Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s passage from St Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews is one of the most pastoral texts in all of Scripture. It speaks to ordinary Christians living in an unsettled world, struggling with discouragement, temptation, suffering, and fatigue. It teaches us how to remain faithful, grounded, and peaceful in Christ when life is not easy.
The passage begins with a call to remembrance. “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.” The Christian life begins with gratitude. None of us discovered Christ on our own. We received the faith from others. Parents who prayed for us. Grandparents who lit candles and whispered prayers. Priests and spiritual fathers who taught, corrected, and guided us. Saints whose lives still speak to us today. St Paul does not tell us merely to remember what they said, but to remember how they lived and how they finished their lives. Faith is proven not at the beginning but at the end. Anyone can begin with enthusiasm. True faith is shown in perseverance, humility, repentance, and love over time. When we feel tired or discouraged, we are called to look at the faith of those who went before us and draw strength from their example.
Immediately after this, St Paul gives us the unshakable foundation of the Christian life. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Everything else in life changes. Our health changes. Our relationships change. Our circumstances change. Even our own hearts can change from day to day. But Christ does not change. He is faithful when we are unfaithful. He remains close even when we feel distant. He is steady when our lives feel unstable. This verse is not poetry. It is a lifeline. When anxiety overwhelms us, when the future feels uncertain, when prayer feels dry, we return to this truth. Christ has not changed. The same Christ who healed, forgave, and restored is present with us now.
St Paul then warns us not to be carried away by strange and foreign teachings. This warning is especially relevant today. We live in a time of many voices, opinions, and promises. There are teachings that offer comfort without repentance, spirituality without struggle, Christianity without the Cross. These are not always obvious heresies. Often they appear attractive, gentle, and reasonable. But St Paul reminds us that the heart is strengthened by grace, not by external things or empty assurances. Grace comes through humility, obedience, prayer, and perseverance. There is no shortcut to holiness. There is no Christian life without inner struggle.
He then turns our attention to Christ Himself. Christ suffered outside the gate. He was rejected, misunderstood, mocked, and crucified beyond the city walls. And St Paul tells us something challenging. “Let us go forth therefore unto Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” To follow Christ is not always comfortable. It means we may feel out of place in a world that values success, pleasure, and self promotion. It means choosing integrity when compromise would be easier. Choosing forgiveness when resentment feels justified. Choosing faithfulness when the world encourages self satisfaction. This does not mean we seek suffering or isolation. It means we accept that faithfulness sometimes costs us something. But this cost is not loss. It is communion with Christ.
St Paul reminds us that we are not meant to feel completely at home in this world. “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” This does not mean we neglect our responsibilities or withdraw from life. It means we do not place our ultimate hope in what is temporary. When we remember that our true homeland is the Kingdom of God, many anxieties lose their power over us. We learn to hold things lightly and trust God more deeply.
Then St Paul speaks about sacrifice. Not the sacrifices of the Old Testament, but the sacrifices of the Christian life. “Through Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Thanksgiving is not dependent on circumstances. It is a spiritual offering. Even in difficulty, even in pain, we choose to give thanks. This does not deny suffering. It redeems it. Gratitude opens the heart to grace and keeps bitterness from taking root.
Finally, St Paul brings everything down to something very practical. “Do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” The Christian life is lived in concrete acts of love. Sharing our time. Sharing our resources. Sharing patience with difficult people. Offering kindness without recognition. Listening when we would rather speak. These acts are sacrifices because they cost us something. And precisely because they cost us something, they are pleasing to God.
This passage calls us to a mature and steady faith. A faith rooted in memory and gratitude. A faith anchored in Christ who does not change. A faith that does not chase easy answers or false comforts. A faith willing to stand with Christ even when it is difficult. A faith expressed through thanksgiving, generosity, and love.
May we learn to offer our whole lives as a sacrifice of praise to God. Not only with our words, but with our choices, our patience, our forgiveness, and our mercy. And may Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, strengthen us to walk this path with courage, humility, and peace.