FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Sermon by Rev. Christopher E. Moore-Keish

August 19, 2007

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

Hebrews 11:29-12:2
The Holy Company Of Martyrs?

A month ago my wife Martha and I returned from vacationing in Greece. One of my most memorable experiences of that trip was visiting the six remaining monasteries of the area called Meteora. These monasteries were built in the 14^th century by monks who spent their days in prayer and meditation. In fact, the word “monk” originally comes from the Greek word which means “he lives alone”. To preserve their solitary lives the monks of Meteora built their monasteries perched high atop 1000 foot seemingly un-scaleable rocks. The ascent is neither for the faint of heart nor for those suffering from fear of heights. In fact, when the English traveler Leake visited Meteora in the 19^th century, he was ferried up to one of the monasteries in a net attached by a slender rope to a hand winch. Leake later wrote, “Visitors’ morale was not helped by the persistent rumors that the monks only replaced the homemade ropes which held the nets when they broke—usually in midair!”[1] Luckily for us the nets have been replaced by steep flights of stairs cut into the rock’s face. Once safely inside the monasteries, visitors need not worry about plummeting to their deaths, but may rather focus their attention on the beautiful rose gardens perched on terraces, and admire the beautiful frescoes adorning the walls of the chapels.

It’s only after closer examination that visitors discover that these frescoes aren’t depicting gentle Bible stories of Jesus feeding the 5,000 or inviting the children to come to him. Rather, they depict the martyrs of the faith, men and women who at the hands of the Roman Empire were fed to lions, stoned to death, burned at the stake, or forced to endure other unthinkable forms of torture until they died.

During a visit to one of these monasteries, Martha and I approached a monk and asked him why the narthex of each chapel was painted so graphically with frescoes depicting the deaths of the martyrs. His answer was simple, “these paintings remind and inspire us to live faithful and prayerful lives devoted to God.” The martyrs’ absolute devotion to their faith, even to the point of death, serves as a model for the monks’ own lives of sacrifice. They really see themselves as following in the footsteps of the martyrs, who gave up their lives following Christ. And so for over 700 years the monks of Meteora have lived their lives prayerfully under the watchful eyes and following in the steps of the martyrs of the faith.

On Monday I walked through our own sanctuary, looking up at the stained glass windows for inspiration for this morning’s sermon. As I walked, my eyes caught sight of the second window from the back of the sanctuary. I’d like everyone to take a look. (PAUSE) Did you know that we have a martyrs’ window? I was so surprised to discover that like the monasteries of Meteora we at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta have our own reminder of the first martyr of the Christian church, Stephen, shining down on us. When I returned to my study, I un-shelved a book George gave me, celebrating the 150^th Anniversary of First Presbyterian Church. Reading from the book I found this description of that window, “The central panel shows Stephen, a deacon in the early church, with his arms raised to heaven. He stands outside the city walls of Jerusalem, where he is being stoned to death….He is the first martyr of the new church, and a heavenly light shines on him as he forgives his attackers and dies.”[2] We too like the Greek Orthodox monks of Meteora pray and worship under the watchful eyes of the first martyr of the Christian church.

Let us now move from the art of our church and faith to the words of the church and faith. At the beginning of Hebrews chapter 12, the first verse of our reading began with the word “therefore”.[3] Now anytime you run across the word “therefore” in reading, it is wise to go back and find out what the “therefore” is there for. What we discover is that the author of this letter is offering portraits of faithful living, in the form of roll calls of well-known biblical characters. These portraits were reminders to his readers that they were surrounded by faithful believers who form the “great cloud of witnesses.”[4]

The first roll call holds the heroes and heroines of our faith who were victorious over their enemies and were protected and rewarded for their belief in the God of Israel. We read “By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.”[5] “By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.”[6] And lastly we read that, “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.”[7] In each of these three examples the words “by faith” are used to contrast the faith of Israel to the unbelief of Israel’s opponents. The author of Hebrews goes on to remind his readers of the names of some of the heroes of the faith who were more familiar to those 1^st century Christians than they are to may of us 21^st century Christians. He reminds them of “Gideon, Bar’ak, Samson, Jeph’thah, of David and Samuel”.[8] All of these leaders placed their faith in God and brought victory, justice and obtained God’s promises for Israel.

