Sermons for the Month

Cure Exhaustion by Running!
DATE: August 19th, 2007
SERVICE: 12th Sunday after Pentecost
TEXT: Hebrews 11:29-12:2, Luke 12:49-56

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

On the one hand we heard, "Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us", on the other hand, "From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three."

We read, "Looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith," and then, "Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!"

The writer of Hebrews proclaims that Jesus, "for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross…", while in Luke Jesus says, "I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed."

How confusing this is! In the reading from Hebrews there is an "onward and upward" speech, praising the ancestors who relied on God in spite of lions, fire, war, torture and even being sawn in two! Their experience is intended to inspire and inform us as we live out our faith.

And, of course, Jesus is at the top of the list when it comes to the Great Cloud of Witnesses. He's the one on whom we must focus, so that we may endure with faith and perseverance, as he did. It's inspirational. You can almost hear the music from the movies Chariots of Fire or Rocky playing in the background.

But then we come to the Gospel lesson and the music fades; let's just say that it's lacking in inspiration. Jesus does not come across in this text as the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. He sounds perturbed. The baptism of which he speaks is his death. The crucifixion will be terrible, and anticipating it is terrible too. Jesus is committed to doing God's will, but distressed at waiting for it to happen, wanting it to be over.

And, if that glimpse of reality isn't painful enough, Jesus speaks of division, not peace. Those who follow him - especially in first century Palestine - will be rejected by their own families. This is no small thing; the most important social structure of the day will be in danger.

In the bigger picture that includes us, transforming a sinful world is bound to create conflict. When confronted with how the reality of their lives line up with God's will for the world, people get offended and become defensive. The uncomfortable truth is that opposition is the name of the game if Christians are truly being faithful since to tolerate and to conform is to lose sight of our mission. And, sacrifice is required of those who follow Jesus.

So, as we listen to today's readings, which takes priority? Is it the "onward and upward" speech or the warnings about division and conflict? It's both; they actually fit together. Because of the one, we need the other. Because being persecuted wears on a person and being faithful to the point of facing opposition and making sacrifices gets tiring, we need to be encouraged to keep running the race.

And that's what the situation was for the recipients of the letter we call Hebrews. Those early believers were struggling with the reality that it's easier to give up in the midst of pressures to conform than to remain faithful. As one writer said, "They were like runners overcome by exhaustion and loss of willpower a far distance from the finish line." (1)

Now, I'm sure that most of us, though we do not worry about being sawn in half like that one poor soul mentioned in today's text, know what it means to be like runner overcome by exhaustion. As it relates to the activities of the church we get tired of coming to worship, of being asked to give our time, talent and money and of wondering how one person can transform the world. Those who are doing the organizing get tired of planning, of seeking leaders, of being creative, and of wondering if people will participate. The choirs and band get tired of practicing; their leaders get tired of picking the right music for the groups' talents and of looking for just the right piece to fit the day's theme.

The Finance Team gets tired of being asked why giving is down. The Property Team gets tired of hearing about what needs to be repaired or replaced. And everybody gets tired of hearing about the great things that are going on in other churches, especially those massive non-denominational ones.

Then there is the exhaustion that plagues our day-to-day lives as Christians. We get tired of the demands of life - homes, jobs, children, finances, relationships, dealing with health issues and addictions. Each area can be a mere annoyance or a major crisis; we may not see dealing with it as a spiritual issue, but it is. We get tired of praying, tired of evaluating our priorities, tired of trusting and of "putting it in God's hands", tired of striving to do the right thing, of seeking the blessed life. We even get tired of being saved by faith, since it's difficult to sort out what that means.

We are tempted - both as a congregation and as individuals - to be cynical and apathetic, to lose confidence. The danger is not so much that we'll go off in the wrong direction as it is that we'll go no where.

It's like the seminary class whose professor had chastised them, and one of the students spoke on their behalf saying, "You think that we are nothing but a bunch of heretics!" To which the professor responded, "Oh no, I would never say that. Would that you had that much conviction!" (2)

The truth of the matter is that sometimes we do not, just as the Hebrews did not. Remember what are they told to do? "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight (that makes us exhausted) and the sin the clings so closely (that it slows us down), and run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…."

It's the memory of the faithfulness of those who went before us, combined with keeping our eyes on Jesus that helps us deal with the exhaustion. He is our hope, and he is kept alive for us by the power of the Holy Spirit and in God's word and the sacraments.

I love the story that Bishop William Willimon tells about leading a discussion about Christian worship with college students when he was Dean of the Duke University Chapel. In order to get the students into the subject he asked, "Those of you who have seen Christian worship, what would you say is the strangest thing that you've seen?' One response when like this:

"I think the weirdest thing is when, at the beginning, in the opening parade…"

"Processional?"

"Yeah - where they bring in that great, big, book."

"The Bible?"

"Yeah, and they bring in up and put it on the stand and you can see the person bringing it in sort of turns toward the clergy and says, 'Here, work from this.' That's weird." (3)

Yes, I suppose it is. But, in that book is the story of who God is, who we are, whose we are and what's in store for us both now and in eternity. It's all about relationship and about transformation. It may sound simple to say that's what counters our exhaustion, but, let me asked you have you found anything else that works in the long term?

On the one hand, it's difficult to be a Christian; Jesus makes that clear. But, on the other hand, in faith people have persevered and their witness is part of our story. Add to that the fact that we know how the story ends, and it's all good. So, let us then join in running the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

AMEN

(1) Hebrews 11:29-12:2, "Receiving the Promise Together", analysis by Carolyn Schneider, pg. 4, www.crossings.org (2) Same as above. (3) Sermon Archive:Duke Chapel, "Surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses", William Willimon, August 19, 2001, pg. 1, www.chapel.duke.edu

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