1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. ³ His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels as the more excellent name he has inherited is better than theirs. ⁵ For to which of the angels did he say at any time,

“You are my Son.
    Today I have become your father?”

and again,

“I will be to him a Father,
    and he will be to me a Son?”

⁶ When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” ⁷ Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,
    and his servants a flame of fire.”

⁸ But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
    The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity;
    therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”

¹⁰ And,

“You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.
    The heavens are the works of your hands.
¹¹ They will perish, but you continue.
    They all will grow old like a garment does.
¹² You will roll them up like a mantle,
    and they will be changed;
    but you are the same.
    Your years won’t fail.”

¹³ But which of the angels has he told at any time,

“Sit at my right hand,
    until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?”

¹⁴ Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Commentary

The majesty of the Father is expressly imaged in the greatness of the power of the Son, that the one may be believed to be as great as the other is known to be. Again, as the radiance of light sheds its brilliance from the whole of the sun's disk… so true all the glory which the Father has is shed from its whole by means of the brightness that comes from it, that is, by the true Light. Even as the ray is of the sun — for there would be no ray of the sun were not — the sun is never conceived as existing by itself without the ray of brightness that is shed from it. So the apostle delivered to us the continuity and eternity of that existence which the Only Begotten has of the Father, calling the sun "the brightness of God's glory." (Gregory of Nyssa)

The preservation of the world is, in fact, no less a task than its creation. If so bold a statement may be allowed, it is even greater, for in the one instance something is produced from nothing, while in the other created things are preserved from falling apart and returning to non-existence. This is indeed a great and wonderful work, a proof of immense power. In saying that he sustains the whole universe, therefore, Scripture is telling us that the Lord makes light of the great burden of creation; it is no effort to him, for, the text adds, he does it by his word of power. Yes, truly: by his word. We may think of a word as something insubstantial, but Scripture shows us that it is not so with God. The expression used in the Letter to the Hebrews: he sustains the whole universe by his word of power, has the same significance as Saint John’s message: In him was life. Both indicate the power of the Word to preserve his creation, since he is himself the life of the whole universe. (John Chrysostom)

Musical Selection (lyrics in video)

Collect

(The translation of Scripture is from the World English Bible for which there are no copyright restrictions.  Collects are taken from the 1998 translation of the Sacramentary by the International Committee on English in the Liturgy).