For #Richard100
Yesterday I preached a rather unusual sermon. It was not unusual in that I preached from a small passage of scripture. It was not unusual in that I illustrated it from ‘real’ life. It was unusual in that I used my experiences of Ride London as a lens to examine this particular passage of scripture in Hebrews 12 v. 1- 3. Last week, as I traveled across London at 6am in a train packed with bikes and nervous cyclists I told the man in the seat next to me about my ‘day job’ and confessed that it felt rather illicit to be missing church. Having ‘bunked off’, the sermon was a way to make the experience count. The letter to the Hebrews was written to people who had risked everything to follow Jesus, and for whom the race of faith was at times almost too much to bear.
1. Witnesses
I came to faith in my teenage years, and it seemed that the word ‘witness’ was used almost exclusively to describe our interaction with those outside the church. If I were to accept too much change in a shop, that would be a bad witness. Conversely, if I could hold it together and not panic during my A levels, that would be a good one. We seem to have vastly under-estimated the value of our witness to each other. Having spectacularly failed to print my own name on my jersey for Ride London, I found that people would shout out “Go Tommy’s” as I sped by. At about mile 40, with the hills yet to come – somebody shouting exactly that was just what I needed. Equally, a church member shouting “Go on Richard” at the top of his voice at around mile 82 was a tremendous boost. On the last hill I implored the lovely people on the Save the Children cheer point to ‘give a shout out for Tommy’s’ and they jumped up and down and shouted until I made it to the top. Sometimes YOUR word of encouragement to a fellow Christian can be all the difference between them giving up and pushing on. The race has been long and they are not at all sure they can make it to the brow of this hill, let alone the one after that – and they need you. The picture below was taken by a young man whom I now mentor as a church worker. I had no idea he would be there at mile 80 – but his shout of ‘go Richard’ was very welcome!
Go!
2. Each individual’s race
Ride London is a mass participation event, with some 28,000 riders. Everybody was there – from elite club cyclists to retired people to those only just old enough to participate to amateur charity cyclists like me. Along the way there was lots of camaraderie, and I lost count of the number of times I saw a cyclist pull up alongside another and ask whether they were doing ok. In the end, though, it doesn’t matter how much encouragement there is from the sidelines or the track – every single cyclist must complete their own 100 miles. They must turn the wheels every time, they must make every single pedal stroke and nobody can do it for them. The writer to the Hebrews talks about the race “marked out for us”.(12 v.1) From the day we ‘sign up’ to follow Jesus until the day when we tumble gratefully through the open gates of Heaven – we must complete our own race. We should neither envy another’s talents nor query another’s destiny – we must complete our own race.
My view for 700+ miles of training
3. Fix your eyes on the goal
I have to confess that by about 4.40 pm on August 2nd I was ready to quit. Everything ached, my legs felt like lead, and I was crawling along Millbank slower than at any other point in the ride. Then I turned left under Admiralty Arch and something amazing happened. The barriers down the Mall appeared like a funnel focusing on the finishing line; the crowd were beating on the barriers and cheering, tears came into my eyes – and I stood in the pedals and sprinted to the finish. Having the right goal to focus upon can enable us to transcend our own weakness and humanity. The writer in this letter urges us to ‘fix our eyes on Jesus’ just as he had once fixed his eyes on the cross and the glory beyond it. For centuries, all the way back to Stephen at the moment of his martyrdom – Christians have found this to be true. Their focus on Heaven’s rewards enables them to transcend earth’s sorrows.
Early on Sunday morning, I handed in my kit-bag at Olympic Park, assured that it would be there and waiting for me at the end. Inside were a change of clothes and rewards for a race completed. Sure enough -there it was at the end -exactly as promised. Not one tiniest bit of the promises made by Jesus to those who complete the race of faith in his name will be lost.
At the end of the day, I was given a medal for this race. It is probably made of bass metal and I shall maybe lose it one day. There is a prize, though, that will never tarnish – and I look forward to receiving it on the finish line one day.
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Meanwhile…