Through November in our Epistle readings we’re going to be continuing through the book of Hebrews, focusing on chapters 9 and 10. These chapters mark one of the central points of the whole book, summarized in Hebrews 10:21–22:

“...since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:21–22

What does this mean for us?

In Old Testament times, God’s people had to be scared to come into contact with that which was holy—those things and places that God set apart for Himself, those things and places where God said that He Himself would be present. When people intruded on these things that were holy, they were destroyed, like Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1–2) or Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:5–10)—because that which is unclean, dirtied by sin, cannot come into the presence of God.

Yet Jesus died on the cross, and by His blood we are made clean. As Hebrews says, “our bodies [have been] washed with pure water” in our baptism, and this is not just a physical washing, but a spiritual washing—in baptism, our sins are forgiven, and God gives us His Holy Spirit so that we ourselves become holy. This is why we can gather together every Sunday morning (or Saturday evening) and worship God—because He has made us holy, so that His presence among us in our worship is not a terror but a joy. And this also is why God has made us holy—so that we might gather together every Sunday morning (or Saturday evening) and worship Him.

Worship, then, is what we are made for as Christians. And central to our worship is thanksgiving—central to our worship is giving thanks to God.

Our worship begins with a hymn—a hymn that almost always includes thanks to God for everything He has done. Then we confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness—and right after, give thanks to Him for it in the Gloria! We pray the Collect, a prayer that always begins with thanksgiving. After every reading we say “thanks be to God.” We hear a sermon that tells us all that God has given us to be thankful for, and then we give our offering—our thanks to God. And if there is communion, the whole service of communion is peppered with thanksgiving.

But our worship—and our thanksgiving—doesn’t end when we leave church. I remember a church I saw once where on your way out, next to the exit sign, there was a sign that said: “This Way to Worship!” Because as Christians, our whole lives are to be worship, and every moment we have the privilege of being able to come before God in prayer and give Him thanks for all He has done. What greater joy could there be?

-Pastor Duncan