Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 1:1-6; Mark 1:14-20)
It is conventionally
thought that the Letter to the Hebrews was written to dissuade Jewish
Christians from giving up faith in Jesus.
Modern commentators, however, no longer think that it was a letter nor
that it was necessarily written to Jewish Christians. They will not dismiss the treatise on these
accounts because it brilliantly defends the faith from popular criticism.
According to contemporary biblical critics, the work was
written as a sermon to which the author added an epistolary ending. As today’s passage shows, the author
regularly contrasts old (“In times past, God spoke in partial and varied ways…)
and new (“in these days, he spoke to us through the Son…”). He then indicates the superiority of the new
dispensation.
The Letter to the Hebrews presents what is called a “balanced
Christology.” It shows how Christ is fully human and divine. Because he is human, he knows our deep-seated
needs for meaning and hope. Because he
is divine, he can provide supernatural help to transcend our desperation.