And then the author shifts gears. He knew that his audience, most likely living in Rome, might be feeling discouraged. They were being persecuted by the religious and political authorities, and some of them may have been abandoning the church. The writer is trying to encourage them to persevere in the faith in spite of persecution. Therefore, he shifts from writing about the victorious faithful and offers the roll call of those who have endured much suffering for their belief in the God of Israel and Jesus Christ. He provides a list of what the faithful had to endure: “torture, mocking and flogging, imprisonment, being stoned to death, sawn in two, killed by the sword . . . .”[9] These Christians who have had to endure so much have joined the victorious heroes and heroines of the faith to form the “great cloud of witnesses.” And this was a reminder to the 1^st century Christians that they were surrounded by this cloud of witnesses so they could feel their support and persevere in the faith. The writer of Hebrews was also reminding these early Christians in Rome that Jesus “the perfecter of (the) faith” who they were modeling their lives after, could sympathize with them in every way, because he himself experienced humanities trials, sufferings and death, and was now seated at the right hand of the throne of God, interceding for them.

The writer of Hebrews, like the monks in Meteora, holds up the martyrs as models of faith. My conversation with the monk in Meteora helped me to understand what the writer was trying to do here: to encourage a persecuted community by reminding them that they were not alone. The martyrs listed in Hebrews, like the martyrs on the walls of the monasteries, show the cost of discipleship and are with us in the “great cloud of witnesses. But the writer also wanted the Christian community to remember, that Jesus was supporting them, with every step they took, as he himself was leading the way.

Friends, we too are surrounded by that same victorious, persecuted, and martyred “cloud of witnesses”. And that crowd of witnesses doesn’t just end with the Bible. Yes, Stephen, Peter, Mary and Martha are there, but so are Saint Augustine, Julian of Norwich, John Calvin, John Knox, Dietrich Bonhoffer, Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King Jr., and Archbishop Oscar Romero. And joining that “cloud of witnesses” are people who have touched our lives here at First Presbyterian Church, people like Herb Archer, Latrell Duncan, George Evoy and Jerry Holloway most recently, just to name a few. I’m sure you can add many more names of persons who have nurtured you in the faith and joined the “great cloud of witnesses.” With such a “great cloud of witnesses” we are able to remember the past, recounting their stories, which have empowered us to persevere in the faith.

I’d like to tell you a story about our church and a long time member Latrell Duncan who joined that “great cloud of witnesses” not very long ago. It’s a story about a difficult event in our past, but one that has made us stronger and enabled us to persevere in faithfulness. The story begins twenty years ago when Charles Black was called to serve as an Associate Pastor here at First Presbyterian Church. At the time this was a bold move by the search committee, session, the congregation and Charles. It was bold because never before had First Presbyterian Church called an African-American to serve as a pastor on staff. We all know that change can be difficult and threatening. When it was announced that Charles was going to be called to the church, some of our members, who at the time felt threatened by the session’s decision, sent around a petition requesting that Charles’ membership on the staff be reconsidered. During one of my visits, Latrell told me that when she was approached to sign the petition she wouldn’t. She felt strongly that the search committee’s decision and the session’s action to call Charles Black was good, and she fully supported them and fully supported Charles and his ministry. What impressed me when Latrell told me this story was that this petite woman from McDonough, Georgia, a woman raised in the South, was willing to embrace change and support Reverend Black, who happened to be African-American. Her support was not only through her willingness to withhold signing her name on that petition, but also by praying for him and his ministry here at First Presbyterian Church daily. When I talked with Charles earlier this week about Latrell, he said, “She was truly a great prayer warrior, and I have no doubt that when she said that she would pray for me daily, she did.”

This is part of our church’s history, a church that is willing to give change a chance. Because of the courage of people like Latrell, Charles has been able to enrich not only this congregation, but also the lives of the men, women and families we reach out to each and every day. But this is not just about Charles Black or Latrell Duncan. We are a church full of members that support one another and support the ministry of this church. This is a church of both the living and the “great cloud of witnesses” that encourages each one of us to persevere in the faith and “run…the race that is set before us.”[10]

Now, I want you to look at your neighbors sitting in the pews around you. (PAUSE) We make up the pre-cloud of witnesses who gather in this sanctuary as friends and strangers, as those who have been raised in the church and those who are new to the life of the church. We are all members of the pre-cloud of witnesses who on our better days listen to one another, support one another, and pray for one another. And in this place with the pre-cloud and “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone onto before us into God’s eternal light we are nurtured in the faith.

