Standing Firm in our Faith – Hebrews 11:29-12:2

I am not sure whether this has been your experience or not but my formative years in the church were ones that I remember fondly. They were a time for me where I was taught the Bible stories, sang the familiar hymns of the church, and learned a pattern for worshipping God.  I still have many of the story books that I received in those days and that formed the basis of the lessons. The Sunday School I grew up in was in a relatively new Presbyterian Church in Montreal. The church was always full of about 400 people at the main service and a Sunday School in excess of 200 children. When I grew too old for the regular Sunday School programme, I attended a Youth Bible Class. This class was held at 9:30 in the morning and was over before church at 11. Our teacher was a wonderful man named Rod Morrison who used no other teaching material except the Bible itself and taught us in a holistic way. I credit him with the deep appreciation I came to have for the Old Testament and for stretching my understanding of God. Talk about having the Scriptures opened to us. Unfortunately there were only 3 of us who ever attended that class – all boys. We were the same 3 who attended the youth group and dutifully listened to the minister and elders expound to us the catechism and church government for one hour every second Sunday night in exchange for which we would play basketball or some other game – two on two.

When we were 16, Mr. Morrison died of liver disease and the class ended. It was only at that time that I looked to professing my faith before the congregation and becoming a communicant member of the church. At that point the girls reappeared, and we went through the series of lessons provided by the minister to prepare us for making that profession. I must admit I learned nothing new in those lessons and had already made up my mind to join. I had spent 3 years being prepared.  Interestingly, when I was serving at a church in Dunbar, Ontario, one of Mr. Morrison’s sons and his family joined the congregation and I got to know him and his wife and family for a brief time.

The point of telling you that story is that so often we read the passage in Hebrews about all the great people of faith who have made their mark in history and think that somehow such great people of faith are in the distant past or that these are the only examples we can point to.  The stories we tell our children in Sunday School and that we tell each other in church focus on people like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Samson, David, and Solomon just to name a few. These figures are larger than life and they were critical to the history of the people of Israel in their journey through life with God but they are not the whole story - for the Bible only tells part of the story. We often overlook all the people of faith whose names have been forgotten because they were never recorded - people who found encouragement through the example of such leaders and, in their own way, inspired others around them to be faithful as well.

Communion of saints, we call it, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed. We say the words but how often do we reflect on its meaning. The communion of saints is that community of faithful believers who have preceded us in this life, those who walk this life with us and those who will come after us. For the author of this letter, this great cloud of witnesses is a source of encouragement for every believer to stand firm in their faith. We are not alone.

I don’t know if any of you have ever trained for a marathon, but it takes a great deal of determination and discipline to achieve the goal. It requires a regimen of training that allows for no more than 1 day of rest per week. It tests not only your physical ability but your mental ability as well. Having a partner to train with is critical which is why most people join a group and train with them. The others become a motivation to keep going. You make sure you get out because someone else is counting on you to encourage them.  And while when it comes to the actual race, it is just you that is running your race; there are hundreds of eyes watching your progress, cheering and encouraging you, even though they have never seen you before or know anything about you. There comes a point in the race that is called “hitting the wall”. It usually occurs around the 20^th mile in the 26.2-mile race. I remember running the marathon in Green Bay and getting to that point. One of the local churches had undertaken to be a support that day for the race and they had constructed a huge air-filled wall that all the runners could pass through. As you passed, they filled you with encouragement to let you know that you had gone through a symbolic barrier and were on the home stretch. And as tired as you felt, when that last .2 of a mile came, you summoned every ounce of grit and determination to make that finish line with a smile on your face and energy in your step. You may have collapsed when you were past and hurt like you never hurt before, but you persevered because you knew people were with you to encourage you and ensure you made it to the end.

Starting any journey can be daunting but starting a journey of faith can be the most daunting thing we ever do in our life for it is the one journey whose endpoint is in God. It is a journey that began even before we realized we were on a journey. It is a journey that follows us through every stage of our lives. It is a journey with hills and valleys, with twists and turns. It is a journey that has bright days and dull days. It is a journey that gives us great moments of joy and great moments of suffering. It is a journey that constantly challenges us physically, mentally, and spiritually for it is a journey that we cannot see its whole length. We can’t take a practice run. We can’t see what is around the corner.  It is a journey of faith – the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

And while each of us must take our own journey of faith, we can find in each other partners, encouragers, supporters who are willing to journey with us, who are willing to share how they have handled their journey.  We can see in the lives of those around us examples of how to persevere in the race of faith and how to keep our eyes on the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, God in our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the real reason for Christian community: gathering together to support one another in our individual and collective journey with God in faith; being there for one another when we hit the wall; cheering one another on when the going is tough, celebrating with one another when we experience a blessing.

I entitled this sermon Standing Firm in our Faith. I gave it that title not to give us the sense that we are to stand obstinately and stubbornly but rather that we stand with a positive understanding of the faith to which God has called us and to celebrate that faith through a strong commitment to live the Gospel message in our daily life.  Being a believer is not about being better than anyone else for we are no more perfect than any other person. Being a believer is about declaring that we are committed to living as followers of God and striving to be as faithful as we can to that declaration remembering each day to be supportive and encouraging of all who seek to take their journey of faith and to be gentle and open to any who have not yet decided to take that journey or who may have chosen a different path to take.

More than we may ever realize, our lives are intertwined with one another. We do not all take the exact same journey, but we will have many points of contact with each other. I encourage you to commit or continue to commit to seeing your journey through life as a gift of God and know that you are not expected to take it alone. And so wherever this journey takes you, may you ever find friends and companions to walk with you, to cheer you on and to be with you till the end of your days.

AMEN