Hebrews12:1-13, Hebrews 11:1,2
"Surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses"
The sermon this morning is based on a part our lesson from Hebrews, plus a few verses from chapter 11.
I would like to share these verses with you: from chapter 11:"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."from chapter 12: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings to closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith"
To understand the theme of this sermon and to prepare us for the mood of this message of faith, I would like you to listen carefully to the following story:
Two butterflies - colorful and majestic monarchs - sat side by side on a tree limb. Beside them was the ruptured cocoon from which they’d just emerged.
"Come fly with me," said the one.
"Caterpillars can’t fly,"said the other.
"But we’re not caterpillars anymore," said the first, flexing his new wings, stretching then their full span till they looked like magnificently crafted stained glass windows. "Those caterpillar days are gone forever."
"Don’t be silly," said the other. "We were born caterpillars and we’ll always be caterpillars. That’s the way it is."
"Well, then, why did the Maker see fit to give us thease wings?" said the one.
The other butterfly thought for a moment and then replied,"I don’t know. Some sort of cruel joke, I suppose. He did the same thing to the ostrich, you know."
"Nonsense!" said the first. "Look at all the other butterflies. They’re flying. What do you say to that?"
The second butterfly looked out over the meadow and said, "They’re not flying. They’re just being blown about by the wind. Stupid of them,too. Can’t they see it’s dangerous? Easy prey for hungry birds and, when they land, mischievous children as well. I’ll stick to crawling and climbing, thank you very much. It may be slow, but it’s safe and sure."
"It may be slow and safe and sure but it’s.....well, it’s unnatural. Butterflies fly!!!That’s the way the maker made us. That’s our role, our function, our fit: to dance on the wings of the air; to play tag with dandelions seeds; to soar; to dart; to float; to light on a single blade of grass to the delight of all who see;to inspire awe and wonder; to fascinate; to add a note of grace to this world’s dreary song," said the other as he flew into the air.
Can you feel the life, the happiness, the joy at being alive the soaring butterfly sensed as he flew off into space. This joy came because he knew the creator, the maker, had made him for a purpose to inspire, to fascinate, to add a note of grace to this world. He flourished in this role as he flew away with the rest of the butterflies.
In the same kind of way, our lives are filled with that same awareness of who’s we are and what we are. You and I are called by God to be children of faith surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, "others in faith" as we"run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith". As children of faith, we look forward to the coming of Christ as we endure in this world with a devotional love for Christ as we look to the future in the confidence of Christ.
In chapter 12, the author to the Hebrews continues his thought he began in chapter 10 about faithfulness or hope. His idea of faith is a looking forward to the future, unknown and unassured. We run our race with faith, with hope, with perseverance even though we do not know what the future will bring or what lies ahead or around the next curve in the road. We run always with Christ as our partner, looking ahead with His power to live as new creatures redeemed in the power of the resurrection. We live as that butterfly, confident in the promise of God that we are His and our task on earth, whatever it may be, is given to us by God. We persist as ones who know the Lord and have a relationship with Him which allows a free flow of thoughts and ideas. We are, therefore, in communication with God talking to Him through Christ as a friend bringing all of ourselves to Him.
One of my favorite characters is Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof." He knows how to communicate with God as he runs His race, as he persevered with the unknowns of life. He is good example of a loyal child of God even as he is able to share even his anger with God at the inequitableness of life.
Tevye is a man who is comfortable with His God. He might not understand everything about this God, he might not understand why he does things for this God, but he is comfortable with God. We find Tevye talking to God. Listen to the honest, forthright statements Tevye makes to God. Imagine the relationship he has with God. Tevye is speaking:
"Today I am a horse. Dear God, did you have to make my poor old horse lose his shoe just before the Sabbath? That wasn’t nice. It’s enough you pick on me, Tevye, bless me with 5 daughters, a life of poverty. What have You got against my horse? Sometimes I think when thing are too quiet up there,You say to Yourself:’Let’s see, what kind of mischief can I play on my friend, Tevye’?
Tevye pulls his cart farther down the lane, silently, looking toward heaven and continues talking, "As the Good Book says, Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed. In other words, send us the cure, we’ve got the sickness already. I’m not really complaining---after all, with Your help, I’m starving to death. You made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, that it’s no shame to be poor, but it’s no great honor either. So what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?"