What I have learned, especially with raising two daughters, is that nurturing happens over time. It’s not like running a 100 meter sprint, but rather more like preparing and running a marathon, with seasons of training and seasons of running the endurance race. Now, I am a marathon runner. I have run 8 marathons and endured thousands of miles in training, so when I discovered that the Revised Common Lectionary had this Hebrews’ text as the New Testament lesson, I became very excited at the thought that I could use some running imagery in this morning’s sermon. “Run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” Or “Just Do It,” as the Nike commercial challenged all would-be athletes. And I also thought about some great finish line imagery with the hope of inspiring each one of us to run the race of faith with a line insight. But I kept being bothered by the words “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” These words kept poking me in my side. So I became less interested in the athlete and more interested in the spectators who surround the athlete.

To tell you the truth, I don’t know if I would have done as well in the marathons I ran without the encouragement of the spectators who lined the race courses in Washington, DC, Louisville, Kentucky, Boston, Massachusetts, and most recently in Dublin, Ireland. Their encouragement came in the forms of yells and claps. For any of you who have ever competed or lined the course of the Peachtree Road Race you may have noticed the names of the runners on their shirts. For most of the marathons I ran, I wore a shirt with the words “Team Daddy” silk screened across the front. Complete strangers would call out “Go Team Daddy” or “Who’s Your Daddy?” Their voices, their clapping, their support encouraged me and encouraged the thousands of other runners to run the race, to run the race set before us.

Encouragement-- we all need it, whether it comes from unknown spectators in the crowd or from friends and family we picture in our mind’s eye. During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, a few thousand spectators remained in the Olympic Stadium waiting for the last of the men to finish the 26.2 mile marathon race. An hour earlier Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia had crossed the finish line looking as fresh as when he started the race. Since then the runners had come in, each looking worse than the previous one. As the fans were getting ready to leave they heard from outside the gates of the stadium the sound of sirens and police whistles. A lone runner, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania entered the stadium. His leg bloodied and bandaged from a fall early that day in the race, he winced visibly with every step he took as he hobbled the last 400 meters around the track to cross the finish line. The spectators rose from their seats and applauded as if he were the winner. In view of his injury and having no chance of winning a medal, a reporter asked him why he didn’t just quit, he replied, “My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me here to finish.”[11]

“They sent me here to finish.” John Stephen Akhwari knew for whom he was running and he pictured them in his mind’s eye and surrounded himself with them along the race course. He knew that it was important for everyone back in Tanzania who were counting on him, to know that he had finished the race. He didn’t have to win; he didn’t even have to place. But he knew that he had to run with perseverance the race that was set before him.

As members of the pre-cloud of witnesses, we are joined by the “great cloud of witnesses” to encourage one another in the race of faith set before us. Silence doesn’t line the course, because each one of us is pushed along with the encouragement of one another, and as one voice fades away, another voice of encouragement picks us up and hands us off to another. And we join those voices with our own voices surrounding one another with a whole host of witnesses living and dead, of those running the race alongside us and those who have completed the race.

Friends, what is it that keeps us running this race of faith? Chances are, if we’re only running for ourselves with our eyes on the prize and the finish line, we’ll be tempted to quit in the painful stretches or in the stretches where the spectators have thinned out. But we do not run our race alone. Jesus Christ the pioneer and perfecter of our faith has run this course before us. He knows where there are uphill climbs, down hill coasts, water stops and unexpected surprises around the corner. And I’m convinced that Jesus runs beside us, offering the support we need when life’s events are overwhelming, when we are threatened by change, or feel persecuted and pressured by others for our beliefs. Joining Jesus is the great cloud of witnesses who encourage and support us, having been victorious in their faith, having suffered persecution and even martyrdom. They are cheering us on, they are leading us by their examples of faithfulness: the Israelites, Moses, Rahab, Stephen, the women at the empty tomb and the disciples, and joining them are the nameless martyrs who through their sacrificial devotion to Jesus inspire monks at Meteora. And to this cloud of witnesses we add our own, people who have touched our lives in amazing ways: Sunday school teachers, classmates, members of Presbyterian Women, clergy, youth group advisors, choir members and countless other people. What an incredible race we have run so far. But it isn’t over; there are still many miles ahead of us. My hope over the up and coming miles is that we may offer to one another, and to those who will join the race of faith, the waters of life that we have received, the stories of those who have preceded and inspired us in the faith, words of encouragement to offer the weary, and lives lived in sight of Jesus Christ who is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Amen.