e-vo for week of April 3

Dearest e-votees-

I hope and pray that your Holy Week is blessed and good.

I hope you can and will take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to linger and abide in worship over the holy days ahead.

The lectionary has assigned readings for each of the days of Holy Week. We will use the epistle reading for Wednesday as our focus for devotion this week.

Peace,
Karl

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1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our 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. 3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3, NRSV

This appointed lesson comes on the heels (race pun intended) of the chapter about the luminaries in the faith found in chapter 11. The great faiths and faithful exploits of our spiritual ancestors in the faith are lifted up. The recipients of the epistle to the Hebrews, and we too, are invited to find a home among the great cloud of witnesses.

When I ran track we would talk about someone “hitting the piano” in a race. They would be running along and at some point (often in the 3rd lap of the mile) they would noticeably slow down. It is as if they ran into a piano or it fell upon them and drained their speed and stamina from his or her body. The author of Hebrews is cautioning us to avoid spiritually “hitting the piano”—to shrug off weights and sins that want to drain us of our spiritual stamina.

There is a race put before us. There are places to go, muscles to flex and injuries to push through. Races are not easy. Spiritual journeys are not always easy either. They can take all we can muster and more sometimes. We are called to be like Jesus. We become more like Jesus when we look to him and allow him to shape us. We become more like Jesus when we let him draw us out of our comfort zones into a deeper engagement with the race.

When things seem too much we can pray like Jesus did in Gethsemane (and long before we get overwhelmed we can pray “not my will but yours be done”). When resources seem so very limited or stretched beyond any reason we can trust God for provision (and long before we’re down to five loaves and two fish we can pray “God all of this is yours use it to your glory”). When the path we are on seems full of shame and rejection and pain we can abide in Jesus’ invitation to take up our crosses and follow (and long before things seem so dire we can pray “Draw me after you Lord, protect me from the world’s understanding of success and glory”).

It can be easy to grow weary. It can be easy to lose heart. When we have our eyes fixed squarely on ourselves it can be so very easy to despair. We are invited to put our eyes on Jesus. Through Jesus we find strength and stamina. Through Jesus we find courage and inspiration. Through Jesus we find life and joy even through the pianos and crosses and mortal moments of our journeys.

There is one sure way to jeopardize a footrace (cross-country or track) and that is by looking behind to see who might be catching up. We would do well to have an attitude like that of Paul in Philippians 3:13-16:

Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly all of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. (NRSV)


God, we thank you for the great cloud of witnesses that have been and are and will be. Help us run the race faithfully with them. Protect us from all that would hinder and harm and distract. Help us keep our eyes firmly on our Lord Jesus and help others do the same. Amen.