Communion of Saints Psalm 34: 1-10; 1 John 3: 1-3; Hebrews 12: 1-2; Revelation 7: 9-17 November 3, 2002

Rev. Deborah Dail Denbigh Presbyterian Church

A couple of years ago I watched a program on the Iron Man Triathlon, which is held every year in Hawaii. The Iron Man Triathlon consists of a 2 mile swim; a 112-mile bike race; and a 26-mile run (the equivalent of a marathon)each event done back to back. The program on the Iron Man showed highlights from the previous years competition. It also featured the stories of several of the athletes. One woman reflected on her first Iron Man Triathlon. She had trained as rigorously as anyone else. She had successfully completed the 2 1/2 mile swim. She had successfully biked 112 miles. She was about to finish the 26-mile run, but her legs started to give out. She collapsed. She got up. She collapsed again. People gathered around her to help her . . . . to encourage her . . . and it became clear that she was not stopping. She got on her hands and knees and in agony and in full determination, crawled to the finish line, with her friends and others cheering her on every agonizing step of the way. The second person who stands out in my mind was a man who was about to start the bike race. He had emerged from the waters after the 2 -mile swim and was running to his bike all ready to embark on the next stage of the competition. His bike was waiting for him and so was his helmet. But when he went to put on his helmet, the clasp to hold the helmet on beneath his chin was missing or not attached properly. He couldnt start stage two of the triathlon without the helmet. He was shouting Give me a helmetdo you have a helmet? At first he tried putting the helmet on, but he knew he couldnt go without it hooked. His frustration mounted with every passing second and minute. His fellow athletes were passing him byone by one and in mass. Could such a silly thing as a missing clasp on his helmet keep him from completing the race? Finally a woman, who was obviously one of his race helpers, got the clasp back on and he was sent on his way. Delayed . . . frustrated . . .angry . . . but nonetheless on his way again. He was helped by another who kept her cool even when he couldnt keep his. The third person who comes to mind as I remember the program is a man whose little girl had written to the organizers of the Iron Man race asking that her daddy be accepted since he really wanted to be an Iron Man. He was accepted for the competition. During the program the athlete told of his daughtera little girl who had died before seeing her dad fulfill his dream of competing in the Iron Man Triathlon. She had battled leukemia. She had run a race of her ownshe had already crossed her finish line. The father said that his daughter was his inspiration as he competed in the Triathlon. He pictured her at every juncture along the raceespecially at the times when he felt like giving up. He pictured her encouraging him and urging him on.

The writer of Hebrews (in the passage read as our call to confession), likens the life of faith to a racea race which requires perseverance, stamina, discipline, courage, grace and lots of encouragement from the communion of saints. When I was a little girl and said the Apostles Creed at church there were a lot of parts that I didnt understand. When we would say that we believed in the communion of the saints I imagined a bunch of really good people having little pieces of bread and drinking juice from those tiny, doll-sized cups. Today, when I say those same words I picture that Iron Man Triathlon. I picture people encouraging and cheering us on. I picture those whove inspired us in the past and those who inspire us today to keep on running the race, even when we sometimes feel like giving up, even when unexpected circumstances seem to thwart our moving forward. Some of these people have run the race and completed the course and cheer us on from heaven. Some of these people are the saints present in our lives who encourage us, get down on their knees with us and crawl along side us when our legs give out and our faith grows weak. These are the saints who keep their cool when we cant and then see us on our way. Together, these are the great cloud of witnesses. But arent saints really good people? Actually, dont they have to be really good dead people? Arent they people like Mother Theresa, for example? The New Testament gives us a clear answer: saints are all those who have confessed faith in Christ. The saints are those John speaks of in Revelationthe ones who wear white robes which have been washed in the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ. The robes are made white not by the works of those who wear them; rather they are made white by the sacrificial death of Christ. I love the hymn My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less than Jesus blood and righteousness . . . When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found, Dressed in his righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. . . . Being a saint means first and foremost belonging to God. Barbara Brown Taylor says: Just remember that you do not have to be famous, or perfect or dead (to be a saint). You just have to be you the one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-repeated human being whom God created you to beto love as you are loved, to throw your arms around the world, to shine like the sun. (Home By Another Way, Barbara Brown Taylor, p. 212). Every believer, every Christian, every member of the church is a saint. We are Gods ungainly, awkward, chosen instruments, and so the most unlikely one of us is still a saint. (A Christian Primer: The Prayer, The Creed, The Commandments by Albert Curry Winn, p. 166). On this Sunday after All Saints Day we remember the saints of old, we remember those who have run the race and completed their course and we remember the saints of today. We pause to remember that we are not alone as we continue to run the race, as we strive to stay the course, especially when the race is tough. We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. We also pause to remember ways we can be an encouragement to others who are running the racehow we as saints can share ourselves to help others along the wayhow we can be the communion of saints for others. When the writer of Hebrews wrote to the Christians of old he was writing to a group of saints who were tiredtired of serving the world, tired of worship, tired of Christian education, tired of struggle, tired of trying to keep their prayer life going, tired even of Jesus. (Tom Long) They were tired of the race. Their hands are drooping and their knees are weak.

