Before And After

A Reflection on the Second Reading for September 1st, 2019:
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hebrews 12.18-19, 22-24

Brothers and sisters: You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable Angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.

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Few things demonstrate dramatic change as effectively as before-and-after photos. They are a staple in advertising campaigns for fitness programs, toothpaste, weight loss regimes and cosmetic surgery, showing us everything we could be and have if we would embrace a particular product or service.

Why are before-and-after photos such powerful tools? Marketing companies say it’s because they inspire people to consider what’s possible and motivate them to achieve it.

In recent years, however, a number of advertisers have recognized that before-and-after photos can motivate people in unhealthy ways. They may foster body shaming and obsession with physical beauty and thinness. Some advertisers are abandoning them in favour of approaches that focus on the journey to health rather than the bookends of that journey: the sad “before” photo and the “sensational” after.

The second reading for Sunday focuses on a journey too, a journey of the spirit. Hebrews 12:18-19 says: you are no longer in a place of darkness and harsh judgment. That was before. Now you are in a place of spiritual safety — the assembly of the first-born — under the protection of God, the just judge. You have come to this place through Jesus, who has mediated a new covenant between God and His people. Unlike the blood of Abel, shed for vengeance, the blood of Jesus is shed for love of us and for the forgiveness of our sins. Because of His sacrifice, someday, when our journey with Jesus is complete, we will be like the righteous ones “made perfect.”

"God wants to reveal our “before” picture, not to embarrass or shame us, but to inspire us toward renewed spiritual health and a journey that sees us growing more and more like Jesus — made perfect."

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There is nothing inherently wrong with the before-and-after model, as long as it motivates us in healthy ways. God wants to reveal our “before” picture, not to embarrass or shame us, but to inspire us toward renewed spiritual health and a journey that sees us growing more and more like Jesus — made perfect.

Through the mediation of Christ, we have entered into a relationship with a loving God, not a God who terrifies us. Jesus demonstrates God’s love for us by dying, shedding His blood, so that we can achieve and arrive at our ultimate destination, which is a life in the kingdom of heaven. What an amazing journey!


​Donna Davis

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