Hebrews 12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In the Tour De France, one of the words that the spectator or viewer must come to learn is the idea of the Peloton. It is the group of bicycle riders that group together to pace themselves during the race. They ride together in a large clump of riders sometimes with teammates and sometimes with rivals. But, throughout the many days and the many miles of riding, the contestants draw together to ride and race together.
So is it with the Church. The Church is an assembly of people summoned by God to follow Jesus Christ. But the great advantage of being in the Church community is that one does not follow alone. Every believer is surrounded by other believers just like in the Peloton every rider is surrounded by other riders. But we are not just surrounded by other believers, but we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. We are not only surrounded by other believers but also the great heroes and witnesses of our faith. We are surrounded not just by each other, but by Peter, Paul, Mother Theresa, Dr. King, Archbishop Tutu and many more. We have the support of not just our faith community, but every person and community in every time and place.
But perhaps the important word of this passage is the word “since.” Since we are surrounded, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. The advantage of being surrounded is that we can overcome the obstacles that hold us back and we can throw off the sinful behaviors that tie us up. Those obstacles can be many and varied depending on the time and season. But in this moment as we are heading into Labor Day weekend, what we might need to throw off are those bad habits of not participating in our faith communities. September is our “Back-to-Church” time and season. Where we re-connect with each other and with God, but also where we re-commit to the life of discipleship that has perhaps waned in the past few weeks and months. Perhaps what we need to throw off and untangle is the many distractions and priorities which have caused us to float away from the Peloton, from the community of Faith.
Perhaps then our life together, or to continue the metaphor, is about running the race set before us. But “since” we are surrounded, we not only throw off the obstacles holding us back and keeping us away, but we run with perseverance, the race marked before us. The Tour De France is not won in a day, it is marathon mixed with moments of sprinting, and moments of climbing, and moments of descending. Our church life is no different. We will have moments marked out for us by God, that will differ depending on the circumstances. We will have hills to climb, like covid, wars and recessions. We will have sprints to power through, like rummage sales and picnics. We will have descents to coast through, like Christmas and Eastertime. But we run the race set before us with perseverance. Not just when life together is easy, but especially when life together requires learning, growing, adventure and change. We run, but we run together with perseverance.
But just as a bicycle rider focuses on the finish line, we are to focus on Christ who is at the finish line and summoning us to himself. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. A pioneer is someone who paves the road or blazes the trail. A perfecter is one that ensures the road is finished and drivable. With Christ as pioneer and perfecter, we can run the race of faith because it has been created and finished already. We must simply follow the road by fixing our eyes on the one who made it and who finished it, so that we can simply follow along behind him to the finish line. If we see him having finished the race, can we not finish it ourselves. The hard work has been done, the victory has been accomplished, we can merely enjoy the ride and be ensured of finishing strong.
If then our eyes are fixed on Christ, then we can consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. The main reason we quit the race is because we grow weary and lose heart. Times become tough, challenges and difficulties overwhelm, we lose the joy of our life together, and Church becomes tedious and dull. But if we consider Christ, who endured opposition on his race, we can endure our opposition and run on, fixing on Christ, running with perseverance, throwing off the bad habits that hold back and sins that cling, since we are surrounded by a faithful cloud of witnesses. But if we consider Christ, we disciple on until the race is finished and God’s Kingdom comes. Friends, let us consider Christ and let us run the race set before us with perseverance, never quitting, because we are surrounded by fellow believers by also every faithful witness. Amen.
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