“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”

Hebrews 1:1-2

(This week’s devotionals, originally published in March 2021, aligned with the sermon series “Jesus, the Radiance of God’s Glory” with scriptures from the book of Hebrews. We were a year into Covid by then.)

Several months ago, I was dying to do something normal. So when a favorite movie director of mine had his new movie finally drop in theaters in December, a couple of us braved it. The movie was called “TENET.” Notice that you can spell it the same way backward and forward. 

The entire movie was a dizzying and utterly confusing trip into a world where some people had figured out how to move both backward and forward in time to do both good and evil. The only problem was I couldn’t quite figure out how it happened or why they were doing it. I left extremely confused…but it was good to once again experience that “pleasantly over-stuffed with movie-theater popcorn” feeling.

We’ve been in COVID-times about eleven months now. We’re in the middle of one of the grayest and wettest winters on record. I’m having many conversations with people who are feeling blah, flat, weary and discouraged. 

In our Scripture passage, the author opens the book of Hebrews by inviting us into a dizzying engagement with time. Only in this case, if we dig into it, the pay-off is extremely rewarding. We can find grace available to us, even in COVID-times.  

“In the past God spoke” in a certain way, the author of Hebrews writes, but “in these last days he has spoken…by his Son”—something recent and new. That Son, it just so happens, God has appointed “heir of all things” --an heir has a future orientation. And oh, by the way, that Son is also the one through whom he made the universe way back before there was time.

To recap: The Son is recent, but he’s not here anymore. But he’s alive and anticipating the future, but he was also there before everything began. 

Okay, so we’ll probably never fully understand how God and human time intersect. But here’s why these opening lines in Hebrews are good news and help us to live lives of flourishing.

Jesus, the Son, is Lord, which means he has full authority over all of time: past, present, and future. When we willingly embrace that reality, we’re aligning ourselves with the basic construction of the cosmos. Think of it as roughly akin to discovering and learning to more fully cooperate with gravity as the Romans did with water distribution when they developed their aqueduct system. This solved myriad problems that had plagued humans for centuries. 

When I commit myself to recognizing and living intentionally throughout my day under Jesus’s Lordship - which looks like giving up my own ambitions to be open to his, giving up my worries for his peace, pushing past my initial reactions to things in order to respond more in line with the Spirit of Christ - I find myself acting in ways that cooperate with how God designed the universe and what God’s intentions were for me In the Beginning. 

There are challenges, to be sure, but there’s a current of the Holy Spirit that runs deeper than those challenges and graces me with a peace that passes understanding. My life is marked with faith, hope, love, wisdom, and courage instead of fear, anxiety, ambition, ambivalence, or striving. 

Let’s take solace in the good news that Jesus is Lord right here, right now. Let’s embrace that good news, find the flow of the Holy Spirit, and maybe we’ll find a powerful current of grace that will help us to have fruitful days, even during COVID times. 

Let’s start our time of prayerful reflection by calling to mind the people and situations that are most proximate to you or heaviest on your heart. As you call each one to mind, gently declare over each of them the simple good news that Jesus is Lord over those people and situations, whether they’re aware of it or not.

Now move to our church and surrounding community. Bring to mind your small group leader, someone on staff, or your volunteer team. Then bring to mind the names of any neighbors you know right around you. Again, gently declare over each of those the good news that Jesus is Lord.

Finally, gather up as many parts of yourself and your life that you can think of: your own challenges, maybe personality traits that need to change, maybe a predicament that you can’t see any way out of, maybe your own tiredness and boredom or restlessness. List one at a time in your mind and gently but joyfully declare the good news: Jesus is Lord.