FIRST READING: Isaiah 5:1-7
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Hebrews 11:29-12:2
GOSPEL Matthew 22.1-14
We continue or reading from the letter to the Hebrews. Last Sunday we were reminded what faith is all about. ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’.
The writer to the Hebrews does something extraordinary, looking at the Old Testament heroes and people and their experiences from the perspective of their faith.
Faith in God transforms people, they become resilient and courageous. The epistle tells us that people had to face enormous challenges and struggles and enormous suffering. Yet with faith they were able to endure all that. It is their hope and conviction about God that made them so strong.
Faith gives us the power to endure challenges and suffering.
St. Paul while writing to the church in Rome writes about this beautifully, ‘And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us’.
The New Testament books tell us what life is all about in a variety of ways, The writer to the Hebrews tells us that Life is a race that have to run. A race sets a before us a goal towards which we run. Some distance that need to be completed
He then makes a huge shift and now points to Christ and tells us that Jesus is the Pioneer and perfector of faith.
THE Bishop of Kingston, Dr Martin Gainsborough, had embarked on running the full distance of the Pennine Way — 268 miles — for charity raising money for the link diocese in Zimbabwe, completing this feat of endurance in ten days.
This is a race that he had willingly taken up. A distance to complete and a goal to be achieved.
The life of a Christian is a race with Christlike character.
Athletes run the race not carrying much and wearing light clothing. They need to make sure they need to be comfortable and make the running easy.
The writer to the Hebrews 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.’
When Peter responded to Jesus saying, you are the messiah, the son of the living God, Jesus told him on this rock I will build my church. We stand on this rock Jesus the ‘pioneer and perfector’ of our faith and we run the race of life looking up to him.