Home Field Advantage
Hebrews 10: 19- 25
Eric Liddell
was the son of a Presbyterian Pastor. He was known as the “Flying Scot” because
in his teens and early 20’s he was one of the fastest men to run the hundred
yard dash. He was so good he represented
the team from Great Britain in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.
When he
arrived, he discovered that the qualifying heats were to be held on a Sunday
and he had firm convictions about following the fourth commandment to honor the
Sabbath Day, so his conscience would not permit him to run on that day. He believed this was a time for worship and
that he should be in church. Despite direct pressure from the King of England
he “held fast to his confession of hope without wavering.” He gave up his dream
of winning a gold medal in the hundred yard dash.
The story had
a happy ending though, because Eric entered the 400 meter race because the
preliminary heats were not held on a Sunday, and although he was stronger in
the shorter distance he still won a gold medal and set a record that lasted for
a dozen years. Following the games he
went to China to serve as a Presbyterian missionary until he was martyred for
his faith. He died in a Japanese
internment camp in 1945.
His story is
told in the movie, “Chariots of Fire”. I bring this up because of the scene
that both begins and ends this film.
(fade in music)
The track team
dressed in pure white shorts and shirts run barefoot along the beach. Even though some of them are faster and some
of them are slower, they run together.
And I know why because we did the same thing when I ran track and cross
country in High School. We always began
our training session with a warm-up and closed it with a cool-down and we
always did it together. During that time
we talked. We encouraged each other, so
even if you were a little tired you dug deeper to stay with the group. You didn’t want to be left behind and miss
the conversation. And if you were
stronger you slowed down a bit to keep the group together because you wanted to
hear what the others had to say. We ran
together because we knew we ran better together.
(fade out music)
Our scripture
today recognizes that reality. It prompts us to stay together and to encourage
one another to love and good works. As
we seek to understand these words, let us pray:
Gentle God we come before you, many of us, as bruised reeds and
flickering candles.[1] Faith has faltered and hopes have
dimmed. The struggles and
disappointments in life have taken their toll.
Yet, we see by your Word and example; and the example of those who have
followed you closely that there is no one beyond the reach of your redemptive
hand.
O God, light of the minds that know
you, life of the souls that love you, strength of the thoughts that seek
you: Helps us to know you so that we may
truly love you, so to love you that we may fully serve you, whose service is
perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The first time I ever visited a
traditional Greek Orthodox I was surprised by two unusual architectural
features. First, there were no
chairs. The congregation was expected to
stand throughout the worship service, and if you’re doing that you’re really
hoping for a short sermon. Second, there
was an intricate lattice wall that separated the congregation from the chancel
area and the altar where the elements for the Holy Eucharist were consecrated
and sanctified by the priests. Whatever they were doing back there was a
mystery because you could not see. They
designed it that way to emphasize the difference between that which was seen as
holy and so closer to God from that which was seen as common and so farther
from God.
They were not the first to do that.
Herod’s temple in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus followed the same
principle. The “holy of holies” at the
center of the sanctuary marked the place where it was believed God was more
fully present. Only the High Priest
could enter and he could do that only once a year during Yom Kippur. What people learned from the architecture is
that God is holy and separate and distant and not really a part of their
everyday lives.
That’s why the writer to the
Hebrews marks the moment recorded in the gospel of Matthew, “when Jesus cried
out with a loud voice and breathed his last breath, the curtain in the Temple
that separated the people for the Holy of Holies was turn in two.”[2]
Because of this miracle the writer to the
Hebrews says we now experience God in a new and living way. We can approach God with a “true heart in
full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” [3]
That’s what drew those early
believers into this fledgling church.
They had heard the good news of the Gospel. They had believed and received. They were born again and washed in the blood
of the lamb. They were excited about
their faith and the promises of God that it held and they were eager to share
it.
When the starting gun fired they
leapt out of the blocks and began to “run the race before them looking to Jesus
the pioneer and perfecter of their faith.”[4] They started out fast and they started out
strong but after a while some of them grew tired or bored so they dropped out
and they gave up. They thought Jesus was going to return soon and so they saw
faith as a hundred yard dash, but when he didn’t they realized this was a
marathon, a life-time commitment and that was too much.
That’s why the writer to the
Hebrews noted that some in the congregation were “neglecting to meet together”.
They were tired or they were bored so they found something else to do. He
thought that was bad for the soul for a couple of different reasons.
First, he said we need to gather
together so that we can, “hold fast to the confession of our hope without
wavering.”[5] He understood as parents everywhere
understand that we are influenced by those with whom we associate. That’s why
parents want to know who their kids are hanging around with. They get worried
when their daughter show up with a guy with a nose ring with scraggly hair
wearing a leather jacket that says “Hell’s Angels” on the pack. They know that the values of whoever they
hang around with will shape their views, and that will guide their decisions
and ultimately their lives.
