"We Are Not Alone"

            I am back after taking some time off for vacation and then continuing education.  I return to the pulpit on a very special Sunday.  This weekend Christians around the world will celebrate “All Saints Day,” a day set aside to remember and give thanks for friends, family, and other loved ones who have died.   At Meriden United Methodist Church we celebrate All Saints Sunday by reading the names of our loved ones, with a chime ringing after each name has been lifted up.  The names of our deceased loved ones are read as the congregation receives Holy Communion, reminding us of God’s promise that we will all be reunited in God’s Kingdom.

            My message this weekend, as we remember and give thanks for our loved ones, will be grounded in Hebrews 12: 1-3.  I deeply treasure the book of Hebrews and especially this passage.  However, in order to fully understand and appreciate this passage, we must understand its placement in the sweep of the overall argument in Hebrews. 

To fully understand Hebrews 12: 1-3, we must begin with the previous chapter, when the writer provides this definition of faith:  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  He continues in 11: 2-3 by observing, “Indeed by faith our ancestors received approval.  By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” 

From this point forward, to the very end of Chapter 11, the writer piles example on top of example of the faith of our ancestors in the faith.  For instance, he reminds us of the faith of Moses and the Hebrews, when he writes:  “By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so [without faith] they were drowned.” (v. 29)

In Chapter 11, the writer of Hebrews goes on and on and on, giving example after example after example of the faith of our spiritual ancestors from the Bible.  Then, our passage from the 12th chapter begins triumphantly with “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”.  

At this point, the writer of Hebrews adopts the intriguing metaphor of a distance race, such as a road race or a cross country race.  He suggests that living faithfully as disciples of Christ is akin to running an endurance race.  To put it together, verse 1 goes like this:  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” 

For the writer of Hebrews, we do not run the race of faithful discipleship alone.  No, we are surrounded by this crowd of spiritual ancestors, who have already completed the course but are watching us run.  This “cloud of witnesses” are not passive, disinterested spectators, either.  They surround and uplift us as we run our course of faith, pulling for us to run with endurance to the very end.  And, we know that we can successfully complete the course because this crowd of spiritual ancestors has already completed the course through faith.  We know that we can complete the course because they have already completed it.

 

In my message this Sunday, I will suggest that the crowd of spiritual ancestors watching us run our races is not restricted simply to the characters from the Bible.  Instead, I will argue that our loved ones are also part of the “cloud of witnesses”—that deeply engaged crowd of spectators—who are actively pulling for us –and offer us inspiration—as we run our course.

For the writer of Hebrews, we can take encouragement and inspiration from the “cloud of witnesses” who watch us run.  Yet, as he continues in verses 2-3, he calls upon us to look to Jesus as our role model for what it means to live faithful lives of discipleship.  Further, the writer emphasizes the quality of endurance, as essential if we are to remain faithful and not grow weary. 

We can see this quality of endurance modeled in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As the writer exhorts us in verse 2, we are to look “to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God.”

 

Come, join us this Sunday, November 2nd, as we remember and celebrate the lives of our friends, family members, and other loved ones—and, as we reflect on the assurance that they have joined the “great crowd of witnesses” who surround and uplift us, as we run with endurance the race of faith that is set before us.  Our church is located at the corner of Main and Dawson Streets in Meriden, Kansas.  Our classic worship service starts at 10 am on Sunday mornings. 

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.