Emancipation Songs: Hebrews 11:29 - 12:2 - Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

²⁹By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.
  ³²And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They 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—³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
  ³⁹Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.
 ^12:1Therefore, 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, ²looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (NRSV)

Oklahoma Cotton Field by Marion Doss.  Creative commons image on flickr

The songs we’re singing this morning shouldn’t exist. 

I simply can’t imagine any human being embracing the faith of the people enslaving them.  

In 1667, the Virginia colony passed a law that black slaves had souls, and that it was possible for them to be Christian.  So slave owners began marching their slaves to church on Sunday morning—and the slaves were given a religious education.  Once they learned the stories, they made up songs about them.  They then began singing these songs as they toiled in the fields.  Bear in mind that slaves could neither read nor write.  But with few words and lots of repetition, the songs took on a life of their own. 

Even as the slaves endured endless hard work with little food, clothing, or rest; as many were beaten and abused by their “masters,” the impact of the songs was unmistakable.  The burden on their souls was lifted.  There was strength; there was joy; there was hope.  The slave masters were pleased because they worked harder and got more done. 

The spirituals gave the slaves freedom, even as most would never know freedom as you and I do today.  The spirituals were a tangible expression of God’s life and love meeting their reality.  They were freed in Christ even as their chains remained.

So we’re not just singing songs this morning.  We’re singing miracles—because God has been in the midst of human existence since time began.  Faith is what happens when God acts in people’s lives.  That’s why we have the Bible.  That’s why you’re here!

So as we consider the words of our second lesson from Hebrews, we mustn’t be thinking about what people did because they had faith.  Hear this passage as a testimony of what happened in people’s lives because God acted through the faith the Holy Spirit had given them.

And while amazing things happened like the Red Sea crossing, military victories of King David, and all kinds of miracles, many never saw such outcomes.  They were brutally impoverished, starved, persecuted, tortured, and murdered.  Yet they never gave up on God because God never gave up on them.  God held them in love through every trial and ordeal.  Jesus was fully alive within them even as they breathed their last.  As they faced the unimaginable, they were made able to see beyond it to the kingdom of God awaiting them.

Now I don’t want to romanticize slavery or the terrible things God’s children have endured throughout history.  Yet it must be said that these people clung to Jesus because Jesus was all they had.

This isn’t the case for most of us.  Every day, there are gods that set themselves up before you that promise you everything your heart desires.  Some of these gods can be human—as celebrities, politicians, or experts on matters that are of great concern.  They’re the people whose opinions about you matter most.  Many of these gods are bought and sold, promising pleasure, knowledge, convenience, and the ability to parade your greatness so all the world can see.  Others are intangible; like success, image, and control.  A god can be anything or anyone that that shouts “I alone can fix your problems.”

Every day, you and I sacrifice ourselves before these gods.  In the end, all they do is drag you deeper into sin; deeper into pain; deeper into alienation from God’s people. 

You have the freedom many of God’s people don’t to lay aside, let go, and take up your cross and follow Jesus.  This is the challenge God’s Word presents today.  You must fix your eyes upon Jesus.

The first way you do this is to look for Jesus in what hurts.  This is what the slaves did.  When they were sad or discouraged, they named it and they sang about it.  This is what spirituals like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” do.  Jesus is present in the hurts—and not just yours, but other people’s hurts, too… 

The second way you do this by looking for Jesus in what is good—and giving thanks.  We are all so quick to think Jesus is absent, when in fact he’s been here all along, and we’re just not paying attention!  Faith is God’s way of opening your eyes to all of the gifts and graces that exist in your world, even in the worst of times.  Moreover, it is in gratitude that you realize your freedom to set someone else free from what is hurting them, even if only for a moment. 

God desires for you what God gave to the slaves: as they sang “Let us Break Bread” they were feasting with Christ as they labored on the cotton fields.  As they were abused and mistreated, God gave them “peace like a river.”  When Satan had them bound and when they were in trouble, Jesus lifted them. 

As a child of God, this is yours to claim—and yours to give.  So sing out the love of your God—and let your light shine!