Just keep going.

A sermon on Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-12:2 and John 1:43-51. Delivered at Christ the Savior Church, Southbury CT on the first Sunday of Lent, 2018.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Today St. Paul says to us, “lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us”
Run the race that is set before us.
When you think about a race, what do you picture in your mind?
Maybe an athlete, sleek, fit and hearty, crossing the finish line, arms back, chest forward, as the crowd roars.
Or if you are a fan of the Winter Olympics which have been going on recently, maybe you picture a skier crossing the line to achieve a winning time,
Or a speed skater stretching out her foot to record a time just a fraction ahead of the competition.
When I think about races, I think about winners and losers.
There is the victor, the gold medal winner, the best…and then there are the rest.
The silver medal winner, the bronze medal winner, and of course the saddest finish in the Olympics, fourth place.
You are the fourth best in the world at some incredibly demanding sport, and what do you walk away with?
Nothing.
Races are almost always about winners and losers.
Who’s the winner, and who’s the loser?
Who goes home with the gold medal in glory, and who goes home with nothing?
That’s kind of scary, isn’t it?
At least it is scary to me, because I don’t like to lose.
In fact I HATE to lose.
Some members of my extended family are really into playing cards.
We’re not talking you basic “Go fish” kinds of card games, I mean the really complex kinds of card games,
With tricks and partners, and all of this strategy were you count the cards that have been played down, and you’re expected to know what your partner is doing based on what cards she plays down.
I’ve tried these games a few times, but every time it ends in frustration, because everyone is SO much better than I am.
So, when people sit down to play these games, I usually find something else to do.
If I don’t think I stand a very good chance of winning, why should I play the game?
If someone asks me to run a race, and I don’t think there’s a very good chance that I’m going to win,
I might say, “I’m sorry, but I’m just not good enough. I could never do that. I’m not even going to try.”
Now aside from card games, people don’t really ask me to run races, or compete in Olympic events.
But we are almost always being pushed outside of our comfort zone.
Just about every day we are asked to do things that we aren’t very good at.
Think about the last time you had some really big job to do.
A hard assignment at school, or a major project at home, or something really important to do at work.
It can feel like I have this immense weight on my shoulders, a weight that I simply cannot carry, so I’m tempted to say,
“There’s just no way that I’m going to be able to do all of this. I’m not even going to try.”
And then I just try to ignore it.
Or think about the last time someone was upset with you or angry with you.
I don’t like it when people are angry with me, and when it happens, I’m tempted to say,
“Oh no, I can’t deal with this. I just can’t deal with this person’s anger. I’m not even going to try.”
Or maybe someone is suffering and needs help. Someone is grieving or ill.
It can be frightening to be around someone who is in a lot of pain or anguish, so I might be tempted to say,
“I can’t solve their problems, I can’t fix all of that. And I certainly can’t bear all of that pain and suffering, so why should I even try?”
In our Christian life, we are often faced with situations like these.
We know that Christ commands us to love God and love our neighbor,
We know that Christ commands us to respond to anger with love and to care for the suffering,
but this is so hard…and I am so weak.
How can I possibly succeed? Maybe I shouldn’t try at all?
I know someone who, as a kid in elementary school, decided that he was going to audition for a role in the high-school play.
It was a play with a few roles for younger kids, and he knew this play really well.
So, he went to the audition, which was held at the high school.
There were all these big kids there…remember how big high-schoolers looked when you were in elementary school?
All these high school kids were excited and they all knew each other, and were talking about all the shows they had done together.
They were singing, and practicing, and the longer the kid sat there, the more nervous he got.
He listened to the big high-schoolers, how well they could sing, and how confident they were,
And he thought, “I don’t think I can do this. I’m not good enough for this.”
So, he left. He just got up and walked out.
Now this happened a long time ago, but this experience still haunts him.
He says, “If I had auditioned and not got a part, I might have felt bad for a day or two. But not even trying. Walking out of that room without even trying, that kind of guilt can last a lifetime.”
And guilt is the devil’s ultimate weapon, like deadly, radioactive fallout from a nuclear explosion.
Sure, we all make mistakes, we all make bad decisions.
And sometimes that results in a kind of personal explosion.
But the guilt that comes after, that is like radioactive fallout.
I might have survived the initial blast of my mistake, but the poison of guilt is what can really destroy the soul.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ comes into this world to destroy sin and death through divine forgiveness.
Guilt is destroyed by the love, and mercy and forgiveness of God.
Receiving God’s forgiveness is not merely being “let off the hook” for something we have done wrong.
God’s forgiveness is about receiving the courage to get up off of the ground and keep going.
Christ doesn’t make the world a perfect place where we never make mistakes.
Christ makes it possible for us to carry on when it might seem like we should give up.
