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Sermon
for 11 Pentecost Yr C, 15/08/2004 Heb
11:29-12:2 By
Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson Pastor
of Grace Lutheran Church, & Chaplain
of the Good Samaritan Society’s South
Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta In today’s second lesson,
the writer gives us a recital and roll call of some of God’s faithful people
over the centuries, and lists some of the events and circumstances they
endured. The message in all of this is one of encouragement, to keep the faith come hell, heaven or
anything else! It was the Danish Lutheran philosopher and theologian, Soren
Kierkegaard who once observed that: “The tyrant dies and their rule is over,
the martyr dies and their rule begins.” In other words, never underestimate how contagious and influential suffering and
faithful servants of God are on the world and within the church. The
following story certainly underscores this very well: Sheila Cassidy
is an Australian born-British medical doctor, who in 1975 was working in
General Pinochet’s Chile. At the request of a priest she treated a man sought
by the Chilean police. Their response? She was arrested and tortured. During
three torture sessions electrodes were attached to all parts of her body, one
even inserted into her vagina. She was threatened with rape, with whipping
and with being attacked by rats. After this she spent three weeks in solitary
confinement until she was released. Dr Cassidy says that it was her faith
that sustained her during this time, that in solitary confinement she had “an
enormous sense of the presence of God.” That same faith motivated her to actively
campaign against the Pinochet regime, but also to deny the fear she had felt.[1] The list of people in our second lesson who suffered similar
circumstances also were vindicated in their suffering and blessed with the
sense that God was with them. God was present with them to help them face and
persevere what they were going through. Their sufferings and perseverance are
also an inspiration to us and help us too. The following story reminds us of
the necessity of perseverance to run the race of life and reach the finish
line: The Olympic
Games, Mexico, 1968. The marathon is the final event on the program. The
Olympic stadium is packed, and there is excitement as the first athlete, an
Ethiopian runner enters the stadium. The crowd erupts as he crosses the
finish line. Way back in the field is another runner,
John Stephen Akwhari of Tanzania. He has been eclipsed by the other runners.
After 30 kilometers his head is throbbing, his muscles are aching and he
falls to the ground. He has serious leg injuries and officials want him to
retire, but he refuses. With his knee bandaged Akwhari picks himself up and
hobbles the remaining 12 kilometers to the finish line. An hour after the
winner has finished Akwhari enters the stadium. All but a few thousand of the
crowd have gone home. Akwhari moves around the track at a painstakingly slow
pace, until finally he collapses over the finish line. It is one of the most heroic efforts of
Olympic history. Afterward, asked by a reporter why he had not dropped out,
Akwhari says, “My country did not send me to start the race. They sent me to
finish.” [2]
Life can and sometimes does get to be like a marathon race and
we too, like John Stephen Akwhari can suffer injuries and setbacks. Yet, we
are called to persevere to the end; we do this says the author of our Hebrews
passage by keeping focussed on Christ to finish our race as we journey
through life. It’s so easy to focus on other things or people and not on
Christ—but only Christ will keep us focussed in the right direction and
provide what we need to help us finish the race. Sometimes, however, the persevering becomes very difficult
when we feel as though we’re facing our sufferings all alone. Yet, today’s
lesson from Hebrews is a reminder to us that “we are surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses.” The faithful people of God are with us cheering us on,
to help us, encourage us, and strengthen us. Remember this story: There was once a father who had five sons
who were constantly quarrelling. One day, weary from their bickering, he
asked them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Handing the bundle to the oldest
he commanded, “Break it.” The lad attempted to break the sticks over his
knee, but his reward was a sore leg. One by one the other brothers were given
the same command. None of them were able to break the bundle. Finally, the father tore open the bundle
and handed each son a single stick. “Break it,” he said. The task was done
with little effort. “My sons, if you remain together and
assist one another you will have the strength of this bundle. If, however,
you are divided among yourselves you will be broken as easily as these
sticks.” [3] There is indeed strength in the church as we support and
encourage each other in our faith journey—and I know that you folks here in
our congregation are very good at that, and may the LORD bless you for all of
the encouragement, inspiration and care that you give to one another! The
author of Hebrews understands very well that in the church “we are in this
together;” as a community of faith; as a communion of saints (and sinners);
we live and move and have our being. So keep cheering each other on as you
run with perseverance the race that is set before you. For we all need one
another and are inspired by one another; as a team working together, with the
help and grace of Christ we shall be able to accomplish way more than we can
by working alone; we too shall remain in the race and finish the race and
thus reach our goal. Amen. ____________ 1 Cited from: The Sydney Morning
Herald, 1999. 2 Cited from: Sydney 2000 Olympics website. 3 Cited from: Wm. R. White, Stories For The Journey (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House,
1988), p. 79. |
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