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Building houses

Ah, the proliferation of metaphors! There are "many rooms in my father's house," and "my house will be called a house of prayer," and now Moses is a house. And we're in the house, or we are the house. And Jesus is over the house.

I don't know where I'm going with this -- all these houses just piqued my fancy. Especially since it started out with the high priest.

Let's back up and get these houses straight and see if that helps.

"“Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory."--Hebrews 3:5-6.

Moses, representing a leader, is in the house, bearing witness. We, the community of God's people, are the house, providing structure, shelter, comfort. And Jesus is over it -- literally and figuratively, I suppose. Maybe he's just sitting on the roof, but I think it's supposed to mean he's master of it all.

It puts him in a different class: not just part of the rabble like us (though serving some purpose), and more than even a great leader. He does more than just serve, he is worthy of honour for who he is.

We might feel unconvinced about what a great house it all is and wonder whether the architect/builder should be getting so much praise, but if we're not putting our faith in the builder, he's telling us we're out of the game.

If we the church are the house, it's kind of like the body metaphor -- we've all got to do our jobs otherwise the whole thing isn't going to work together all that well. It takes commitment to trust that whatever insignificant or uncomfortable job we have now is actually part of something larger than ourselves, something beautiful and functional, something that serves a greater purpose than we could accomplish on our own.

"I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ "--Hebrews 3:10-11.

It's not about his anger, I don't think, but about our waywardness not leading to the best path. This isn't a curse for tripping up so much as a promise that when we chose not to work together for his glory, things fall apart. A roofless house can only do so much.
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Comments

Tom said…
Possibly you are intentionally overlooking this, but 'house' in this case I think means 'household', as in the people who live under His roof. Not just family (though certainly them), but servants, retainers, slaves, etc.
March 16, 2011 at 10:02 PM
kar0ling said…
Aha! Indeed. (Possibly you underestimate how random and rambly these reflections truly are. Thank you for the vote of confidence.) I was just pondering how while the lectionary has its strengths, one of the weaknesses is how short the bits are and how that can result in lack of context.
I'm probably going to get myself in trouble by "thinking out loud" online for anyone to read. Mostly, I'm heedless of my audience as I write these posts, but the fact of the audience is what keeps me honest to keep posting. Please remember that I'm just *musing* and don't jump to "farewell" me over anything you read here.
March 16, 2011 at 10:27 PM
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