This is true for adults as
well. We are not immune to the influence
of others. That’s why advertisers are
expected to pay five million dollars for a thirty second spot at the next Super
Bowl. They would not spend that kind of
money if they did not believe that some people may buy their beer or their car
or their soft drink because they saw this five million dollar 30 second
commercial.
The writer to the Hebrews believed that
if you want your faith to remain strong and if you want your spirit to thrive
and if you wish to be guided by God in the decisions you make and the action
you take you need to gather with those people who have the same goals. We need to run together he said so that we
can “encourage one another to love and good works.”
That’s the second reason why it is
important not to try and go it alone.
Some people believe that sleeping in and staying home and catching a
good sermon from a T.V. preacher is enough.
It’s the same Bible that is being taught after all so why do you need
anybody else?
The writer to the Hebrews believed
that when you stay at home you ironically lose home field advantage. Ask any athlete if he or she would rather
play in an empty stadium or play in front of a hometown crowd all rooting for
you success and cheering you on when you get tired and they’re sure to tell you
there is a home-field advantage. You dig
a little deeper, try a little harder, and find a little more within yourself
when you are surrounded by people who believe in you.
There is a difference between
watching the game on T.V. and going to the stadium with like-minded people cheering
for the black and gold.
The writer to the Hebrews said we
should “consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.”[6]
Notice how these two are connected. He
does not separate love from action. They
are joined together. One motivates the
other. And historically this has been
the strongest and more persuasive aspect of the Christian faith. People more often believe not because of what
they hear us say, but because of what they see us do.
I’ll give you an example. Ten years ago Hurricane Katrina devastated
the city of New Orleans and the gulf coast of Mississippi. Immediately the Presbyterian Church responded
through one of our more effective ministries called, “Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance”. They set up a base camp on
the grounds of the Luling Presbyterian Church just outside of New Orleans and
groups of volunteers from Presbyterian Churches around the country came and
stayed in tents at night and worked in flooded out houses during the day.
A group from the church I was
serving at the time went down. In fact
they went down about a dozen times. Now
I can tell you from personal experience that there is nothing like mucking out
a house that had been submerged under 10 feet of stinky and often polluted
waters. Because of the dangerous mold we had to wear filtered breathing masks
and cover every inch of our bodies with long pants and long sleeves and hard
hats in Louisiana in April.
The owner of the house I worked on
was a single mother in her 20’s. She had
a little boy about 3 or 4 and she told me when the water came up she took her son
into the attic, but the water continued to rise so now they were trapped. The only reason they survived is because she
found a hatchet and opened a hole in the roof to crawl out. She had no idea why the hatchet was
there. She hadn’t put it there and there
was nothing else in that attic. She saw
it as a blessing, or rather a miracle from God.
They were on that roof for two days
with no food and no water to drink before they were rescued, and even after
they were rescued she said they were given one bottle of water and one peanut
butter sandwich to share. Needless to
say she was very grateful we were there to help rebuild her home.
At the end of our week our group
went to classic New Orleans dive, a local restaurant where the blue-collar
locals went to eat. We ordered mountainous platters of crayfish with corn on
the cob and sausage on the top, and because the crayfish had some Cajun spice
some beer to wash it down.
Before our waitress went to get to
get our food she asked if we had come down to “work on the houses”. That’s the way she put it, “Work on the
houses”. I told her we just finished up
a week and were heading home. Then she said
in that rich New Orleans accent I couldn’t even begin to imitate, “What church
are ya’ll from?” None of us were wearing
our blue PDA shirts. We were dressed for
the plane ride home. We had not identified ourselves in anyway.
I told her and then I asked her,
“How did you know we were from a church?”
She said, “Church people are the only ones who are coming down to
help.” She went on to say, “the federal
program FEMA was slow to help and had too much paperwork”, the state government
was useless and the city government was corrupt.” (In fact the mayor is in
prison to this day.) The only people she
knew who were coming to help were from churches. That kind of witness and testimony was not
lost on her.
I saw the same thing in the Port-a-Prince
airport two months after the earthquake in Haiti. Most of the airport had been leveled so all
incoming and departing passenger were crammed into a room only three times the
size of our fellowship hall. Almost
everyone I saw was wearing a shirt something like this one, identifying the
church they had come from. They had come
to help because they believed that love and good works are connected. They are woven of the same cloth.
That’s why it is important we
gather together so that we can encourage one another to love and good works, so
that we can encourage one another to “hold fast the confession of our faith
without wavering”, so that we can encourage one another to “run the race that
is before us keeping our eyes fixed upon Jesus the author and perfecter of our
faith.”
Let us pray:
We thank you Lord, for those who have cared for us, who have
encouraged us. Help us become
encouragers so that we might consider how to stir one another to love and good
works. This we pray in the name of the
one who holds us with everlasting arms.
Amen.
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