In just under a week the rugby world cup starts. As a passionate armchair sports fan I love any kind of international sports tournament, but the rugby world cup is one of my favourites. In fact the first time I ever went to see a big sporting occasion was back in 1991 at the rugby world cup, when it was staged in Britain. I went with my dad to watch Wales vs. Argentina – it was fantastic for an 11 year old boy. Big occasion. The old Cardiff Arms Park filled with passionate welsh fans, eager for their team to do well. Of course the singing at any Wales game is special, and this was my first experience of it in the flesh. It was an evening game, played under floodlights, and of course any sporting occasion is somehow magnified when played under lights. It was in may ways the perfect introduction to welsh rugby. To be honest though I cant really remember that much about the game, except that it wasn’t a classic. And Wales scraped a narrow victory over a team that on paper at least was ranked well below them. Of course in general at the start of the 90’s the welsh rugby team was going through a bit of a low patch, and that resulted in us failing to make the knockout round, losing humiliatingly in the group stages to western Samoa, leading to English people all over the country pointing out to any welsh friends or relatives that if that was the result against western Samoa, imagine what the whole of Samoa could do. (And people wonder why the welsh have such a strong antipathy to the English?!)
Thankfully the welsh rugby team is not in such a poor state at the moment – all you need to do is look at the results of the recent warm-up games – ahem – we’ve had a record points loss to England at Twickenham (guess who chose that match for their first visit to Twickenham?!), a crushing defeat to the French, but a scraped victory over yes, you’ve guessed, Argentina.
In many ways things seem exactly the same as they were at the start of the 90’s. sporadic flashes of brilliance in the previous years, leading to renewed optimism when the big game hits town. Followed inevitably by bone crushing disappointment.
Things seem the same. Same old same old. Nothing ever changes. As it says in Ecclesiastes – there is nothing new under the sun. things never seem to change. And that is a bad thing. Like the welsh rugby management. Same old same old.
And that’s often the way it goes, when things don’t change they are considered to be bad things. Dead things, dieing things, stale, lifeless, moribund. Relics. Out of touch. Irrelevant. Boring. These are all adjectives that seem to apply directly to things that just go on and on and on and on… never changing. Its like Eastenders, or Corrie, or Emmerdale, or even, heaven forbid, big brother – the same each week, each episode. They change things, but nothing changes. Its still the same at the heart. And of course that’s a bad thing.
Jean-Paul Sartre is sometimes misquoted as saying “hell is being trapped forever in a room with your friends” – I’m not sure if it would be any better with strangers, I suspect not. In fact I rather think what he was getting at is that an eternity with anyone would start to wear after a while. (To be honest I suspect that a good deal of our reluctance as Christians to talk about heaven for too long is that secretly we’re a bit worried about what eternity might mean. Its like the standard Christian joke where a man dreams that he dies and goes to hell and discovers it’s a never-ending church service. He wakes up, terrified, but when he eventually gets back to sleep he dreams he dies and goes to heaven, and that’s a never-ending church service. He wakes up screaming.) The idea of anything going on and on without changing can be a scary one, uncomfortable, unsettling. A bad thing.
But I wonder if that’s what you think of feel when you hear this, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever”?
What is the author of Hebrews trying to get at? Is this saying that Jesus is dull, samey, nothing new. Passé. Seen him once, seen him forever?
I think the idea couldn’t have been further from his mind. The author of Hebrews, whoever it was, has just spent the previous 12 chapters explaining the links between Jesus and the old testament narrative. He is deliberately at pains to ground Jesus, for his mainly Jewish-Christian readership, firmly within the context of the old testament, as a fulfilment of the mosaic law, and temple practices. He’s made a real effort to help his readers understand that Jesus isn’t some Johnny-come-lately, out of nowhere, without a historical leg to stand on – instead he is the fulfilment of Gods eternal plans to bring salvation. Fore-shadowed by the sacrifice system, but fulfilled in Jesus death. A priest who can come for us perfectly before God, not needing to come time and time again with imperfect offerings, but once, for all. The great high priestly function ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. He relates Jesus as being greater than Moses, greater than the prophets, greater than the angels. Jesus, the same yesterday.
