August 17, 2025
Not Alone
Trinity Lutheran Church
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 15 C
Sermon on Hebrews 12:1-3
In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Last month, I went to chaperone the St. John's youth group for the National Youth gathering in New Orleans. We went with many other youth groups, including a youth group from Trinity. Attending the National Youth gathering was a thrilling and transformative experience for me. And, for the 20,000 young men and women who attended the gathering from across this nation and from across the world. This year’s theme for the National Youth Gathering was Endure from Hebrews 12:1–3, which is also the verses for this message.
“1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1–3)
Endurance can be defined as something “lasting” or “suffer patiently”. We use it like saying “See John over there, he is a 90-year-old man, he sure has endured a lot in his life” and “I do not know how Sally can endure raising 5 kids and all boys too”. In our passage today, the Bible puts endurance in the context of a competition. Now, for competition, you must train your body and mind. You build up stamina, strengthen your muscles, and learn what to do in any given scenario.
When I was in high school, I knew a man who was once preparing for a pitching competition, which was part of some type of tryout for a major league baseball team. He worked night and day preparing for the competition – building strength in his arms and legs, increasing his stamina to show he could pitch for a whole game, and learned the right way to hold the baseball for the different types of throws. At the end of each training session, he felt like his arm was going to fall off.
Through all of his preparation, he found that he was having an issue with a particular pitch, a slider, I think. He tried to figure out what he was doing wrong, but he couldn't get the pitch to work right. What was he doing wrong? Eventually, he reached out to other pictures that he knew, and they showed him what he was doing wrong on the pitch and ways to improve, not just that pitch, but other parts of his pitching. When he could not figure out what he was doing wrong or what to do, he looked towards those who did. And that's what we need to do.
Endurance is hard. Enduring is difficult, and often we find ourselves in situations where we do not know what to do or what to say. How can we endure in this sin-filled world that constantly encourages us to sin, that tells us that God is not real, and if He does exist, then he really does not love you. How can we endure when the world is against us?
One of our problems is that we think we are alone. In truth, we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, whom I like to call heroes of the faith. Who are these heroes of the faith? They are the saints who have gone before us. Like Abraham, Moses, Apostle Peter, Apostle John, St Ambrose, St. Augustine, and Martin Luther, to name a few. The heroes of the faith are all those who have passed on before us in faith.
We can learn from these heroes of the faith; we can see what they did and say when confronted by this sinful world of ours. These heroes can be used as inspiration for use. For example, Abraham, who God called to sacrifice his only son, the son that God promised him would carry on his name. Abraham endured the agony of planning his son's death, tying him up and placing him on the makeshift altar. Abraham endured this, trusting in God and His promises, knowing that God could bring back his dead son to fulfill His promises.
Likewise, Moses, who led his people from slavery into the promised land, endured much. He endured the fear of confronting Pharaoh, demanding to let his people go. Enduring the fleeing from Egypt, not knowing how they would cross the Red Sea. He endures his people complaining about God, their lack of faith, and their constant turning away from God. And enduring knowing that he would never enter the promised land, the place he worked so hard to get his people to, all because of his anger and pride. If you think you have problems, I think Moses has you beat. Mose endured all of this by trusting in the promises of God, trusting in God's plan of salvation for his people, and for you and me.
We can also look at other heroes of the faith throughout history. We can look at the Church fathers to see how they handled persecution from the world and how they handled disagreements in the Church. This great cloud of witnesses is more than just those who have gone before us in faith; it is also those who are living in the faith now, like your fellow brothers and sisters sitting with you in pews. We can look at each other for guidance, to support us in our faith, especially when we are confused, and helping is in doing the good works that God has set before us to do.
As you can see, the Biblical concept of endurance is different from what the world says endurance is. The Bible definition of endurance is not different from what you will find in your English Dictionary. The difference is in where that endurance relies. The world says that through our own work, effort, and resilience, we are able to endure suffering. Though apart from God we can do nothing. (John 15:5). The Bible says that our ability to endure relies on Christ, for He has already endured for us. “3Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
For it is in Christ that we find true endurance. “2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” In Christ, we find what true endurance is. And because Christ has endured for us, we can endure knowing that Christ has already done the work for us. That Christ took our debts of sin and suffered upon the cross for them, He died and was buried, and three days later He rose from the dead. Christ endured it all, the humiliation, scorn, and the pain of death. All for the joy that was set before him, YOU.
You are Christ's joy. Your salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is why He endured the cross and the grave. You are the reason why, after three days in the tomb, He rose to declare victory over sin, death, and the grave, and that you are forgiven. You are the reason why Christ is now preparing a place for us in heaven, so on the day of His return, we might be with him forever. For God so loves you, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Because of this, “3 … we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom 5:3 – 5)
My brothers and sisters in Christ. May this knowledge that endurance is not based on our own work and effort. True endurance relies on Christ and the work He has already done for us. Because Christ has endured for us, we can endure knowing that our sins are forgiven and we will be with him in paradise when this world passes away.
Amen.
