Let us be on our guard
while the promise of entering into his rest remains,
that none of you seem to have failed.
For in fact we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did.
But the word that they heard did not profit them,
for they were not united in faith with those who listened.
For we who believed enter into that rest,
just as he has said:
As I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter into my rest,”
and yet his works were accomplished
at the foundation of the world.
For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner,
And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;
and again, in the previously mentioned place,
They shall not enter into my rest.
Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest,
so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.
The peace of the Lord be with you.
Sometimes given our fallen world and nature we make life more difficult for ourselves than it has to be. The reading from Hebrews today reminds us that God wants us to have a life that is leading us towards His rest and His peace. It further reminds us that what often separates us from what God desires is disobedience. Obedience is not something that God desires so he can laud his power over us, no — it is more about helping us to live a life that is free of encumbrances and traps.
My hope for today is that I, that we, will have a growing desire to understand what it is that God wants for us and then seek the ways that allow us to understand how that plan will unfold.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.