This week and last week, in our first readings, we hear from the letter to the Hebrews, a letter perhaps written to Jewish converts to the way of Jesus who had left Jerusalem. From the tone of the letter, it appears that they are tempted to abandon their Christian faith, perhaps because they are not yet well grounded in the faith. Also, it appears that they are weary of the persecution they are subject to as followers of Christ, another reason for them to abandon their faith. They are in need of help to understand the basic Christian doctrine and to cope with the temptations that they are facing.
Our reading today gives the Hebrews encouragement in the midst of their struggles in being faithful to their Christian commitment. The author tells them that God is mindful of all the good they have done and the love they have shown their fellow Christians, perhaps referring to material help and other support they have given the Christians that have remained in Jerusalem. Yet, the author urges them to stay true to the earnestness that characterized the early days of their faith, to not be complacent or disheartened in the way they live out their faith. Indeed, whether it be in our job or our school work or in our family life, we know that our day-to-day journey can be frustrating, difficult, tedious, and complicated. Everyday is not a mountaintop experience. Sometimes, our nitty gritty reality can wear us down. Yet, those are often the majority of our days, when we are called to fidelity and hard work, to put one foot in front of the other. We are to be imitators of those who are good examples of faith, not only of those saints we honor in our Church, but those faithful Christians we see around us who are good examples of the faith.
May we pray today that we feel encouragement and motivation to make it through those difficult days that we face on our journey of faith. May we not give up in the midst of the challenges we face.
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