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| Mighty Josh, Kadir Nelson |
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for...
Today I will be pitching a change up. You may have noticed that I did not post on an Epistle last week and that I did not post on an Old Testament or Psalm verse this week. This week I changed things up by presenting two epistles. Yes I will post on something from the Gospels on Sunday (that will probably never change) but this week I wanted focus on the theme of heroism that is evident in both Epistle selections. Discussing Hebrews 11 requires us to make another change up by reading an actual entire chapter and giving minimal illustrative detail. The last change up is the fact that I will actually be discussing baseball in detail. Like Hebrews 11, baseball is known for its cherished heroes of bygone years. Of all the major professional sports, baseball has the most famous Hall of Fame. Over the years I have heard scores of ministers preach sermons that referred to Hebrews 11 as the Hall of Faith. This chapter's retelling of the acts of the heroes of the Faith is where the world of sports and religion meet up (in this chapter and in Tim Tebow). When you look up the definition of Faith in the dictionary you will usually find the text of Hebrews 11 verse 1... but it is usually from the popular and poetic King James translation: "Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." That is both the textbook definition of Faith and the biblical text definition. Faith is Babe Ruth pointing his bat in the direction that he will hit a home run before it is even pitched. There are many types of Faith depending on the object of that Faith. So what about religious faith? What about faith that's object is God? Well that is the type of faith that Hebrews 11:1 is discussing and the rest of the chapter shows faith in action. Faith is one of those things that you don't fully understand the definition of until you see it acted out. The actions of faith of the ancients in the Hall of Faith are reminiscent of a particular set of heroes in the baseball Hall of Fame. A few years back Major League Baseball took a season to honor the achievements of the Negro Leagues of the early 20th century. Sports is a subset of society at large and when Segregation ruled the land it also called the plays in athletics. Kadir Nelson's paintings documenting Negro League Baseball greats are all put together in a wonderful children's book entitled We Are The Ship. Kadir Nelson is probably this generation's Norman Rockwell and he uses this illustrative skill to depict the trials and joys in the journey of these sportsmen. They played in an era before Jackie Robinson fought to integrate the sport. Likewise the Old Testament heroes acted out their faith long before the time that Christ integrated the worlds of Man and God. It is with that hope in the promise of a new era one day that all of these heroes toiled. It is the hope of the future reward of knowing God fully that we fuel our present day faith.
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| Hilton Smith, Kadir Nelson |
...By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith...
Like an opening pitch from Hilton Smith, St. Paul (the assumed writer of Hebrews) starts off his catalogue of the faithful with the opening chapters of Genesis. He explains that we understand that understanding the universe is based upon the principle of faith, being that things that we cannot see and do not fully understand crafted those which we do see and comprehend. This is not a refutation of Science but rather assertion that there is someone working behind the curtain. There is more to life than we understand at the moment. That is always the case in spiritual matters and why a relationship with God is important. This faith centered relationship with Him can be understood as the first act of worship. Faith is an act of worship and is the beginning of how we connect with God. before he was murdered Abel worshiped through sacrifice. Before he was translated into Heaven Enoch-worshiped through a holy life. Before the judgment of the Flood Noah- worshiped in belief and obedience. All of these heroes acted in faith and their faith was accepted as suitable worship to a saving God.
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| Low And Away, Kadir Nelson |
...By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones...
Baseball is a peculiar sport in that to play the game one team most willingly and repeatedly throw the ball to the direction of the other team. The foundation of defense in baseball is something called the Battery. The members of the battery are the pitcher and the catcher and their communication and effective cooperation is paramount to the team's success. Faith is based on a community: a team. The community of faith has a similar battery. Before the community of Faith was the Church it was Israel and before there was an Israel there was a couple. It was just Abraham and Sarah. These fore parents of Israel were also the fore parents of faith. Through their obedience and growth with God we see faith enacted. When they finally have their son Isaac and Isaac begets Jacob, and Jacob begets the twelve patriarchs which includes Joseph we see the family of faith. Faith is a family, not necessarily a physical one but a spiritual one. We inherit the spiritual strength and teachings of those that have gone on before us. We stand on each other's shoulders in faith and communication and cooperation enable the whole team to grow.
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| Slide, Kadir Nelson |
...By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned...
When U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts sat through his Senate confirmation hearings he was asked what his job was as a judge. He responded that "My job is to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat." In stating this he was referencing the job of an Umpire, the on field judge in a baseball game. The umpire stands between both teams and upholds the laws of baseball. Similarly Moses stood between God and his people Israel upholding the divine Law of the Torah (first five legal books of the Old Testament). God not only chose Moses as giver of the Law, but Moses also sat a a judge overseeing the people's concerns. Everyday Moses heard cases and met out judgment according to God's Law. His caseload was so heavy that his father-in law, Jethro, convinced him to appoint other capable men as judges... like a circuit court system. As Hebrews 11 states, Moses was not only a judge and law giver but he was also the leader of the Israelites in all of their struggles from their emancipation until his death. Moses' actions display a faith that perseveres. It is also faith that exercises judgment. In all it is a faith that lasts because it foresees the endgame. It understands the whole council of God and the progressive direction that the object of our faith, God, is leading us to.
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| Kansas City Dougout, Kadir Nelson |
...By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground...
In the majority of sports the bench is seen as a place of shame. It is viewed as the seat of losers and extra unnecessary players. However a team is only as strong as its bench. In baseball it is shaded and called a Dugout. The offensive structure in baseball only allows for one batter at a time, so the dugout is not the place for forgotten players but a reserve of future leaders and scorers. The Kansas City Monarchs were such a strong franchise in Negro League Baseball because their "bench was so deep." Heroes of faith only last for so long and when they die God raises another one. They are a diverse group but God shows a different aspect of faith in each one. Rahab was a Gentile prostitute who ensured the Israelites conquest of the city of Jericho. Rahab shows faith that redeems the imperfect. Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah were all judges in Israel before a monarchy was installed. David and Samuel were kings, however, like Moses and the judges they overheard cases everyday and made decisions based on the counsel of God. Then Paul goes on to mention the unnamed prophets, soldiers, administrators and everyday women that exercised faith while suffering. Faith saves, faith exercises good judgment and faith empowers long suffering. Faith does all of this to show that true faith endures to the end. Faith goes all nine innings and beyond.
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| Game Bus, Kadir Nelson |
...These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Many of these greats of the Negro League jumped on the team bus and ventured off to another game in a segregated league. The would not go on to enjoy the fruits of their labor on a national, integrated stage like Jackie Robinson, Satchel Page and Willie Mays. But their years of struggle in an unjust system that made a way for the Black, Latin, Japanese and scores of other ethnically diverse players that have played in Major League Baseball since integration. None of the ancient believers in the Hall of Faith enjoy what you and I have. They died before seeing the fulfillment of their faith in God: Jesus the Messiah. Yet it is their great work and enduring faith that encourages us today. They surround us like a great cloud of witnesses from heaven. They watch us as if from a stadium in Heaven and when life presents trials to our faith they implore us to play on. They cheer until we see and opening to steal home and join them in Heaven. If we endure, if we can fight back the tears and remain in the game, then we too will be members in the Hall of Faith.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
-Hebrews 12:1
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