A Cloud of Witnesses:
Matt 25:31-40; Hebrews 12:1-2
I had been a pretty good runner in high school.
I
won the Class C 120 Hurdles state championship in
At
the awards banquet my coach recognized
not only, me but also my parents-
“They followed him everywhere.”
I went to college and didn’t have the
same success.
The
hurdles were higher, the competition was faster
And
so I settled into a mediocre track career.
Until
the meet at
Brown
was close to where my parents lived.
So
they were able to come up to see and cheer
Along
with my little brother.
And
lo and behold I won the meet.
And
I realized that my struggle at college was not
About
higher hurdles or faster competition
But
I had lost my cheering squad-
Those
people who believed in me
More
than I believed in myself.
That is part of today’s lesson from
Hebrews:
“Therefore since we are surrounded by a great
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so
closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”
In the book of Hebrews the author has
just finished a litany
Of
the saints of the faith that surround us “by faith”:
By
faith Abel offered to God; by faith Noah built;
by faith Abraham
obeyed;
by faith
Jacob offered a blessing to his sons;
by faith Moses left
We are tempted when we hear that group
To
think that they were larger than life.
They
weren’t just spectators and cheerleaders
But
they are the ones who got it right.
We are tempted by that group
to become
paralyzed in our faith - thinking
“I could
never do what they did.”
Kind of like how I would feel if my
preaching
Professor Tom Long showed up today.
But then we realize that Abel fought
with his brother Cain;
Noah
was part of the fallen humanity that brought the flood;
Abraham
laughed at God and tried several options
Before
he finally believed & lived God’s promise;
Jacob
stole his own blessing from Esau
Before
he offered a blessing to his sons;
And
Moses tried his best to talk God out of
Calling him to leadership
Before
he started his trek in the wilderness.
These
guys were no more perfect in their faith journey
Than
my preaching professor was in his
and that is
the power of today’s lesson.
Today’s
lesson is not about us.
It’s not
about our ability to win the race.
The image we should have is not
As some commentator suggest
The image of an Olympic
competition
With past Olympic
champions
Cheering
us on.
Rather the image we should draw on to
understand today’s scripture
Is
the Special Olympics where the goal is
“empowering
individuals to achieve.”
Every one of the people in this cloud
of faith
Cheering section had
something that they
Were struggling with.
They were champions not because they
were perfect
In the way
that the world defines perfect but
Because
they were specially set apart by God
They
were special and unique and wonderful
For
the task to which God called them
And
so are we.
That’s why the response to this cloud of
witnesses is
“to set aside every weight and sin that
clings to us
and run with perseverance,
the race that is
set before us.”
We are no longer individual agents
looking for
Personal
and individual glory but rather
We
are on God’s team seeking
To
give glory to God.
We
are not perfect in our faith but we follow
“the pioneer and perfecter
of the faith”
who is Jesus
Christ.
We
are not immune to the difficulties and hardships of life
But
we follow one who for the sake of God endures
The
hardship and pain of the cross.
And the race we run as followers of
Jesus Christ
Is
not a 120 Yard hurdles or 5000 meter run
Rather
it is the work of Christ in Matthew 25:
“feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty,
welcome the
stranger, clothe the naked,
visit the sick and
imprisoned.”
And in doing so we not only run the race
of faith
But
we become the cloud of witnesses as well.
Today
we are sending several people out to do
Those
very things.
We are sending people to walk for CROP.
One
of the important things that Church World Services does
Is
to provide clean drinking water for the world.
We are sending people to
To
build houses for people whose homes are destroyed.
We are sending people to the Lord’s
Diner this Friday
to provide
food for people in
We are sending clothes to the
Presbyterian Children’s home
For
children who need clothes.
We can’t and don’t all do everything any
more than one athlete
Can
compete in every race in a track meet.
Some
are individual races and some are relays
That
take several people to complete.
Some
are sprints that we can do in one quick effort
And
some are long distant efforts that take
Endurance
and stamina.
But
we are all part of the team.
Some
of us are in the stadium competing
While
others of us are part of the cloud of witnesses
Who
cheer the other’s on.
We
are all special.
We
are all important.
God
needs us all.
But
more than that, we need God
Revealed
in Jesus Christ.
He takes our efforts, as feeble as they
might be
And
puts us together with others to complete the race.
And
he urges us to urge each other on.
So today we will commission spiritual
athletes.
I would invite all those who are
competing in the CROP Walk,
The
The
Presbyterian Children’s home donations
To
come forward and to be surrounded
by the cloud of witnesses.
You
are not alone in your work for God.
You
are surrounded by those who have gone before you
You
are cheered on by those around you today.
You
are supported by those who have given financial donations
and you are enveloped in prayer which is the
equivalent
of the biggest loudest cheering
section ever.
“Therefore
since you are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every
weight and sin that clings so closely and run with perseverance, the race that
is set before you looking to Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter
of our faith.”Amen