Hebrews 7:19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
In all areas of our life, in prayer and supplication, we draw near to the throne of Grace in Christ Jesus. Greater is Holy Spirit in us than the evil that wants to destroy us. Just as Christ draws near to us in our times of need, we rejoice with others in their good times and we sit in solidarity with them in the bad. Christ within is our hope and our promise of eternity with God. Carla
Hebrews 4:14-16
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (NKJV)
Because Jesus already has ascended into heaven and entered into God’s rest, believers can be confident that they, too, will have a share in God’s rest.Because Jesus established His role as high priest by becoming like us (2:17–18), He can understand human struggles.
Our weaknesses likely refers to sickness, imprisonment, and ostracism. Jesus faced the same temptations as people (Matthew 4:3, 6). Suffering believers can look to Jesus, who not only pioneered their faith but endured the cross—the cost of obedience to God (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus remained faithful to the one who appointed Him (Hebrews 3:2). Unlike other priests, Jesus didn’t need to offer sacrifices for His own sins; instead, He offered Himself unblemished to God (7:27; 9:14).
Believers should pray persistently because Jesus empathizes with human weakness (verse 15). He continues to make intercession for those who draw near to God (7:25).
In the Jerusalem temple, only the high priest could enter the most holy place—and only once per year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9:7). By offering Himself once for all, Jesus made a way for believers to draw near to God. The throne of grace is the place of God’s presence, from which grace emanates to His people. God’s throne sits in the heavenly temple—the counterpart of the earthly temple (Hebrews 8:1; Isaiah 6:1; 66:1; Exodus 25:17–22).
Christ is the merciful high priest who mediates on our behalf (2:17). Because of His work, God grants mercy to believers when they sin (Hebrews 8:12). God strengthens His people when they undergo temptation or endure any type of hardship (2:18). Faithlife Study Bible
In the OT the high priest of Israel passed through the courts and veils into the Most Holy Place. Our High Priest has passed through the heavens to the very presence of God, where He sits at God’s right hand (1:3).
Sympathize means “to suffer with” and expresses the feeling of one who has entered into suffering. In all points tempted means Jesus experienced every degree of temptation (2:18).
Come is the same Greek word translated draw near in 10:22. This command strongly contrasts with God’s command at Mt. Sinai: “Do not go up to the mountain or touch its base (Exodus 19:12). Because of Christ’s priestly work, believers can approach God’s presence. The writer of Hebrews is expressing the openness of God’s call in Christ, “Come” (Revelation 22:17). Boldly is the same word that is rendered confidence in 3:6 and means “plainness of speech,” “fearlessness,” or “courage.” Believers should courageously approach God in prayer because His is a throne of grace, and our High Priest sits at His right hand interceding for us. The NKJV Study Bible
Hebrews 2:17–3:1
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted…
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Hebrews 7:25–26
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;
Hebrews 6:20
where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
In the town of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, there is a church named Lagniappe (“lan-yap”). It is an old Creole word that means “something extra”.
Pastor Jean Larroux explains, “Down here if you go into a seafood shop and order a pound of shrimp and they put in an extra handful, that's the lagniappe. It's something you can't pay for. Something for nothing. Something for free.”
In an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Jean began this church, in his words, with people “primed for grace.” Accustomed to teaching church people how to celebrate, Jean was surprised to find himself in a community of people who already knew. Even in the middle of their hardship.
Here's the good part.
This celebration (fullness and wholeness of life from lagniappe) is not predicated on life as we expect it.
The party doesn't start when our fear is gone.
The party doesn't start when our beliefs are unadulterated.
The party doesn’t start when doubt has been appeased.
The party doesn't start when our circumstances make it feasible.
And this I know; if we wait for all that, we miss the gift of grace—the sacrament of the present moment—every time.
The Celtic church gives us a word for such grace moments (doorways). They called them thin places. “A thin place is anywhere our hearts are opened,” writes Marcus Borg. “They are places where the boundary between the two levels becomes very soft, porous, permeable. Thin places are places where the veil momentarily lifts, and we behold (the ‘ahaah of The Divine’) all around us and in us.”
Bottom line? We are grounded.
And no, we do not always (or easily) see the thin places.
This is precisely why I love stories—like Lagniappe. They are reminders, when our scotoma (selective blindness) is lifted. Ah yes, the veil is lifted. And there, with our sacramental imagination flourishing, we see, hear, taste and touch those gifts, in our “unexpected encounters” with the Sacred. With the Holy. With God.
Let us embrace this reminder: on the daily pilgrimage each one of us walks, we are fueled by our inherent value. Enabling us to embrace those places of beauty, creativity, resilience, imagination, courage and humor. And kindness.
Those places of healing.
And places of inspiration.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s reminder, “At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.”
And pilgrimage is a great metaphor for what we are on, as a country. We are walking not only to disconnect from our barraged pace of life (amplified by social media), but to make space for presence, and healing, and connectedness, and recovery, on so many levels—with others, with our world, and with ourselves.
Sadly, when life feels catawampus, we forget where we tether our well-being.
So, I will carry these words with me into this week and I invite you to do the same.
What sustains me, and carries me gently through my days?
What heals and restores and inspires?
What empowers me to spill the light I carry?
Lagniappe necessitates a paradigm shift. Without it, we stay stuck in our head. We like to say that we teach or preach grace. Which makes grace something to comprehend, like the answer to a test question.
And we miss the party, the fundamental reality that grace lights up our day, and our world. Regardless of whether we fathom it.
We miss the wakefulness that grace bestows, fueled by two simple words; Thank you.
We miss the power of lagniappe. The something extra? The joy in the ordinary, in dollops of gentleness, kindness, connection, empathy, compassion, generosity, wonder and healing.
Ordinariness opens us up to our humanity (and to our connection to one another), now absorbed in moments of grace. Instead of needing to fix or analyze, we absorb and invest; we notice, and listen, and feel, and love.
We are safe, at home in our skin. An antidote to (in the words of Seneca) “that tossing to and fro of the mind, that can nowhere find rest.”
We are primed for grace. And lagniappe, grace, always spills.
Lagniappe is the bounty from compassion, not predicated on life as we expect it.
It is the replenishment from grace, that doesn't start when our fear is gone.
Or when our beliefs are unadulterated.
Or when our circumstances make it feasible.
Most likely, if we wait for all that, we miss rebirth, comfort, healing, being fed to fullness... and the miracle, every time.
So, I have an idea… This week, be on the lookout for a hand that needs to be held.
And here’s the deal: Without even knowing it, we are lagniappe. We are the hands and feet of grace.
“Be the hand of a hopeful stranger, Little scared but you’re strong enough. Be the light in the dark of this danger, ‘Till the sun comes up.’” Sara Barielles, A Safe Place to Land. Sabbath Moments
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