The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Our reading today from Hebrews gives us more than enough to chew on, that could keep us occupied for hours, with the many connecting lines between the Old Covenant and New Covenant in Jesus Christ. The Biblical concept of “covenant” is very important in Hebrews. A “covenant” is like a contract or binding agreement between two parties. So our reading is a contrast between the Old and New Covenants. What are those? The Old Covenant is what God made with Moses and Israel on Mt. Sinai. Including the 10 Commandments, but also the whole system of sacrifices and worship. This involved the blood of goats and calves, the ashes of the heifer, the high priest and the tent, all mentioned in the reading. These are all elements of the Old Covenant. God ransomed Israel from slavery in Egypt, and was in the process of establishing them as a new, free nation, set apart to serve and obey Him. And thi...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Good Christian friends, we have waited and worshipped these weeks of Advent, we have yielded to the call of the messenger crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the Way of the Lord”, we have followed Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds all the way to Bethlehem, to the manger, to the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, just as the angels told. Baby Jesus nestled in a lowly manger, bringing Joy to the World and Peace on Earth. But the Gospel of John describes Jesus’ birth with a different phrase. No mention of Mary, mangers, Bethlehem, or shepherds. It’s John’s Christmas Verse: John 1:14, “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” What a deep and wonderful phrase: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us . This is the Christmas mystery; a deep and profound truth that does not cease to be a mystery once you know it, bu...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul uses the analogy of a tent to describe life in our earthly body. Not everybody loves tent camping, but for many it’s a fun, summer family activity. But even die-hard campers—have stories of the frustrations of tent-living—floods and leaks, mosquitoes, cooking problems or food issues. And mostly we can laugh about them—because tent living is usually no more than a temporary vacation for us. But for Old Testament Israel, for 40 years, a whole generation of hundreds of thousands of people lived in tents on the move. Generations of Israelites afterward were to commemorate this in the Feast of Tabernacles or “Tents”, when they would live in a tent for one week, as a reminder of how God preserved Israel through the 40 years in the wilderness. The 40 years was no “fun camping trip” that could be cut short when things got uncomfortable and they wanted to head home early for the comforts of a...