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They came day after day in a steady stream, entering the temple with a mixture of excitement and anticipation. They came bearing their gifts, animals of various kinds to be presented to the priests. They came bringing their sacrifice for purification of sins and to make reparation to God. They came to make their offerings to the priests, who would take such offerings to the altar of the Lord and burn them in the sacrificial rite. The people of God came to make such offerings to God through the priests who would carry out the rituals day after day so that sins might be cleansed, and they could obtain the peace that they sought. The people came to make their offerings, but it was the priests who took those offerings to the altar and made the sacrifice. It was the priests who would spill the blood and sprinkle it around the altar. It was the priests who made the sacrifice for the cleansing of the sin.

Yet, the author of Hebrews tells us this morning that such offerings were without merit. The priests stand there day after day making sacrifices but, in the end, such sacrifice is useless since it can never take away the sin of God's people. The priests can shed the blood of animals, make their offerings and their prayers, engage in their rituals from morning until night, but it does no good. For "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice," says the Lord through the prophet Hosea, "the knowledge of God rather than burnt offering" (Hosea 6:6). Again and again in scripture we hear the word of the Lord through the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah and in the mouth of the psalmist. Burnt offerings do not cleanse from sin or bring salvation.

There is one perfect sacrifice that has been offered that does these things and it has been done once for all. Jesus Christ, the one sent from God in the fullness of time, came to bring life through the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of his own life. In the shedding of his own blood, Jesus makes the perfect sacrifice for our sin. No animals are slaughtered. No daily ritual needs to be repeated. No work on the part of humans is necessary. The work of the priests who offer that daily sacrifice is made redundant by the work of Christ, himself, the great high priest, who has made the single sacrifice for all time. Having fulfilled the will of the Father, having made the perfect sacrifice, having cleansed the holy people of God of their sin, Jesus, the high priest now ascends back into the heavens to sit at the right hand of the Father so that he might wait until the final day when all shall be completed.

Through this action of Christ, the holy people of God now live a new and holy life. Called into being by the work of Christ, this holy people of God no longer live under the rule of the old law which demanded the appropriate sacrifices. The external actions of bearing gifts to the temple and the daily repetition of sacrifice are now put aside by a new law that is written in the hearts of God's holy people. In this new life in Christ and cleansed from their sin, the holy people of God live with a new law, which is written in their bodies. Through the work of Christ the cleansing is complete, so complete that now the sins of the people are erased from the very memory of God.

We are not called to sacrifice as the people of old did because Christ has already done that for us. We are called to a faith that leads us to understand that Christ's giving of his life was not just for some other people, in a far distant time. Rather it is for us, here today. We have been made clean by his love and in his blood, and we are called to hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering. We are called to hold fast without wavering. It sounds easy for the writer of Hebrews to say we should not waver, but it always seems a lot harder for us to do. We often waver in the decisions we have to make. We waver as we calculate the risks before making a decision. We waver as we check out all the angles before stepping out to face a challenge.

Yet the preacher of Hebrews almost pleads with us to hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. Christ died for you. Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for you. Christ has cleansed you of your sins. Ask Christ for the strength to aid you as you seek to live your lives in faithfulness. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you once again so that even though you gave all you had to the poor; even though you were dealing with the loss of a loved one, you will not waver, for you would know that the one who has promised is faithful to the end, even to being that perfect sacrifice so that you might have new life.

Finally, we are asked to consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. To provoke brings up those images of my two children in the backseat of the car pinching and poking one another, just to see who could provoke the other the most. In a sense, we are called to jab one another, to poke one another, and to provoke one another to love and do good deeds. It's about giving one another courage to step out into fear-filled places and to care for those of whom we might be just a little afraid. Preparation prayer is wonderful. In some ways I see that provoking one another and to love and do good deeds helps overcome fears and anxieties. Gathering together at the life-giving font and praying for strength to the one who is seated on the throne can provoke us to consider how we might love and serve the needs of others. Might it be to help tutor students in need? Or to help prepare food for the needy? Or to volunteer at the hospital? Or to assist a refugee family?

God's saving action in Christ Jesus took away our sin, and we were cleansed by his blood. This work of our great high priest gives us confidence and strength because we know that such confidence rests in Christ and not in anything we can do. For it is his blood and his sacrifice that has opened the heavenly doors that we might live our lives gladly serving our neighbors and boldly walking the ways of faith until that great day when he shall come again. Amen.