Hero of My Faith
Do you have a photo album? Do you
ever look through the pages, remembering the people that shaped your life? For
me personally, I save some important photos on my phone and always carry them
with me, and from time to time I look through those photos, remembering those
who shaped my life. Among them, the greatest hero of my faith is my
grandfather, who led me to Christ when I was 12 years old. As a Korean
Methodist pastor, he was appointed to several different churches throughout his
life. Wherever he was sent to, those churches became unified, revitalized, and
revived. Surely the power and presence of the Holy Spirit was with him and his
ministry. But more importantly, his life was congruent - congruent between
preaching and living, congruent what is on the inside and what is lived on the
outside. He was a good husband, a good father, a good pastor, and most of all,
he was a good Christian. Although he passed away last year, he still speaks to
me through his example of faith.
Heroes of Your Faith
The other day I asked you via
email, “Who is the greatest hero of your faith?” Several of you graciously responded
and shared your stories.
[Mars Hill] For Marge Yeager, the greatest heroine of her faith is her mother, Elaine Bailey. Marge said, “She always trusted in God no matter what. Even during very hard times of loss and sickness she never wavered in her faith. Though she is no longer with us I can still look to her example and try to live in the same faithful way.” Susan Boyd said, “For me it would be my father he always was my rock, my mentor, the one that I knew I could always count on in my life. He has been gone since 2011, but he is still the one who is approval I most seek out, and who I would hope, or I would want to be proud of who I am and what I do.” For Susan’s daughter, Elizabeth, the greatest hero is Mrs. Churchill, her teacher she has had since 6th grade. Elizabeth totally believes in herself when Mrs. Churchill is around. Mary Miller’s heroine is Lynne Josselyn. Mary said, “[It is] because she lived out Christ’s justice and compassion, because she led the way in women’s ministry and gave me courage to serve, because she sang and danced and preached and laughed the grace of God, because she ever embraced and served, with energy and commitment, God’s people.”
[Houlton] Linda Maraya
answered, “The greatest hero of my faith is my mother because even during the
worst of times, she never lost sight that she had full confidence and trust
towards God.” Jo-Ann Barton said, “Mine was my parents took us all to Church
every Sunday morning and evening. I accepted Jesus as my savior in Bible School,
and I never forget the feeling when I was baptized.” Similarly, Sharon Lyons
replied, “My family brought me up in the Christian faith and took me to church
every Sunday. I got saved when I was seven and baptized in a river as a teen.”
For Angela Cowperthwaite, the greatest hero of her faith was her dad. She said,
“because he taught me about faith in God and to trust God in everything in my
life.” Cynthia Hillman-Forbush said, “The greatest hero of my faith
is Senator Earle M. Hillman (grandfather) because he lived out his
faith daily.” Jack Forbush replied, “Garth Gooding. Mentor and man of
great faith. He showed me “the path” to walk on.” Liz Taylor said, “The
greatest heroes of my faith are #1, my Godmother, my Aunt Violet, who welcomed
me to her home every weekend to go to church… And #2, my husband, Lee, who
brought me to Methodism.” Kathy Maclachlan said, “The greatest hero of my faith
is my junior high Sunday School teacher, Ralph Dirats because he challenged me
to APPLY the meaning and context of Jesus' words and scripture to controversial
topics and decision-making… he stretched my childhood faith and my love of the
Lord grew and grew.” Lastly, Brenda Richards said, “No one in particular but
those who led by example influenced me. When as a teen I became a member of the
church was the best experience ever. I can’t explain how I felt but will never
forget that special feeling.”
Heroes of Our Faith
Perhaps no particular individual
person comes to your mind as your hero. Perhaps you think, “I wish I could have
one.” There is good news! Today’s scripture tells us we are part of a
community filled with heroes and heroines of faith. We are not alone.
In Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith, we discover two categories of faith. The first group of people lived a victorious life – they conquered enemies, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, even gained victory over death. But the lives of the second group were filled with suffering: they were imprisoned, persecuted, mistreated, and even killed. From the outside, the images of these two groups are so different and impossible to reconcile. But they have one thing in common: whether they triumph or suffer, they are faithful before God to the end. Their faith, their faith-fullness, still so brightly shines and encourages us today. As we listen to the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Joshua and Rahab, we remember who we are. As we listen to the stories of martyrs, we learn that we are not alone in our suffering and that we are surrounded by so great cloud of the heroes of our faith.
Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter
The heroes of our faith in the
Bible as well as in our lives have finished their race. And now, the baton
passes to us. The writer of Hebrews gives us the final and most important word
of advice: “Let us run the race with perseverance, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” Pioneer translates
a rich Greek word, archegos.
The archegos is the author,
the beginner, the initiator, the trailblazer who goes before us. In the context
of a race, the archegos is
the team captain. In the Greek games, the team captain would run the race and
then wait at the finish line to encourage his teammates as they followed in his
steps.[1]
As the pioneer, “[Jesus] entered the Most Holy Place once for all time, not
with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, so that we may be
set free and follow in his steps” (Heb 9:12).
But Jesus is not simply the pioneer; he is also the perfecter. So Jesus not only waits for us at the finish line, but also he fills in and fills out what is lacking in our faithfulness, in our race. So when we feel worn out in our faith journey, wondering whether we can make it, Jesus walks with us, sustains us along the way, and makes us whole. “Jesus himself has gone through suffering and testing, so he is able to help us when we are being tested” (Heb 2:18). Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith journey. So let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
Crossing the River
The writer of Hebrews doesn’t tell
us why hardship is part of the Christian life. Life is difficult and the
Christian life is no exception. To many of us in this room, perhaps death and
dying process – loss of memory, mobility, or independence – can be discouraging
and even fearful in our faith journey.
In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Christian and his companion, Hopeful, have gone through many hardships: The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Giant Despair, Doubting Castle, and the list goes on. And now they were within sight of the Celestial City. Between them and the gate of the Celestial City was a river, but there was no bridge crossing over it, and the river was very deep. Upon entering, Christian began to sink and cried out to his good friend, Hopeful, “I sink in the deep water! The billows go over my head; all his waves go over me!” The Hopeful said, “Be courageous, my brother. I feel the bottom, and it is firm.” Christian was greatly troubled with thoughts of the sins he had committed. He was troubled with visions of demons and evil spirits. Hopeful struggled in his attempts to keep his brother’s head above water. Christian’s knees were week and his hands drooping. He could not see before him. Hopeful continued to speak him, “Be courageous. Jesus Christ makes you whole.” With that Christian broke out in a loud voice and said, “Oh, I see him again! And he tells me, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you” (Isa. 43:2).” Then the two pilgrims both took courage, and the enemy became as still as a stone, until they had crossed over.
On your death bed, what would be the most comforting words? ‘You made a fortune. Why worries?’, ‘You have such a good family and children. Why worries?’, or ‘God has been with you, God is with you, and God will be with you forever. Why worries?’ As John Wesley said on his deathbed, “Best of all is God is with us.”
On this special day we give thanks to God for the heroes of our faith. We give thanks to God for our faithful church members and companions on our journey. But above all, we give thanks to God for his Son Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
And then one day,
I’ll cross that river
I’ll fight life’s
final war with pain
And then, as death
gives way to victory
I’ll see the
lights of glory and I’ll know He reigns.
Because He lives,
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives,
all fear is gone
Because I know He
holds the future
And life is worth
the living
Just because He
lives
[1]
Bryan J. Whitfield, “Commentary on Hebrews 11:29-12:2,” https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20-3/commentary-on-hebrews-1129-122
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