Daily office meditation
Feb 26
Hebrews 2:14-15 14 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.
When the empire threatens the oppressed, or a torturer causes a victim pain, they assume that they will not pay the consequences. Victims believe that their voices cannot be heard, and in the midst of great pain, they go silent.
Without the state’s implicit permission to commit violence, torturers would have no important role in culture. They simply obey the call to inflict pain. Although the state may defend torture as a security issue, the real effectiveness is about generally instilling fear by reminding its citizens of cruelty’s ubiquity and randomness.
This passage in Hebrews, however, is a warning to torturers. God feels pain; and there is justice. Christ’s forgiveness invites the torturer to transform from one who enjoys pain, to one who feels it. The writer asserts that the Divine is where the victims have been given courage to resist, even though they may believe that there are some events worse than death. God is present when we recognize that we have the power to endure, whatever the powers have created.
Our faith opens up that space which liberates us from the fear of death. It does not liberate us from death. How this works, is another question.