginable topics are common.  It is equally common to encounter sharp differences of opinion about religious matters. 

The church congregation to which the Letter to the Hebrews was addressed struggled with some polarizing differences of opinion.  Some members of the congregation had started to doubt the reliability of the promise of redemption offered through the death of Jesus.   

The doubts addressed by the letter were different from the doubt expressed by Thomas the apostle in chapter 20 of John’s Gospel.  The doubters for whom the Letter to the Hebrews was written didn’t doubt that Jesus had risen from the dead; rather, they were no longer certain that his resurrection was sufficient to bring them forgiveness of sins. 

The author of the letter endeavored to call his congregation back to the faith preached by the apostles.  In today’s second reading, the author reminded his congregation that they would eventually have to render an account of their faith. (Hb 4:13)  That is to say, that they would be judged on the basis of their fidelity to their baptismal vows. 

Apparently, there was general agreement among the congregation members about the inevitability of judgment.  The author of the letter referred to this shared belief when he wrote, “the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hb 4:12)   

The rather graphic images of the word of God separating “soul and spirit, joints and marrow” means that each person will be judged by God’s word.  The congregation being addressed couldn’t agree, however, on the content of God’s word.  All expected to be judged, but they disagreed with one another on the criteria that would be used to judge the validity of their faith. 

Most Catholics today ought to be able to understand the diversity of opinion in that ancient congregation to whom the Letter to the Hebrews was written.  There is quite a difference of opinion today about the topic of salvation.  Some believe that a nostalgic attachment to memories of a Catholic childhood suffices for a living faith.  Others believe that regular church attendance is insufficient in the absence of popular devotional practices. 

It is also likely that some Catholics today understand the predicament facing the author of the letter.  If one believes what is stated in the Scriptures and the Creeds, and lives accordingly, one might find it difficult to reconcile one’s beliefs with the indifference of some and the obsessiveness of others.   

It might be helpful to note that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews was not trying to chart a middle path between complacency and worry.  Rather, the author of the letter provided numerous ways to find one’s way back to the faith of the apostles, namely, firm belief that forgiveness of sins is guaranteed to those who remain faithful to their baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

Next Sunday, we will read one of the Scriptural images that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews used to help those whose faith had begun to waiver.  Until we read that instruction by the letter’s author, it might be helpful for us to reflect on how we understand Jesus, his teaching, and his death and resurrection. 

Of the many divergent opinions about Jesus, which one(s) do you embrace?  Was Jesus a prophet?  Was he a religious zealot?  Was he a compelling preacher?  Was he a divine messenger?  Does his teaching still speak to the world today?  Is he, perhaps, the incarnation of God’s everlasting Word? 

The author of the letter hoped the members of his congregation would recall that the ancient prophets had prepared the world for the coming of the Savior.  Isaiah said, “We had all gone astray like sheep, all following our own way; But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.” (Isa 53:6)  Spend some time in prayer and reflection this week, attending to the ways that you experience Jesus as the one who took upon himself our guilt that we might be reconciled to God and neighbor.