Proper 15C’25
17 August 2025
Hebrews 11.29-12.2
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas
The Rev. Carey Stone <+>
Give thanks for those who made their life a light, caught from the Christ flame, bursting through the night, who touched the truth, and burned for what it right. Alleluia, Alleluia! – “Give Thanks for Life” Sine Nomine
During the mid 1950s a travelling bible salesman knocked on my parents’ door. Besides selling bibles for the Southern Publishing Association from Nashville, TN, they were also selling various books about the bible. The book that caught my mother’s eye was called The Golden Treasury of Bible Stories published in 1954 (the same year St. Luke’s was founded, btw). When I was about 4 or 5 It became one of my favorite books.
It was filled with all the stories of the great patriarchs and matriarchs, kings, prophets, of Jesus and his apostles. There were some great illustrations, and the cover featured an image of David and Goliath stamped in gold leaf. My mother would periodically read to me from the book. I became very familiar with Moses, Noah, Jonah, and others. These were great stories of faith and often some of these same characters would show up in some of the lessons and activities at Vacation Bible School during my elementary school years.
I’m so grateful for my mom’s investment of her time and a little bit of money in bringing some of these biblical characters to life. Thanks to her efforts and the Holy Spirit, these stories planted seeds of faith that would bring an abundant harvest a bit later on in my life.
Sadly today, many young people and also many older adults don’t recognize the names of some of these great heroes and heroines of the faith. There is great wisdom in the telling and retelling of these stories because it is a timeless truth – our faith must be fed. We often complain and bemoan the smallness of our faith but miss out by not taking advantage at whatever age, of the stories of those who had great faith. God knows how desperately we need more people of genuine faith, now more than ever.
The letter to the Hebrews contains a chapter that has been referred to as “The Hall of Faith” because it has boiled down many of these heroes and heroines of faith in chapter 11. This is a great starting place for us to discover who some of them were and what they were able to accomplish by faith in the God who is very much alive.
We pick up where we left of from last week’s reading in Hebrews with those two words: By faith…by faith the people of God under the direction of Moses when they were ‘between the devil and the deep red sea’ with the Egyptian army backing them into the Red sea, by faith the waters parted and they walked through on dry land. They couldn’t see it, it looked like they would drown but at the moment when their trust touched the water with their soles of their feet and not before, the waters parted.
Joshua led them on into the promised land and in obedience they circled the city of Jericho seven times and on the last step of the seventh lap the walls of the city collapsed and the people of God were able to take the city. Sometimes obeying something that seems almost silly or superstitious actually wins the day in the battles of our lives.
When Joshua had sent out two spies on a recon mission to spy out the promised land their lives were in danger as they were being pursued by a death squad. They found a prostitute Rahab who listened to them tell their important mission from God, she believed and hid them in her house and helped them escape from their pursuers.
Gideon, a timid wheat farmer is visited by an angel and is told that God saw him as a mighty warrior and had chosen him to lead and deliver the people of God from the Midianites with only 300 men (Judges 6-8)
Barak, a judge who assisted by the faithful Deborah and the people of God are once again delivered out of the hands of the Siserans (Judges 4-5).
Samson, the man with long hair and super human strength, and some would say weak faith, was in spite of himself, used by God to deliver the people of God from the Philistines, and was so strong he could break chains and rip apart the jaws of lions (Judges 13-16).
Jephthah, the Jewish military leader whose name means ‘God Opens” defeated the Ammonite army when there seemed to be no way to accomplish this). Just when he was sure he was at a dead-end God opened the way through for his army to triumph (Judges 11-12).
David, the king of Israel, an incredibly flawed human being, was mightily used of God because in spite of his sins and mistakes he kept coming back to God in confession and turning his life back over to God’s control (I Samuel – I Kings).
Samuel the great prophet of Israel who was used by God to identify God’s choice for leadership of the people of God (I Samuel 1-25).
The prophets were given the words of God to speak and speaking truth to the people brought on them great suffering and persecutions – but that didn’t stop them from being obedient to God (Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.).
These heroes and heroines of faith accomplished much: through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, and like Gideon, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection through faith in God and God’s representatives the prophets, Elijah and Elisha. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to increase their eternal rewards. Others suffered mocking and beatings, were put in chains and into prisons. They were stoned to death, the prophet Isaiah was sawn in two, some were killed by the sword; they had to make their clothes out of sheep and goat skins, they were left destitute, to be persecuted, and tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
What about us? How can we live by faith? What are we trusting God for? Though perhaps less dramatic but none the less just as important in our day for there to be faithful people walking in Love.
This great passage ends in the first two verses of chapter 12:
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, 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.
Let us reflect more deeply on the great cloud of witnesses that surround us – and remember that God is at work in the world and works through us in the world as we put our trust in God. Amen.