Run with perseverance and faith

There’s a cartoon which has someone approaching a Vicar after a service and saying how much they’d enjoyed the sermon about sin and judgement… They then proceed to tell the Vicar, ‘I can think of a few people here who will learn a lot from that sermon if they listened’… 

Of course, the irony is that the sermon was preached to all, including that person who’d failed to see that it might be relevant to them and that there may be any fault at all in their lives which may need to be put right… 

Our readings today challenge us to think about our faith and our commitment to our faith… It may be easily proclaimed in a church full of people expressing the same faith but what about in a more difficult setting and what about in the times when our faith is truly tested or questioned… 

We are currently in the Trinity season in the Church calendar and that is a season about growth – we don’t have the drama of Holy Week and the pain accepted by Jesus on our behalf to think about. We don’t have the Easter joy of the resurrection or the celebration of the birth of Jesus like at Christmas or the giving of the Holy Spirit as we commemorate at Pentecost and the list could go on… Trinity however is the time when we think of all of these things and how we live out our lives with the knowledge of God’s love and commitment to us… 

The death and resurrection of Jesus is something that we must remember constantly – it is the point that history changed, that God’s love was revealed in the most incredibly powerful way, so we’re challenged to think of the difference that makes to us day by day…. 

Those who know me well will know that I’m not a great animal expert however I read recently that the African impala (which I hadn’t heard of before !) can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. 

But apparently these animals can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with just a 3-foot wall because the animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. When we think about faith, we can see the relevance of this… 

Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the restrictions that so often limit us…. 

There’s another illustration about faith concerning a boat which is generally at its safest in a harbour and yet, if it remains in the harbour then it is not doing what it was designed to do… Faith encourages us to take the step outside what is naturally comfortable in order to offer our lives to God who will help us to be the people he wants us to be and live the lives he wants us to live… There is no question that faith, if it is real faith, must change us… 

So back to the readings for this morning and I want to think about the New Testament readings. In our gospel from Luke (12:49-56) Jesus explained about this baptism he was compelled to receive – this was no water baptism, but rather the crucifixion – he didn’t want it and who would ? 

There was of course the physical pain of the torture beforehand even before the nails and the time on the cross, but there was more for Jesus. There was also the mental anguish of being rejected by people he loved, people that he had come to save, people he came to live for…. All people… 

He spoke these words that we heard about division and they’re difficult words to hear. We don’t want to think of Jesus brining division in any way, but Jesus does demand a response to his life, his death and his resurrection… 

We don’t often see it in this country but sometimes choosing to follow Jesus can be a decision which divides families hugely… It may of course for some even mean risking their lives… When we talk about commitment to our faith it’s probably fair to say that it is commitment rarely tested like that… 

But still we are called to be committed. The Christian faith has never been about church attendance, it’s never been about saying the right words in the creed…. It is about a relationship with Jesus that transforms us day by day as we seek to be more like him, as we seek to share the gifts and the love that he talked about…. 

Jesus occasionally ranted, very occasionally, but when he did it was often about religion that made no difference to how a person lived… What is our faith today ? Does it run deep inside us as well as on the outside ? Does it change us on a wet and miserable Monday morning as well as on a Sunday morning ? 

Jesus demands commitment… He demands us to try and be more like him… He demands that we should seek to live with and love others just as he does… For us that will mean loving the people we find it hard to get on with, loving the stranger, loving the outcast, loving the person that treats us badly – Jesus loved those who killed him and prayed immediately for their forgiveness… 

In the part of the Letter to the Hebrews that we heard (11:29-12:2) there was a list of people who had displayed great faith, certainly not perfect people, sometimes the most unlikely of people, but people who trusted God to change them and it’s a wonderful reminder to us of how God can change and use anyone, even us… 

And this passage is very clear that the Christian faith isn’t an easy option – being a Christian can bring suffering and trials but we’re strengthened, comforted and empowered by the fact that Jesus who has conquered persecution and suffering and even death, remains with us… He who has overcome the darkest the world can offer shines as our light day by day… 

This part of the letter that we heard finishes with an incredible last paragraph which says, ‘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, looking 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 the throne of God.’

Jesus died because he wants a relationship with us – Jesus died because he believed it possible that we would answer his call to enjoy that relationship, Jesus died because he knew the joy that would follow, the joy of new life, risen and eternal life, would outweigh anything that went before… 

Our faith is not just about the future living closer to God, glorious though we believe that will be, but it is about living here and now confident of his love, confident of his care, confident that he is with us every moment of every day… 

And so, to finish, just a little challenge to think about – What is it in our lives that we need to lay aside to run more clearly that race that is set before us ? What is it that we need to lay aside to be more like Jesus ? What is it that we do day by day to praise him, to glorify him, not just with our words but with our actions… 

Day by day may we pray that we will be more like the people he calls us to be… AMEN