A MARATHON. Running 26.2 punishing miles. That’s like running from here to Fairhope. This lengthy run gets its name from an area in Greece.
Twenty-five hundred years ago a young soldier, Pheidippides, ran 26.2 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks had won the decisive battle against the invading Persian army. Legend is that he collapsed and died after that grueling run.
But somewhere along the line, people saw running this distance as a challenge to conquer. Now, every year, thousands and thousands of people run a least one marathon. (Thirty thousand people ran the Boston Marathon last month.)
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YOU MAY HAVE HEARD the phrase “It’s a marathon.” This means that whatever you’re involved in will take some time. It will not pass quickly, or perhaps painlessly. A marathon is long and grueling; requires pacing and discipline.
I want to talk about marathon today in regards to the Christian faith. It’s not a perfect metaphor, but the Apostle Paul used the imagery near the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7. And our reading from Hebrews brings that metaphor to us “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
“Run with perseverance” — that means to stick with something when it gets hard. Stick with something when it gets boring. Stick with something even though you’re tired or lonely. Sticking with something when it seems it won’t make a difference or that nobody else cares about it.
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CHRISTIAN FAITH requires perseverance. There are plenty of times when you want to quit. When you look around and no one else seems to be living like Jesus. When people turn against you because of your faith. Fatigue sets in and you don’t see any success.
Perseverance. In 1983, a 61-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young showed up for a grueling, weeklong ultra-marathon from Sydney, Australia, to Melbourne (544 miles) — in overalls and work boots. The clothes he wore while working on the farm. People laughed at him. He was twice the age of most runners. They were decked out in the latest running gear. He shuffled off the starting line as the much younger and athletic runners sprinted ahead. Soon he was miles behind. Spectators feared for his health. But that night, as the other runners slept, Cliff took a quick nap and kept going. Five days and five nights later, he came in first — 10 hours ahead of his closest competitor!
Marathon runners are cheered during the race and high fives and Gatorade all around when it’s over. In a race, athletes are surrounded by rows and rows of spectators, pictured for us as “a great cloud of witnesses.
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THE “WITNESSES” of our race are listed in the previous chapter of Hebrews: the men and women of God whose faithful lives were recorded in the Old Testament. Noah who brought the animals in 2 x 2. Sarah. Moses. Daniel. Gideon, Barak, Samson, David and Samuel and the prophets. Martyrs for the faith — who persevered despite unimaginable oppression and cruelty. Their unyielding faith bears witness to the promises of Jesus Christ, urging us to follow their example and “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Confirmation youth, and others, you are not in this race alone. You have not gotten this far by yourself and you will not be alone in your faith journey going forward. You are surrounded by those biblical characters but also more recent faithful. Therese Roberts who taught many of your parents or grandparents in Sunday school. Vernon Anderson, who grew up in this church and was a missionary in Africa for 40 years. People you might know and remember. Toots Melton, Hazel Helton, Elizabeth Grace, Norma Tidwell, and Aunt Leighann.
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TO RUN THE RACE of Christianity, we are told to “throw off everything that hinders” us. The word means weight. It can refer to physical weight, or to unnecessary baggage. Ancient Greek runners would actually run naked. They didn’t want anything to slow them down or drain their energy. Throwing off what hinders is whatever threatens our relationship with God. Anything that will slow us down or trip up us must be tossed aside. With the encouragement of those who have gone on before, we rid ourselves of thoughts, attitudes, and habits that impede our progress.
Today, these nine young women and men are coming to confirm they are ready to run. They have completed a marathon of classes. Now they are eager to start this race written about in Hebrews. It will take all of us to support them. So, cheer for them. Point out direction markers. Offer comfort. Challenge assumptions. Support them in their struggles. Join your voices with those who have gone before us cheering them on as they run with perseverance the race laid out before them.
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ONE LAST THING. No matter how long the race may be, we keep our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. There is joy awaiting. In the words of songwriter Twila Paris:
Runner, when the road is long
Feel like giving in, but you’re hanging on
Oh runner, when the race is won
You will run into His arms.
— Keith Cardwell
