Dr Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
at Batesville Presbyterian Church on October 8, 2006.
at Batesville Presbyterian Church on October 8, 2006.
The seminary assignment was not unusual -- write a paper on a topic assigned by the professor -- but the topic was more personal than usual. "Do pets go to heaven when they die?" Our sources were a book assigned by the professor and the Bible. Using the book and the Bible I concluded that pets do indeed go to heaven when they die. It was a pass or fail course and I passed. As children we wonder what happens to our pets after they die and we wonder what happens to us after we die. We are told that we go to be with God in heaven with Jesus and the angels. From the Bible we see that heaven and earth are not so far apart for even here on the earth there are angels that make appearances.
In fact the Bible resounds with angel appearances. Whomever wrote the epistle to the Hebrews assumed readers were familiar with angels. As Bible students we know angels are spiritual beings from heavenly realms who serve as God's messengers to humans on earth. They appear in both the Old Testament and New Testament. For instance, an angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar and told her she would give birth to Ishmael who would be the progenitor of the Arab peoples from when comes Mohammad and the religion of Islam. An angel appeared to Abraham and prompted him to leave behind his current life and travel to the Promised Land and become the progenitor of the people of Israel.
We are accustomed to the thought of angels appearing within the Bible. The psalmist sang: "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." (Psalm 34:7) And again the psalmist sings: "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:11) In the book of Job we learn that angels served God before the creation of earth. At some point there was an angel rebellion led by a beautiful and intelligent angel named Lucifer. Many angels joined Lucifer's rebellion and he tricked other angels into following him into the darkness. The angels that remained with God in the light continued to worship God and work for God.
We read about angels in the New Testament. Jesus and his family was acquainted with angels. An angel appeared to his mother, Mary, and told her she would conceive a son who would be the savior of the world. An angel of the Lord appeared to his father in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:20)
Angels helped Jesus to accomplish his mission on earth. When Jesus faced his darkest hour on the night before his crucifixion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:42-44) It was an angel that rolled back the stone of Jesus tomb and angels appeared to the women who were looking for Jesus in his tomb. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen." (Matt. 25:31) The Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, acknowledges the existence of angels.
We acknowledge their existence in certain hymns of the church. We sing about cherubim and seraphim (these are types of angels), falling down before Him, God in three persons, blessed Trinity. We tend to think of angels as being higher than us and while we are on earth they are. But in the heavenly realms to which we are going we may be higher than the angels by virtue of our family connections. As Hebrews tells us, through our connection to Christ, we are members of the family circle of the Trinity. Christ considers us humans as brothers and sisters. So, by virtue of our adoption into God's immediate family, humans are higher than the angels.
Jesus Christ is also higher than the angels. That is the point our text wants to make. Our text today uses angels as a comparison device so we can appreciate the superiority of Christ. Christ is mentioned by various titles 23 times versus 10 mentions for angels. In this text, angels are described as winds and flames who worship God. Angels are spirits in the divine service, sent to serve human beings who are to inherit salvation. (Hebrews 1:14) But God did not put angels in charge of human salvation. That job belongs to Christ.
We humans wander through our earthly lives like wayfaring strangers. We are for a time lower than the angels but we are destined for glory and honor and all things will be subjected to humans. Of course we don't see it yet, we don't see everything under human jurisdiction, but according to scripture this will come to pass in due time. The human transition from our lowly status as earthlings to our exalted status as rulers in heaven is made possible through our family connection to Christ. We adopt creatures called pets into our family and we take care of them and they become a member of our family. God has adopted us into the family of the divine Trinity and we are members of the family of God.
We are members of God's family and we have tremendous power available to us. Power to heal our deepest hurts. Power to help us find the guidance we seek. Power to accomplish the mission for which we have been sent to this earth. Whether children, youth or adults, the power behind all creation stands ready to help us. We may call on a God when we need assistance, saying with the Psalmist: "O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me." If we ask for their assistance, the angels stand ready to help us as well.
