Sermon – Where Am I Running?
Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 12:1-2
Farmville Presbyterian Church
November 26, 2023
– Christ as my goal
Earlier this month I have drawn on images of running. First, it was why I will never “run” for President of the United States. Then, it was running after a grateful spirit when so much of the world is chasing everything but gratitude. Thankfulness is so, so, so important. Finally, I want to get down to the destination, i.e. where I am running. You need to have an idea of where you are headed, right? People out there on the road, on the trail, or on the path may or may not have a good sense of where they are headed. Back in my college days at H-SC, a group of friends and I used to run out into the woods at night and try to figure out our way back after getting lost pretty much on purpose. Looking back, it was not the brightest thing to do. Thankfully, no one got hurt, but those experiences did lend themselves to some interesting stories. It’s possible creatures of myth and legend lurk in those woods around Hampden-Sydney. Of course, other people have had interesting thoughts on running this way or that:
Neil Armstrong, who made it to the moon and back, had more trouble at home when he remarked that, “I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I’ll be darned if I’m going to use up mine running up and down a street.”
Others find the exertion of running to be taxing. Milton Berle shared, “My doctor told me that running could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already.” That makes sense to me.
The average joe may or may not heed the advice of 20th century writer, Franklin P. Jones, who said, “The trouble with jogging is that, by the time you realize you’re not in shape for it, it’s too far to walk back.”
Who wants to get out there and go without a good sense of where they are headed or how to get home? People run for the sake of running, but there is always a destination. Not having a destination can get you in trouble. When I used to ride my bike out at what used to be Fort Pickett, I would get confronted at the gate and turned away if I did not have an expressed destination. Eventually, I was told to make one up. I didn’t like that idea. It seemed silly for someone out there to ride where they had bike lanes for riding in a place open to the community to make up a destination on the base, but it was very important for them to know where I was going. Where are we going?
Hopefully, Jesus. Hopefully, he is where we are headed. It is stunning to me that 2000 years later and half a world away, we can make our goal Jesus of Nazareth. He is really our true goal, isn’t he? From John 14 and Jesus being the way to God to the early followers of Jesus calling themselves “people of the Way” long before they were ever known as Christians, Jesus from the beginning has considered life in him a journey. He is at the heart of where we are going. I did not understand this when I was younger. Sure, we talked about God and learned theology and Bible, but it was never really explained just that simply: it is all about Jesus. He is our life in God, and he is God in our life. He is as much one of us as he is also God with us. It is a beautiful notion to have the love of God walking and talking and sharing in life with God’s children. In the Garden of Eden, God walked and talked as the song describes, and in Revelation after the Great Wedding of the Lamb, God remains here and heaven is here and God will be with us forever in Christ. For now, our whole objective is to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. That might be where we get tripped up, however.
When Paul is describing Jesus in chapter 1 of Colossians, he is using big ideas and bigger truth. He is describing a Savior that is hard to imagine, let alone to relate to. On the one hand, people flocked to Jesus because he was right there holding their hands, touching them in their diseases, sharing meals with the hungry, and embracing those who were lost, little, and lonely. He was the most relatable person you could have met, even if he was hard to understand sometimes and spoke in ways that were tricky with his stories. People were drawn to him from young to old, sick and well – even the self-righteous couldn’t stay away, but Paul’s description brings Jesus to a whole other place before time and space. Cosmic Jesus is the one who brought all things into existence and through whom all things are reconciled to God. He is our hope and salvation; he is the hope and salvation of everything. But looking for that hope and salvation is really our pressing job today.
I am reminded of this every time I go to visit with Carolyn. I feel like there is so little that I can do for her, and it weighs on my heart to see her struggling and not being able to chat has we have done. I so wish that my prayer could make things better right then and there. I wish my reading brightened her heart, but it is hard to tell. I wish holding her hand was a comfort, but sometimes it seems to be painful. She deals with a lot of pain. I wish I could be the help I want to be, but if we are in Christ, it is not about you and me. If there is no other destination, no other goal, then it is down to what I can do or what I am able to aqccomplosh. I have to remember that my presence can be part of the presence of Christ. I have to remember that whatever sharing we have is a sharing in Christ. I have to remember that Jesus is there in that room with us if we dare to gather in his name, and Jesus is the one person we absolutely need there. Our Lord and Savior is able to cradle her life in his arms and love her into greater life. Our brother and friends is there connecting our hearts in his and giving us sacred space to know God’s love, even as she nears the end of her earthly walk in such a difficult way. There is nothing easy about this. She struggles; we struggle; even God struggles in our suffering because God knows what it is like to hurt, too. God hurt for us all. God struggles all through the Bible with frustration and anger and betrayal. Before God struggled on a cross, Jesus knew what it was like to be poor, hungry, hunted, and tortured. You had better believe that God knows what it means to hurt. You had better believe God knows what it means to suffer. If there is anyone we need in that room with us, it is Jesus.
He is the one who begins our journey and ends our journey. In Hebrews 12, the word pioneer is more than someone wandering around in the wild west. It is a leader who is able to take us to new places. He begins the new path and has the ability to make our path happen. He is the Alpha, the first among us, the one we can follow with confidence. But is also the perfector of us all. That word is the other extreme. He is the one who finishes everything completely. He is the Omega who comes after and makes sure we do not lose anyone or anything. He finishes what we have started and brings all things to God’s perfect completion.
This is a beautiful picture of Jesus that stays with us when all other pictures fade away. This is the image of Jesus we draw from David’s Psalm 23 who leads us like a good shepherd. He leads, protects, and when someone tries to get lost, he goes after them. Jesus is the best of the best. He is the greatest thing in this world. It is so easy to love our Shepherd and King. He makes those days by the beside worthwhile and meaningful. He picks up our failures, our losses, our brokenness, and our weakness and still brings something beautiful in his grace.
This is my favorite church holy day because there is nothing more precious to me that finding my value in the risen King. He takes the mess of my life and creates treasure. He holds all of us and says we are precious. He is our life, our way, our goal, and our friend. We are truly blessed in the Spirit of our Jesus. To God be the glory. Amen.