When You’re in the 20th Mile

The letter to the Hebrews was written within 30 years of Christ’s death and resurrection to Jewish people who had heard about him, who had become what at the time was called “Followers of the Way”, followers of Jesus. They were struggling, though. A divide was growing between Jews who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed One who was promised by the Old Testament prophets, and those who did. They were struggling with doubts, considering returning to the faith of their ancestors, and the writer of Hebrews is responding to their struggle by pointing out the similarities and the connections of the ancestors of the faith and Jesus Christ, and clarifying the superiority of Jesus Christ in relation to the ancestors of the faith.

Chapter 11 through the first verses of chapter 12 are the source of two of the most well-known and inspirational passages about faith. We began last Sunday with the first passage, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The Hebrews were being asked to step out on faith, and they were anxious, worried. They were being persecuted; they were being ostracized from their families. Was it worth the sacrifice?

The writer of Hebrews offers a litany of the faithful ancestors, whose stories everyone who heard the letter knew, faithful ancestors who had the faith to face the changes required of them to follow God’s call in their lives. This morning our Scripture begins at the end of that litany with stories of obeying God, of courage, and of hospitality.

First, faith requires obedience. When the Israelites followed Moses out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt, the only water they could find was bitter. Along with giving them water, the Lord commanded them to obey his commands. They were completely dependent upon God for food and water, every day. They were instructed to only gather what they needed, no more. And God supplied manna every morning and quail every night. They couldn’t see where they were going – they wandered in the desert for 40 years! Before they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, Moses died.

Faith also requires courage. God spoke to Joshua “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.” And so they crossed the Jordan River and courageously marched around the walls of Jericho until God brought them down.

Finally, faith requires hospitality, even when it is risky. When the Israelite spies came to scout out Jericho, they were extended hospitality, at great risk, by Rahab, the zanah, who fed and housed and hid them. I intentionally called her the zanah because we typically have labeled her a prostitute. However, it is not clear that she was a prostitute. The Hebrew word means a woman who is not a virgin and not married. She could have been a widow; she could have been a victim of assault that resulted in a child, Jericho was pagan, and she was pagan, so she may have been one of the women in cult worship. We really don’t know. What we know is that she showed hospitality to strangers at great personal risk, she believed in the power of God, and she begged for her family’s safety and they were kept safe.

What other stories do I need to remind you of, asks the writer of Hebrews? And he lists Old Testament prophets and faithful who struggled. The first, Gideon, struggled with fear, asking for sign after sign to rise up in battle against the Midianites who had conquered Israel; he came up with excuse after excuse not to fight for their freedom. Some struggled with regret and shame, like Jephthah who vowed to offer as a burnt offering came out of his house first to greet him he returned from battle, and it was his daughter, dancing with a tambourine, his only child. Others, like Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego faced death but wouldn’t denounce their faith or shift their devotion to anyone or anything other than God. Finally, there are those who have been tortured and killed for their faith but who refused to renounce it and their wives and mothers, whose hope for reunion is in the resurrection.

All these, even though they were faithful, says the writer of Hebrews, did not receive God’s promises in this life. Because God has something better for us. There are more people to come to receive the promise.

It is mile 20 of the 26.2-mile marathon. If you have trained for a marathon, or if (like me) you have friends who have trained for a marathon, you have probably heard of “the wall” that typically comes around mile 20. If you are running at a traditional marathon pace, about 2 hours in you will be right about 20 miles when your body runs out of glycogen stores in your muscles and has to switch from burning sugar to burning fat, it’s like switching from burning kindling to burning logs. It’s like switching from faith that is dependent on quick rewards and based on tests and signs to faith that endures the droughts and floods of life.

It is mile 20, says that writer of Hebrews, for the followers of Jesus, and the crowd in the stands is all the heroes of our Jewish ancestry. It wasn’t easy for them either, in fact, they have had to face mile 20 too. Now, they are cheering you on!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also (just like they had to) lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Athletes sometimes train with extra weight strapped to them, but they don’t run the race with the extra weight.

What is the extra weight you are carrying? Anger at someone or something in the past, regret, resentment? What baggage have you packed to carry with you? Greed, addiction, vice, pride? How are your worries and anxieties weighing you down or holding you back? And if you are struggling with worry or anxiety, I encourage you to go back and watch or read last week’s sermon on the first half of this passage, and to talk with me or a counselor about it.

What sin is clinging closely? The Hebrews would have heard a reference here to the robes that athletes wore before a race, that they took off when they were ready for the race to begin so they wouldn’t trip on them. What can trip you up?

Run with perseverance. Push past mile 20 and finish the race by keeping your eyes on Jesus. The writer of Hebrews knows that they are tired, they are winded, they ache, and they are considering quitting.

Michael Wardian, one of the world’s best endurance runners, said this about long races: “There’s always a point where it’s going to be a struggle. You’ll feel bad, you’ll think, ‘I can’t believe there’s another hill. This isn’t fun anymore,’ You have to remind yourself that this is what you signed up for and this is what you want. You’re not going to remember the races that were easy. The struggles are part of the journey that make you the person you want to be.”

There are times when our doubts wear on us, when our concerns weigh us down, and we are just not sure about church and faith and God. We may even wonder, “What kind of God would allow these things to happen?” And paradoxically, those struggles are the times we remember and know that they refined and deepened our faith.

When you find yourself in the 20th mile, on a long hill, says the writer of Hebrews, keep your eyes on Jesus. His race was hard. He is the lead runner, the pioneer. His life lays out the course for us, and he shows us how to run. Through persecution, through trials, through death by crucifixion, he kept his eye steadily focused on one thing: the joy of fulfilling God’s will. It wasn’t his seat at the right hand of God that motivated him. It wasn’t for himself that he endured the cross. The joy set before him was blazing the trail for us to be able to run the race and enter the glory of God’s Kingdom. He ran the race so that we could run the race, and his greatest joy is welcoming us across the finish line. Thanks be to God! Amen.