The Great Cloud of Witnesses—Lectionary (RCL) Reflection for Pentecost 10C/Proper 15 (Hebrews 11-12)
Hebrews 11:29-12:2 New Revised Standard Version UpdatedEdition
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.
32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.
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, 2 looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of 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.
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Last
week we turned from the Colossian readings to a series from Hebrews. The series
began with the opening verses of Hebrews 11, which offer a definition of faith
that has endured through time. Before we turn to a continuation of the honor
roll of biblical saints, who form the great cloud of witnesses, a list that
began with Abraham and Sarah, it is worth hearing again that definition of
faith. This time I offer the J.B. Phillip’s rendering of Hebrews 11:1-3:
Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see. It was this kind of faith that won their reputation for the saints of old. And it is after all only by faith that our minds accept as fact that the whole scheme of time and space was created by God’s command—that the world which we can see has come into being through principles which are invisible.
With that definition in mind, we can consider others who,
according to the unknown author of Hebrews (my favorite suggestion is
Priscilla), form the great cloud of witnesses to the path of faith. It is a
path to which we have been invited to join, with Jesus as the “pioneer and
perfecter of faith” (Heb. 12:1-2).
The
reading picks up at the edge of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds). While the
lectionary skips the opening material concerning Moses, we can read Moses into
the conversation as he is the leader of the people who stand at the edge of the
Sea. So, by faith, the people of Israel crossed the sea as if on dry land,
while the pursuing Egyptians were swept up in the retreating waters and
drowned. The next hero of the faith is an interesting person. It’s Rahab. The
author of Hebrews moves from the sea, skipping over the wandering in the desert
(apparently that was not a good example of faith) and crossing over the Jordan
into Canaan. So here is Rahab, whom the author of Hebrews calls a prostitute.
She comes into the story of heroes after the walls of Jericho fell as an act of
faith. She is honored because, unlike other residents of Jericho, she received
the Hebrew spies in peace, providing safe harbor for them.
I want
to pause for a moment here because Rahab is the only female hero other than
Sarah listed in this great cloud of witnesses. We might want to take note of
her place in Jesus’ genealogy. The spouse of Salmon, she was the mother of
Boaz, husband of Ruth, mother of Jesse, the father of David. Hebrews doesn’t
mention Boaz, Ruth, or Jesse, but that’s part of Jesus’ story, and he is,
according to our reading the “pioneer of faith.” Here she is the hero of the
conquest, who though a “foreigner,” was brought into the family, so to speak,
because she sided with the invaders. Why was she a traitor to her own people?
She recognized what the future held and sided with the Hebrews. David DeSilva
writes of her actions, noting that she recognized that earthly cities are
unstable and that they can fall to the “word of God without a single stone
being thrown.” Thus, “the worldly cities have no ‘foundations,’ and the wisest
course one can take is to seek peace with God through joining God's people so
as to escape the destruction that will fall upon ‘the disobedient.’” Thus, “the
value of their continued association with the name of Christ and the body of
Christians is elevated immensely as their awareness of the eschatological
divide is heightened” [David A. DeSilva. Perseverance in Gratitude: A
Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Kindle Locations
5601-5606)]. What De Silva highlights here is the eschatological progression of
this message. The path of faith that begins in Hebrews 11 with Abraham, is
moving forward toward Jesus, and his ultimate destination, sitting at the right
hand of God’s throne. The message so far appears to be one of invitation. Will
you take the path of Rahab or that of the citizens of Jericho?
With
the story moving from Abel through Abraham through Moses up to Rahab, such that
we move from the Garden to the Promised Land to Egypt and back to the Promised
Land, we get to the point where the author of Hebrews feels that enough stories
have been told. With that, a few more names can be added to the “Great Cloud of
Witnesses.” If the author had time and
space to add to the stories, names like Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah
could be added, along with David, Samuel, and the prophets. Each of these
figures trusted God and won victories. We’ve heard many of these stories,
perhaps in Sunday school, from the book of Judges. Gideon is known for leading
a small group of Israelites against the Philistines, after laying out a fleece
to get the numbers down to a workable number. Interestingly Barak is named, though Deborah
is the real hero of that story (unfortunately, she’s not named). Of course, we
know Samson, he of long hair and superhuman strength, who defeats those
Philistines who simply won’t go away.
I have to pause again at the
mention of Jephthah. I wish the author of Hebrews hadn’t mentioned him. Yes, he
won a great victory over the Ammonites, but at the cost of the death of his
daughter after a foolish declaration. You see, Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh,
that if God gave him victory over the enemies of the people, he would sacrifice
“whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me.” Now that suggests that
Yahweh, in Jephthah’s mind at least, welcomed human sacrifice. That by itself
should cause us to pause and shudder. But that’s not the end of the story.
Jephthah won his victory, and he returned home a hero of the people. Unfortunately,
there’s that foolish vow he made, and the first person to exit the house to
greet him was his beloved daughter. She came out, according to Judges “with
timbrels and with dancing.” She was his only child, such that when he saw her,
he tore his clothes, and said “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low;
you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to
the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’” In other words, he recognized his
foolishness, but he couldn’t see a way out. Hopefully, we can see a way out,
believing that God doesn’t require such a sacrifice. But if there is a hero in
this story, it’s not foolish Jephthah, it’s his daughter who accepted her fate,
which led to the custom in Israel to go out for four days each year to “lament
the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite” (Judges 11:29-40). I stopped to tell
this story because it raises the question of how we speak of exemplars of the
faith. I wouldn’t have included Jephthah, and if I were preaching this text, I
think would confess my bewilderment at the mention of this figure. I’m not sure
he is the best exemplar of the life of faith, but, apparently, the author
believes that he acted faithfully.
Having named these figures, most of
whose stories are found in the book of Judges, the author speaks of their acts
of faithfulness. Thus, by faith they “conquered kingdoms, administered justice,
obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions [Daniel in the lions’ den?],
quenched raging fire [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?], escaped the edge of
the sword, won strength out of weakness, became might in war, put foreign
armies to flight” (Heb. 11:33-34). Interestingly the next word speaks of “women
receiving their dead by resurrection,” a possible reference to the women who
received their children back through the ministrations of Elijah and Elisha (1Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:11-37). Persons are honored for their faithfulness
despite experiencing torture, mocking, flogging, chains, and imprisonment.
Others were stoned to death or sawn in two, killed with the sword, went around
in skins of goats and sheep, and more. Ultimately, we’re told that those who
had suffered and died for their faith in God, are persons of which the world is
not worthy. All of these figures, named and unnamed, were commended for their
faith, even though they did not receive at the time the promise. They would
need to wait for God to provide something better, such that they would not be
made perfect apart from “us.” That “us would be the followers of Jesus.
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