You can tell Tevye has a relationship with God which allows him to be honest and share his inner most feelings with God as he goes through life. I think this is what the author of Hebrews had in mind when he spoke of faithfulness as he says: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." We walk through live confident not of our own doing but in Christ as we endure and manage to sustain ourselves in this consciousness.
Our faith believes the promises of God that through Christ we will have deliverance, grace, redemption in the afterlife, but also in this life. We believe that somehow life is different because of Christ. And it is Christ who makes this life different, not us. There is a quality about our lives in Christ which we cannot see, or tangibly measure, however, we have the conviction that life is distinct, is of a better quality, is diversed because of Christ. Living in the promises of the resurrection gives us assurance for meeting all the challenges of this life both good and bad.
For example: A story by Roger Hawthrone:
One of the first Easter’s’ of my ministerial career began with a blizzard.I was still a student pastor, and we had arranged to have an ordained pastor come to serve communion. There was a question if he would be able to make it through the storm. To add to the misery, shortly after breakfast, we received word of the death of a woman, one of the 12 brothers and sisters who were members of the congregation. Between the storm, the probable absence of the minister, and the death, I began to anticipate my wife and me having a worship service by ourselves. I stumbled from the parsonage to the church to be sure it would be warm in case anyone should come, then fought my way back for another cup of coffee. This was a blizzard--I could not see the road from the parsonage.
At church-time, I entered the back room, and there were all the teenagers who composed the choir. Eventually the ordained minister stumbled in and I marvelled at his dedication to have fought that storm for more than fifty miles...The organist slipped out to begin her prelude while the choir, the minister and I consoled ourselves that perhaps at least a few people had come to the service. Then the organ volume lifted and we began to march in.
There in the front row sat the husband and children of the deceased woman; they had driven 30 miles. Around them were aunts, uncles and cousins and they were so packed in the nave that some of them had to stand. Never before had there been so many people in a worship service there....
The organist moved into the first hymn,"Jesus Christ is risen today, alleluia!" In the front row, singing as loudly as any, with tears streaming down their faces, were the husband and children of the deceased woman.....
The custom was they were used to coming forward to receive communion at the rail. We bent the rules so that I could help serve. The last man I reached with the wine was the new widower, whose children ranged from elementary to high school in age. My eyes must have been asking a question, for as he replaced the communion glass, he quietly took hold of my arm and whispered,
Outside the storm raged on, but no one minded for inside the resurrection was being celebrated. And for a certain divinity it was the first time he ever really understood the resurrection."If a man die shall he live again?" Yes, a resounding Yes!!!
In the midst of death, sorrow and loneliness, the power of the promises of God came through to this family who had the conviction of faith to see them through this moment of brokenness. The church was filled with the family members of this mourning family and the deceased woman. We are indeed "surrounded by a witnesses" even in the brokenness of life. It is in exactly those moments of brokenness that I need your faith to speak to my faith. I need your conviction to sustain by conviction.
Dietrick Bonhoeffer says in his book "Life Together":
" God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother/sister, in the mouth of a man/ woman. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him/her. He/she needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying their truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother, his own heart is uncertain,, his brother’s is sure."
A closing story brings together this theme in a powerful way for me:
Anna joined the church as a teenager. She was attractive and she was smart. Now she became a child of faith, baptized into the household of faith. She became a leader of the youth group, and was so pleasant and so positive in her actions that she made a big impression on many of the older members.
After graduation she went to college and became a nurse. She returned to her hometown, married, had two children, and her faith continued to grow.She became a leader in the parish - not just as a member of committees and boards, but as one of deep faith with a genuine love for others, always ready and willing to help someone in need. She may not have been prefect, but many thought she might be.
Shortly, after her 33rd birthday the doctor’s shocking diagnosis came: Ann had cancer. But, of course, she would undergo chemotherapy and she would be o.k. Unfortunately the therapy proved to be devastating. Her body did not respond well to the medication. Slowly but surely the disease continued its debilitating work. She was dying.
Anna talked with her children and her husband about death. She also talked a lot about faith and hope and resurrection. Her children listened. Her husband listened. Her congregation listened. She was indeed "surrounded by so great a could of witnesses" who prayed and prayed for her.
Anna died quietly one night after six painful years. Sometimes races are run and victories claimed in strange place like a hospital bed.
Amen
