Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012.

This is an invigorating time of year for me. Bummer is fading and will be replaced by glorious summer. Spring training in Jupiter, Florida, is getting underway. The spring equinox isn’t far off. The Lake of the Ozarks beckons. I’ve recovered from my ritual winter head cold. Life is good.

Before I get too giddy, perhaps some preparation is called for. It wouldn’t hurt to buckle down and do some serious Bible meditation, else I might lose my balance, and at 80 years I need no help on that score.

So, what will it be this year? I think it has been a while since I have pondered the book of Hebrews, so I plan to share my meditations on this book here on the Orlop from time to time over the next month or so. I believe that the most important question for us earthlings is, Who is Jesus? There can be only two answers: Either he is or is not who he says he is. He is either telling the truth, or he is not. There can be no waffling on this issue, in my opinion. Anyway, that will be my starting point. I hope you will join me on this intellectual journey or whatever kind of journey it turns out to be.

So let’s get started.

These first four verses of Hebrews must be one of the clearest proclamations of the good news of the gospel in all the Bible. To me it says it all, and I have committed the first 3 verses to memory.

[1:1] Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, [4] having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
(Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

The anonymous author of Hebrews thus sets out to prove the supremacy of God’s Son. The obvious question at this point is, supremacy over what? The answer is not a slam dunk, because when Hebrews was written people tended to line up their favorite gods according to their idea of relative rank. Case in point: where do the angels fall in God’s created order?

Dave, -sdg-