Some of us know the feeling. Like the Hebrew Christians we read about in the Bible, some of us feel weary with the Christian life. Some of us feel weary with trying to do the right thingweary with integrity, with honestywhen it doesnt seem to pay off. Its hard to press on in this race where we are called to love our enemies, to work at our relationships rather than simply running away from them. Its tiring and demanding to try to live out the gospel call to love, to turn the other cheek, to pursue peace with everyone, to go the extra mile. The Iron Man race of faith is taxing. This race calls us to constantly examine our priorities, our motives, our actions. Many of us are tired of trying to sort out those priorities in life. Some of us are weary with serving . . . weary of serving our families . . . even our church. As Christians running the race of faith, we sometimes get tired of the pain of compassionthat feeling that comes up in our hearts when we hear other peoples painwhether it be from the person across the table from us or from the people we hear about on the evening news. Cant we just go to the luau instead of the Iron Man race of faith? Some of us, like the Hebrew Christians, have drooping hands and weak knees. We may have drooping hands and weak knees because we are weary with struggling against addictions that seem insurmountable. For some there is the battle of battling the same temptations over and over againof sometimes taking one step forward and two backward. For some of us its the struggle of a painful past where healing seems impossible even though we have faith. Some surely feel like the woman in the triathlon who crawled on her hands and knees. Many of us identify with the man whose helmet had lost its clasp. Were moving forward in faith, pressing on and then something totally unexpected happens. We lose our job, our kid runs away, we get sick, our spouse walks out the door. We can identify with the mans panic as he scrambled for a way to move forward, to keep going. Perhaps we can remember those whove kept their cool when we couldnt and helped us pick up the pieces so we could keep going. Many of us can identify with the man whose young daughter had died but who was still an inspiration to him. The saints who have gone before us and finished their race cheer us on and inspire us. I feel inspired by my grandmother who raised 5 boys and lived her life to serve others. When I grow weary sometimes I think of Grandma. I think of her faith, her sense of humor, her strength, her kindness. I feel cheered on for the next leg of the race. Back when I was in seminary, Dan and I along with several other couples when camping in Yosemite National Forest. After our first night there, the group decided to take the hike up to Yosemite Falls. I contemplated staying behind at camp and studying for a big exam I had the next week, but I decided to go with the group on the hike. We started out and it became clear to me almost immediately that it was a far more rigorous hike than I was prepared for. The others were so athletic. I was not. The more we hiked the more frustrated I became. My legs felt like they were going to give out. I was breathless. I wanted to turn back, but I didnt want to give up. As we got nearer to the top, we encountered people who were coming down. They were glowing. They were smiling. Almost every one said to usthose of us who looked and felt like we could not take another stepKeep going. Youre going to make it. AND ITS WORTH IT! What awaits you up there is amazing. And it was. It really was worth it.

That community of hikers helped us (especially me) know that the struggle to make it to the top was worth it. Their words of encouragement helped me continue to put one foot in front of the other. The look on their faces made me want to keep going. As a community of saints, we are surrounded by others who encourage us and remind us that the struggles of the life of faith are worth it. As a community of saints we can provide that support for one another and for others who may be considering joining the race. I love what Albert Curry Winn says: He says we need to extend this calling of community to the whole world, with whom we share common humanity, a common Creator, and a common Savior, though many have not accepted him yet. We have some kind of communion with everyone for whom Christ died. And if I understand John 3:16 correctlyGod so loved the worldthats everybody on the face of the earth. (A Christian Primer: The Prayer, the Creed, The Commandments by Albert Curry Winn, p. 168) If you are weary in the race today, listen for the encouragement of the saints past and present. Its worth it, they say. Its worth, we say. If you are weary in the race today, remember Jesusthe pioneer and perfecter of 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 himself has run the race and is running the race with us. Jesus picks us up when our weak knees give out. Jesus crawls beside us when crawling is all we can do. Jesus is there when the most unexpected things happen to us along the way. Jesus helps pick up the pieces and sends us on our way. Jesus gives us bottles of living water to sustain us. Jesus, in his living and in his dying, inspires us on. Its worth, he says. It really is.

Copyright 2002 Rev. Deborah Dail