Provoke One Another - November 14, 2021

Recorded Worship on YouTube

Hebrews 10:11-25

Deborah Laforet

Provoke One Another

Let us pray.  May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by the Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day.  Amen. 

I have two younger brothers who are about two and a half years apart in age.  They mostly got along when we were growing up, but of course there were fights.  They were and are very different from each other.  The younger of the two is a charmer and can be a bit of a tease, while the older one is very studious and has a quick temper.  Because of this quick temper, my younger brother loved to provoke his older brother.  Usually when there was a fight, it was the older that got into trouble because of this temper, but the younger one who had usually provoked his older brother and usually, with that charm, got away with it.

That would be the negative way of provoking someone, provoking them into anger and possibly doing something harmful because of it, but there are positive outcomes of provoking someone.

Jeff and Jay led worship a couple of weeks ago.  They talked about mental health and they shared their stories about their own mental health.  Right after the service, Shawn Turner talked to me and said how much he appreciated what was offered and told me that he too wanted to share his story.  I’d like to invite Shawn up here now to share with us.

Shawn will speak…

Thank you Shawn.  

This is why we invite people to talk more about their mental health.  The more we talk about it, the easier it gets to talk about.  Our own stories provoke others to share their stories.  So thanks again to Jeff and Jay and and to Shawn as we continue to share our stories of depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, stress, caregiver fatigue…I think there are probably just as many mental illnesses out there as physical illnesses, and we just need to make them as commonplace as talking about cancer, dementia, and broken limbs.

It’s a new way of living in this world.  We used to hide mental illnesses.  They have always been kept secret and seen as shameful, but the world is changing.  How we view difference and variation is becoming a topic for discussion rather than a shameful secret.

In the biblical passage that Margaret read for us, we are also hearing of big changes.  Throughout the bible, we read about ritual sacrifices.  Sacrifices were used in many different cultures all over the world.  For the Hebrews in our bible, they were usually used as a way of pleasing God and as a way of pleading for forgiveness for wrongdoing, for an individual or for a community.  The author of this letter is advocating for a change and quotes the prophet, Jeremiah.

Now, the prophet Jeremiah also talked of a great change.  The people of God, the people of Israel and Judah, had broken their covenant with God, and now God was offering a new covenant, not written on stone this time, but written on their hearts.  The author of this letter to the Hebrews, written thousands of years later, uses this passage to say that, just as in Jeremiah’s time there was a new covenant, Christ now brings a new covenant.  This one offering complete and eternal forgiveness, professing the sacrifice and blood of Jesus, as a replacement for all these ritual sacrifices.

Ritual sacrifices, pleading for forgiveness, are not needed anymore, says the author, and we can now be confident in the loving forgiveness that is always with us.  Today, more thousands of years later, we might even say that this love has always been with us, that Jesus’ sacrifice was not necessary for this, but this his actions and his sacrificial love are what free us to know that all-encompassing love of God.

And this knowledge of God’s love for us, frees us in other ways.  The author writes, “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  

I like that phrase:  “Let us now consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.”  So how do we do that?

The Halton Climate Collective or HCC Reads has been encouraging the people of the region to read Katharine Hayhoe’s book, “Saving Us.”  There is a group of us who gather on Wednesday mornings to discuss the book, and many others across Halton who are reading it and having conversations.  Hayhoe will be coming to talk to us through Zoom on Thursday night.  You can watch from home or you can come to the church at 8pm and watch with us here.  The details were in your last newsletter.

This Wednesday, we began the fifth section of her book, “You Can Make a Difference.”  On the very first page of this section, she writes, “One of the biggest reasons our actions matter is that what we do changes us.  And the other big reason is that what we do and say changes others too.” (pg 195)  In other words, we provoke one another to love and good deeds.

I like how Hayhoe begins by saying that our actions change us and then that they change others too.  Creating a better world, creating brave spaces, and offering love and justice to all people is not only good for others, but for us too.  Provoking others into action does just as much good for ourselves.  It’s a beautiful loop of inspiring each other, loving ourselves and your neighbour, and making the world a better place.

We inspire one another.  When one person puts a large bag of rice in the bin to be donated to Kerr Street Mission, others follow, and before you know it, the bin is overflowing.  When one person stands up in church and shares their story, it helps others to be brave and vulnerable and share their story, and before you know it, people are making connections and building relationships based on these stories.  When one person offers a kind word and smile, those kind words and smiles are passed on for miles.

The author of this letter to the Hebrews saw this in the action of Jesus, who gave his life for what he believed, who died so that others may live.  This action provoked many others to share the good news Jesus offered, to write down his amazing words and healing actions, and to also give their lives so that others might live.

May we continue to follow the example of Jesus.  May we offer ourselves as an example to others.  May we know that these actions also will change ourselves.  May the love, compassion, and mercy of God flow through us and be offered out into the world, provoking others to do the same.  May it be so.  Amen.

Deborah Laforet