- Consider the phrase “various and partial ways” in verse 1. Reading the “various ways” as we do in our Bibles, we tend to think of them all as “written” or literary ways. In terms of how they were originally communicated, though, they were really “various.” Name several of those different ways.
Here are a few examples:
Dreams—Joseph in Genesis recounts one that angers his brothers.
Mystical experience involved in nature—Moses and the burning bush
Prophetic oracle—Jeremiah, repeatedly
Prophetic act—Ezekiel builds a model of Jerusalem (chapter 4)
Miracle of nature—sun moving back (see Isaiah 38)
Verbal instruction—throughout the Wisdom tradition (Proverbs, Sirach, etc.)
Teaching through a parable—see Judges 9
Notice, too, Hebrews’ emphasis on God’s “speaking” (He spoke to us). Think about the difference between exchanging a written note with someone and speaking with that same person.
It is also true that the different holy figures in the Old Testament gave us “partial” insights into what God is like: Hosea emphasizes His spousal love for us, Isaiah His grandeur and holiness, Amos His strong sense of justice, etc.
- What do you think the author of Hebrews means by “these last days” in verse 2?
Check Matt Fitzgerald’s reply on this. He nails it. All of us, since the Resurrection, are living in the Last Days, while still awaiting the end of them all.
- We are used to hearing Jesus described as “priest, prophet, and king” in homilies and instruction. In the first three verses alone, try to pick out references that imply those things about Jesus.
Jesus is not named in these verses, only identified as the Son. But in these verses, we the see that the Son, in verse 2, speaks in a prophetic voice that is beyond all the prophets. In verse 3, he accomplishes the priestly task of purifying from sin. And, also in verse 3, he takes sits on a kingly throne at the right hand of God.
- Look up the cross references for the quotations our author uses. Do you think there is anything unusual about his choices? Why would he not have to state the sources of these quotations for his original audience?
All of them but one are taken from the Psalms—not the first place we typically look for insights about how God works. And yet, now we may say, “It stands written…”. This reminds us, too, that the Jews include most of the books we often categorize as “History” (Joshua—Nehemiah) as “Prophets.”
- Note this definition, copied from Wikipedia: In psychology, WEIRDis an acronym for Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic — a capsule description of the undergraduates that the majority of psychological tests are done on. Mostly first-year psychology students. The term is intended to denote awareness that doing all your studies on this tiny group (approximately 10-15% of human population)[1] may not in fact give results indicative of humanity in general, and that such claims may in fact be rubbish. In your opinion, how awake are we Weirdos to the possibility purely spiritual beings (such as angels, demons, ancestor-spirits, etc.) co-inhabiting this world we live in compared to non-Weird people living all around us?
The perhaps not-so-clearly-worded question here was meant to suggest reflection on how little open to mystery our modern sensibilities seem to be. We want to adhere only to scientifically established facts, where our ancestors and vast swaths of the current inhabitants of Earth (the non-WEIRD 85%) are more open to regarding material reality as charged full of spiritual meaning.
Specifically, on spiritual beings, I’m not sure how strong actual belief in angels and demons is among most Christians today. Kelly Thatcher’s words on Catholic teaching are on the mark. (It is not wise to undertake cross words with Kelly!)