From: Kelly Madden
In this age of celebrity, power-grubbing, cynicism, and irony, we long for a genuine hero. We look in politics, science, business, movies, comic books, parents, and lovers. We see hints of what we seek, but never the real thing.
What we long for is in Jesus. Our story, the gospel story, is about him and how he has rescued us, at great cost, winning our rightful allegiance and honor. When we dig into his background, we don't find dirt, but gold, more and more to admire. The more we read it, the more the story reveals new wonders.
In Hebrews 2.5-13, the author writes of Jesus' greatness, foreseeing Jesus' kingship in the age to come. But he quotes Psalm 8, which is in turn a commentary on Genesis 1, which tells us that we were created to rule over God's world on his behalf. As it turns out, the Psalm and creation itself are actually part of the story of Jesus.
So the reading today gives an overview of the entire biblical story--Creation, fall, the Redemption of the entire cosmos through the cross of Christ, and the Restoration of all things under his complete reign in the world to come. The story is about him, our true hero.
We failed to rule rightly on God's behalf, but instead rebelled and became slaves of Satan, spoiling everything. Through his suffering and death and resurrection, Jesus defeats his enemies, rescues us, and takes the throne to set things right.
He is the hero we long for. The more we delve into the story, the more we see this to be true, and the more we have to admire in him, with joy and gratitude.
Heather and I live in Beachmont, overlooking the beaches of Revere. (Hence the name.) Short Beach has an endless supply of skipping stones, renewed by each high tide and deposited at the base of the northern ramp. Come visit us.