So, when St. Paul says, “lay aside every weight, and the sin and guilt that weighs us down, and run with endurance the race that is set before us”
What exactly is that race? Where does it go?
This race is not laps in a stadium, or down a mountain, or along some track.
To run the race set before us is to follow Christ to the Cross.
To run the race set before us is to take up our Cross and follow Christ.
Now, certainly, we would say that Jesus was victorious in THIS race, right?
Jesus was victorious in running the race set before him.
But HOW was He victorious?
Did Jesus bask in the glory of shouts and applause of adoring spectators? No. Christ was victorious when the people jeered and mocked him.
Did Jesus puff out his chest and hold his arms high as he crossed the finish line? No. Christ was victorious when His arms were stretched out and nailed to the Cross, and his chest heaved as he struggled for breath.
Did Jesus stand with pride on the tall, middle step to receive his gold medal? No. Christ was victorious when he was crucified between two thieves at the top of Golgotha.
Christ’s victory in death is a victory of faith.
Today we celebrate the restoration of the icons in the Church.
For close to two centuries there had been a brutal bloody conflict, and many people said that it was wrong to make icons of Christ and the saints.
But on this day, some thirteen hundred years ago, the icons were gloriously returned to the Church,
And it was declared that it is good and right to make and venerate icons.
But to defend the holy icons is not just to defend religious art.
We claim that Jesus Christ is perfect God and Perfect man, and that he was tempted and suffered in all the same ways that we are tempted and suffer.
And all the holy icons take their meaning from the one fundamental icon, the icon of the Crucifixion.
For Jesus’ victory is the victory of the Cross.
Jesus’ victory is faithful obedience to His Heavenly Father to the very end.
This victory is the resurrection on the Third Day.
And today Christ’s victory is our victory.
Today we see Nathaniel talking with his friend Philip.
Philip has met Jesus, Philip is excited, and he says to Nathaniel, “We’ve found him, the Messiah, the one promised by Moses and the Prophets!”
But Nathaniel is anything but enthusiastic. He says, “Jesus? From Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Maybe Nathaniel is worn out from looking, and waiting. Maybe his hopes have been dashed before, and he just doesn’t want to get burned.
But, here is the first miracle. Philip says, “Nathaniel, come and see, just come and see.”
Nathaniel could have said, sorry, I’d rather not.
But, even though he’s less than enthusiastic, the miracle is that he takes the next step. He goes to see Jesus.
Then, as Jesus sees Nathaniel coming, he says, “Behold and Israelite in whom there is no guile.”
And Nathanael asks, “Rabbi, how do you know me?”
Jesus says, “When you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
So what was going on with Nathaniel under that fig tree?
Well, we don’t know.
But maybe, just maybe, Nathaniel had made a mistake, and maybe it was a big one.
And maybe Nathaniel stood under that fig tree and thought, “I’m sorry, but I’m just not good enough. I can’t keep going. I’m not even going to try”
But what if, in that moment under the fig tree, something had moved Nathaniel;
what if it was in that moment under the fig tree when he said, “I don’t know how Lord, but I’m just going to take the next step.”
If this is what happened, it would explain why Nathaniel says to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Because Nathaniel knew that it was God who gave him the strength to keep running the race.
And those steps brought him face to face with Jesus Christ.
Our God is a God who strengthens us to take one step at a time.
Today St. Paul says, “lay aside every weight, and the sin and guild that that so weighs us down, and run with endurance the race that is set before us”
This race is not about going faster than someone else.
This race is not about reaching the finish line before someone else.
This race is not about doing the most difficult performance with no mistakes.
Christ has already won the race, He has already received the victory.
The race set before US is to follow Christ and share in HIS victory; His victory of humility, love, and faith.
St. Paul says, run with endurance, which means, “Just keep going.”
In this race, we are not disqualified if we fall down.
In this race, we are not eliminated if we stray from the course.
In this race we do not lose style points for awkward landings, or crash landings.
In this race, we simply keep going, one step at a time, one day at a time.
When we fall, we get up.
And when we fall and don’t have the strength to stand, Christ comes to us and lifts us up, and carries us until we are able to take the next step.
Our Lenten journey, and in fact our entire life, is a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage to our Lord’s Holy Pascha.
In a pilgrimage, the only thing that matters is that you keep going.
Pilgrims don’t come in first or second.
Pilgrims don’t get medals.
A pilgrim wins whenever she arrives.
And this is why we never go on pilgrimage alone.
This is why Christ sends his apostles out two by two, so no matter how difficult the path may become, we always have someone to lend a hand,
and so that we are always there to assist our brothers or sisters when they might stumble.
Today, lay aside every weight, and the sin and guilt that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Today we take one more step on our pilgrimage to the Cross of Christ, to share in the victory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.

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