Not a bad thing. Not same old same old, but a rock, something firm to base faith on. The rock in the storm. The anchor in the storms of life. That’s who Jesus is!
Jesus the same today. Not that the world is the same today as it was 2000 years ago, not that we do the same things the same way, with no innovation. Life on earth, and our expression of faith wasn’t perfected 2000 years ago – history isn’t fulfilled yet – we need to constantly be seeking new ways of worshipping and honouring our heavenly father, engaging with the holy spirit, proclaiming Jesus the son. But Jesus is the same. The eternal son of God, who was and is and is to come. Never changing. Not capricious, never turning his back on those who come seeking forgiveness and willing to repent. Never changing his eternal purposes. Never changing his message to fit in with what the world wants to hear. But always merciful, always gracious. Always offering redemption at his cost. Jesus Christ, the same today.
That’s who Jesus is. Not irrelevant, not a historical artefact that should be left to the history books. As relevant today as when he walked the dirt of Palestine 2000 years ago. His message of repentance for the kingdom in at hand just as pertinent and necessary in these days as it was then.
Jesus Christ, the same tomorrow. He’s not going to change. He’s not going to abandon his plans. He’s not going to be someone who leaves you, he’s never going to get tired of you. Your annoying habits are never going to be too much for him to take. He’s never going to get bored of you. And crucially he’s not someone you can deal with once and then forget about. It’s not like buying a lottery ticket where you can pay a lump sum, and then don’t need to worry about it until your number comes up. Jesus doesn't ever stop being your saviour – the most important person who ever walked this earth. He never stops being worth following.
Jesus Christ being the same tomorrow doesn't mean things have to stay the same. It means that while we’ll be challenged in our faith in new ways, while at times we’ll need to express things in new ways that are relevant to the culture, the heart of our faith, the central aspect, the key figure of Jesus will be the same. Redeemer. Lord. Saviour. That’s who Jesus is.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday today and forever shouldn’t make us think of an old weathered statue, it should show us a giant, powerful, relevant figure – standing strong and tall throughout history, like a colossus, spanning the past and the future. This is Jesus Christ.
And this is where the challenge to the readers of Hebrews really kicks in. This verse comes towards the end of the  book, at the end of a section where the author is explaining some practical implications of his teaching about Jesus. Family is important, caring for the disenfranchised, and powerless is important, being faithful in marriage is important – God gives good gifts and they are not for abusing! Trust in God, not money. He alone is eternally faithful. Follow good role models. And then the author comes out with this killer verse – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. This is not a disconnected verse, this is a verse that explains the previous verses, that gives them an explanation, that grounds them. This is why you need to do those things… because Jesus is the same. He’s not something you used to do and can now forget about.  He’s not just for today, here today and gone tomorrow, and he’s not just something that will eventually happen, someone you’ll eventually have to deal with - you have to deal with him now! You cant escape it, you cant relegate it to history or the past, and you can’t abdicate responsibility till another time – Jesus Christ is the same today, as he was, and as he will be.
That’s why we need to respond in our lives – to do good to others, to keep God at the centre of everything. The time is now. Perhaps today, this week, the start of what is (in academic terms at least,) a new year, this is a challenge you need to face. What does it mean to me that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever? What difference does it make to the way I live my life? What difference should it make?
And the answer is simultaneously simple, and complicated. The answer to what difference it makes is everything. If Jesus is the same, eternally loving, eternally merciful, eternally forgiving and welcoming to sinners like you and me – then we too need to be consistent in the things that matter – faithfulness, holiness, love. We need to consistently show mercy to those around us. We need consistently to love those who find themselves unloved. We need constantly to give glory and honour and praise to the father, through the spirit, for the work of the Son. Our lives need to reflect the work of Jesus yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The fact the Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever is both our rock and anchor to our faith, and our hope for the future. And it is also our challenge for today. It’s a powerful verse, the same yesterday, today and forever – and may its challenge and effect be powerful in our lives.
Amen.