Rochester, MN UCC - "They Didn't Receive What Was Promised?" - Hebrews 11:29-12:2

“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, apart from us, be made perfect.”

Towards the end of the 11th Chapter of his letter, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives a list of all the hardships suffered by our ancestors in the Old Testament. It’s pretty gruesome. They are tortured, and mocked, and even sawn in two! After this list of pains endured, we are told that “all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised…” What?!? They endured all these catastrophes and DIDN’T receive what was promised? That sounds like a rip off! Why would anyone sacrifice so much, give so much, for a promise they wouldn’t receive, for a goal they wouldn’t see fully realized? As unjust and possibly unwise as this may seem, it's worth asking if we do the same. Do we give of ourselves, even sacrifice something of ourselves, for goals that we won’t live to see fully realized? Should we?

Another way to pose this question is to ask if the faith of our Old Testament ancestors was in vain. Was their sacrifice worth it? I believe we cannot as Christians answer anything but a resounding YES to this question. It is because of the faith of our ancestors in the Old Testament and throughout the history of the church that we know of a loving God. It is because of them that we have come to know the love of Jesus Christ for us. It is through the witness of their lives that we know of God’s promises. We know that God has promised to us a day when grief and sorrow are no more, when all the world shall live in peace, when the entire creation will be redeemed, and all will live in the righteousness and joy of God. We know of this promise because others lived and died for it. They cast their anchor not into the past, nor the present, but into God’s future. They lived for God’s future through faith in God’s promises. Because they did, we have the opportunity to do the same.

Should we willingly sacrifice ourselves for a future that we won’t see fully realized as well? It is unlikely that we will see racial justice come about in our lifetimes. It is unlikely that we will see equality between men and women during our lifetimes. Nor will we see the end of poverty, nor world peace, nor the kingdom come. Does that make these causes not worth pursuing, not worth living and dying for? Only if we wish for the sacrifices of our ancestors to be in vain. Only if we have no concern for the faith and lives of our descendants. Only if we do not trust in God’s promise that the kingdom is coming. Because we have faith in God, a faith we learned from the witnesses of our ancestors, we are bold enough to give our lives for goals that we won’t see realized in our lifetimes. We are bold because we trust that one day God will give to us, along with our ancestors and our descendants, all that God has promised.  May we honor our ancestors and our descendants by living today for God’s future. Amen.

Pastor Andrew Greenhaw