Hebrews 11:32-12:1

"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—who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 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—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, without us, be made perfect.

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" (Hebrews 11:32-12:1).

Comment:

The passage, written by an unknown author, is part of a longer attempt to explain or justify the Christian belief as an inspired extension of the long history of the Hebrew people. Throughout our long, collective spiritual history, men and women have suffered on this human plane through a belief in something greater. They "did not receive what was promised" because they had not yet learned of their own spiritual identity as the Christ, which Jesus taught and demonstrated through his ministry. Because we now have this understanding, we—more even than they—should lay aside the 'weight' of our limiting human concerns and the 'sin' of misunderstanding, of making choices from fear rather than love. It was the efforts of all those 'clouds of witness' that brought us this far; now it's up to us to continue the journey to complete understanding and expression of our true Christ nature.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed