A Cloud of Witnesses

May I speak in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Several years ago, I climbed Ben Nevis with a couple of friends. I wasn't used to walking up mountains, and I found it quite exhausting.

When we set off it was a cloudy day, and as we walked up the mountain, we eventually reached the bottom of the clouds. From then onwards, it was like walking in thick fog - it was damp and we could only see a few feet ahead.

I had been looking forward to seeing the view from the top, but now felt quite disappointed because I knew that we wouldn't be able to see anything ... but I was in for a great surprise.

As we approached the top of Ben Nevis, the dense mist disappeared. The summit was poking through the top of the clouds, and there was a breathtaking view.

At the top of the mountain the sun was shining brightly and we were surrounded by clouds. But they were not the grey/black clouds that we normally see, ... the tops of the clouds were brilliant white.

And these clouds weren't blocking out the sun as they normally do ... the tops of these clouds were reflecting the light of the sun which was shining brightly above them.

It is this breathtaking picture which comes to my mind when I read the 12th chapter of Hebrews (our second lesson), in which the writer says,

"We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses."

In the previous chapter he has been writing about some of the great heroes and heroines of faith: ...Abraham ...Moses ...Rahab ...Samson ...David.

And here he refers to them as a "great cloud of witnesses" which surround us.

In the bible, clouds are symbolic of armies and great multitudes of people. So he is writing about a great army of witnesses.

And like the clouds at the top of Ben Nevis, this army of witnesses is, figuratively speaking, all around us.

And as the clouds at the top of Ben Nevis reflect the light of the sun, so this army of witnesses reflects the light of God.

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Tomorrow is All Saints Day.

It is this time of year when we think of the great Christian heroes and heroines of faith, who like those in the Old Testament, surround us like a great cloud of witnesses.

We remember specific saints throughout the year, but there are many more saints than there are days of the year, and many martyrs have died for their faith whom we know nothing about.

And so today we celebrate all Christian saints, whether known or unknown.

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So why do we celebrate the lives of the saints?

Well, one reason is given in our lesson this evening:

THEY SHOW US HOW TO RUN THE CHRISTIAN RACE.

Hebrews 12:1-2. "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, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."

In the New Testament, the Christian life is often referred to as a 'race'.

St Paul urges the Corinthians to "run in such a way as to get the prize" (1Co. 9.24);

and he says to the Galatians, "You were running well... but what happened to you?" (Gal. 5.7);

...and about himself he says, "I have not already reached the goal... but I am pressing on towards the prize" (Php. 3.12-14).

In our reading this evening we see that there are three things that this great cloud of witnesses can remind us about the Christian race.

First, they remind us to "lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely".

Have you ever seen an Olympic athlete running in a thick duffle coat and wellies?

Of course not! Yet this is how we often try to run the Christian race.

Sometimes we know that there is sin in our lives that is holding us back, and yet we try to ignore it and to keep on running.

Sometimes the things that hinder us are not sinful, it's just that they are a burden to us, or they distract us from something which is more important.

In this window, (point to window in North wall), we are reminded of Mary and Martha. When Jesus visited them, we are told that Martha was "worried and distracted by many things". In contrast, Mary stopped and listened to what the Lord was saying, and Jesus commended her for choosing "the better part".

Martha wasn't doing anything wrong... in fact the story suggests that she was being a good host. But Mary reminds us that sometimes we need to lay aside good things in order that we may not be distracted from the better things.

So in the Christian race, let us "lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely".

Secondly, the saints remind us to "run with perseverance the race that is set before us".

We are not running a sprint, but a marathon.

It will take us the whole of our lives to complete the race, and so we will need determination and perseverance. During the race we will all face many problems and difficulties, and there are bound to be times when we wonder if we will be able to keep on going. But many saints bear witness to the fact that no matter how great the difficulties we face, God is able to give us the strength we need.

Remember St. Paul, (point to the alabaster engraving of St. Paul above the alter). He describes the hardships he has faced as follows:

"Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles...".

The fact that Paul was able to endure all this was not because he was super-human... but because he had a super-human God. He said, "I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

And with the power of Christ within him, he was able to run the Christian race with perseverance.

Thirdly, the saints remind us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith".

We are not to fix our eyes upon the saints themselves... they are simply witnesses to someone far greater... Jesus.

John the Baptist was a great example of that, (point to the window in the South wall).

The main aim of John's whole ministry was to point people to Jesus. And when people came to John saying, "Everyone is leaving you, and going after that fellow Jesus"... John was happy to reply, "He must increase, but I must decrease".

But in addition to pointing other people to Jesus, we ourselves must fix our eyes upon Jesus... For it is only when we look to Jesus, that we see things in the right perspective.

I don't know about you, but at times this is something that I find very difficult to do.

I recently received some bad news which made me feel very disappointed and angry. All that I wanted to do was to focus my whole attention upon the problem which was facing me, and to wallow in self-pity. I knew that the right thing to do was to fix my focus upon Jesus instead, but at the time I was unable to do this.

As time passed I have found that the strong feelings of anger and disappointment have subsided a bit, and I now am able to shift my focus of attention. And by looking to Jesus, I am beginning to see the problems in the right perspective.

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And so, as we celebrate All Saints Day, let us remember that we are surrounded by a great a cloud of witnesses. And in the beautiful engravings and stained-glass windows of this church, Mary and Martha, Paul, John the Baptist, and some of the other saints surround us like a crowd of witnesses.

Of course we cannot see them very well at night... it is only when the light of the sun shines through the windows, that we see their true colours. And it is only as we allow the light of God to shine through us, that people will see us in our true colours.

In some ways these saints were great heros and heroins of faith. In other ways they were just like us, for we too are saints...

... and so, "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, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."