When Always Really Means Always--July 2, 2021

When Always Really Means Always--July 2, 2021

"Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." [Hebrews 7:23-25]

Can you remember back to the days before cell phones became widespread?  Can you remember how different our lives were, or at least how that old reality made communication different?

When our only communication options were the written letter sent through postal service or a phone call on a landline to someone's house or office, there were large blocks of time when you just couldn't get a hold of someone.  That could be frightening--say, if your teenage kids weren't home from the football game when you expected them, you might worry if they were in an accident somewhere, or stalled by the side of the road without a spare tire and unable to reach you.  Or if you found out your flight was going to be delayed, and you were calling the friend who was going to pick you up at the airport to let them know, you had to hope they were sitting waiting by a phone to get the information to them, or they might spend a lot of time circling at the terminal or worried about where you were.  We were so much more likely to miss time-sensitive messages, from life-or-death situations like a hospital calling to tell you a loved one was near death and that you needed to come to be with them, to the mundane, like realizing you forgot to ask your spouse to pick up more milk after they had already left for the grocery store.  

In the days before cell phones, text messages, and a whole array of instant messages on social media platforms, we all just knew that there would only be windows of time you could get through to someone else.  And that certainly meant that there were times we just never bothered to try to get through to someone--we figured, they had already left for work, or were already on the road, or that we didn't even know how to guess where they were to even make an attempt to call.

And of course, life went on.  When that's all you've ever known, you're grateful just to be able to have the channels of communication that you do have.  But that also meant that in those days we knew that if someone said to us, "I'll always be there for you," they couldn't meant that literally.  Practically speaking, they meant something more like, "If you can get a hold of me, I'll make myself available."  But there were limits to that availability because of the limits of technology.  "Always" didn't really mean always--at best, it meant, "For as much of the time as possible," which is a nice sentiment for as far as it goes, but still leaves open the very real possibility you'll be left in a lurch.

Well, this, too, is how the writer of Hebrews sees the difference between Jesus as our advocate and all the priests of Israel's past for all those centuries stretching back in history.  For generations, there were priests whose calling was to pray on behalf of the people--bringing their wants and needs, confessing their sins and asking for forgiveness, offering thanks and praise, and keeping the connection open with the divine.  But they had limits.  One was simply the limits of human life: one priest could only serve for so long before there needed to be breaks, pauses, and gaps--time for eating or sleeping, time for raising their own children (yes, priests in ancient Israel were married and had children--the notion in some Christian tradition that priests had to be celibate never game out of the Scriptures, Old or New Testament), and even time for one priest to die and another to take his place.  The whole system was rather like communication in the days before folks carried cell phones wherever they went--you could get through during business hours, but beyond that, it was a gamble.  The priests were there to bring your needs and concerns to God, as long as they were there.  But you couldn't really say they would "always" be there for you--at least you couldn't really mean it.

But Jesus is different.  He has no limits of availability, no rigidly observed office hours or vacation time, and no plans to retire.  You never have to worry that you'll come to Jesus with a troubled heart and find an "out to lunch" sign on his door, or get an automated "out of office" reply message. When Jesus says he is here for us always, he means always.  

That's not to say that the system in place before Jesus' coming was wicked or evil or sinful--just that it was finite, like all things human.  And we humans let each other down, even when we have the best of intentions.  There are just limits to how much we can be there for each other,  how much energy we can give, or how many times we can bear the strains on our hearts from bearing the burdens of those who rely on us.  That was true of the priests in Israel's ancient past, and it is true of the very fallible folks who stand in the pulpit or work in the church office right now.  They get worn down, like any of us, and eventually they retire or relocate.  They mess up, and sometimes those mess-ups burn bridges with the people they serve.  They get frustrated or disgusted sometimes with the hatred, apathy, and mean-ness they hear from the lips of folks who had just been singing about of the love of Jesus and his peace in their hearts last Sunday.  They get disappointed when their go-to support network isn't really there for them. They get burned out from trying to be available all the time in a way that only Jesus can be.  In other words, both ancient priests and their present-day counterparts can't be what we all most deeply need: someone whose promise to "always" be there for us really means "always.  We need someone whose "always" comes with no fine print, exclusions, or conditions.  In a word, we need Jesus.

When I think nowadays about the peace of mind I feel knowing that I can reach someone wherever they are on their cell phone, for something urgent or just to check in, I am thankful for the ways that technology like this eases my worry.  And when I realize that Jesus makes the same peace possible for me, and for all of us, because he really is completely available for us all the time, I feel like I can face whatever else comes across my path in the day before me.  

For Jesus, always really means always.

Just rest in that today.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being here for us always.