“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”
So begins Chapter 12 of the letter to the Hebrews, after the writer has given an extensive list of people of faith in Chapter 11. The faithful had names like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, and David. The author was encouraging us to look to these folks of deep faith and to be inspired by them, to be encouraged in our own journeys by their example.
In our Tuesday Morning Devotional Classics group we have read books by Teresa of Avila, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Howard Thurman, Thomas Merton, C.S. Lewis, and many others. In some mystical way, not just their words, but the writers themselves have been with us, surrounding us, encouraging us, and teaching us, even centuries after their deaths. One of the profound mysteries of the faith is that I am in communion with them and they with me. The veil that separates us from those who have gone before us is VERY thin. That is part of what it means to believe in the “communion of the saints”.
On November 3, All Saints Sunday, we will add to the roll call of faith begun in Hebrews 11. We will add those saints who have inspired and continued to encourage this Beloved Community. These have names like Gene and Fran and Don and Linda and Barbara and Deb. And they bear witness even to this day. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us run with perseverance the race set before us.
Peace and all things good,
David