Reflections on the Bible readings 

Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16

Throughout the letter to the Hebrews, the writer encourages the audience to keep their faith alive. Like many early Christians, they expected Jesus to return soon. The long wait for his arrival left them losing energy and commitment – this has been described as ‘spiritual torpor’. Just before this passage, the writer has reminded them that faith brings life and salvation. So, what is faith? In verse 1, the writer links faith to assurance (v.1), using the word hypostasis, which implies emotional certainty,  and to conviction (the translation of the Greek word, elenchos). Faith relates to two core aspects of human understanding. He then goes on to tell stories of Israel’s history, beginning from creation itself. The world is God’s work, and the stories of chosen individuals follow from this.

Though this passage tells many stories, today’s reading focuses on Abraham, who is also an example of faith for Paul (Galatians 3:6). God promised him a home and descendants (Genesis 12:1-2), and his trust in God led him to follow God’s call, leave his home and become a nomad. He and Sarah had no child and no home for  many years, but their commitment to God’s promise was unwavering. The writer relates God’s promise of home to the end-time expectation of the city of God  (Revelation 21:2f), which was core to the hopes of the early Christians if not exactly what Genesis implies.

In telling these stories, the writer highlights how the believers’ hopes remained unfulfilled, for they lived in expectation of God’s promises but did not see their fulfilment in Christ. Though they were still on the journey, they did not give up or consider returning to their earlier lives, but continued onwards, faithfully trusting God’s promise that there would be a home for them in God’s country. The stories carry clear implications for the audience of this letter – weary Christians whose faith  was dwindling even though they had already met the risen Christ in the power of the Spirit.

Luke 12:32-40

This passage falls into three sections. The first (vv.32-34) follows Luke’s version of the familiar teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Following the assurance that God knows our needs (vv.30-31), Luke challenges his hearers to live generously in response to God’s generosity to them. He returns often to questions  around the proper use of money, suggesting that his hearers had enough to be able to share.

The second part (vv.35-38) uses a parable to highlight the need to be ready for anything, because the future is unpredictable. Luke’s story takes the perspective of a slave waiting for the master’s return from a party, inviting comparison  with Jesus’ return at an unknown time (cf Matthew 24:36). There is a surreal twist in the image of the master inviting the slaves to sit down and be waited on, and this must have taken the hearers aback, whether they were masters or slaves. It’s a striking marker of the unimaginable social relationships of the kingdom.

Thirdly (vv.39-40), Luke describes Jesus coming like a thief, at an unexpected time. This image was already familiar (cf 1 Thessalonians 5:2). The surprising identification of Jesus with a thief expresses his defeat of Satan’s illegitimate claims to ownership. Both parables emphasise that we do not know when Jesus will return.