Twelfth Night

“All these people didn’t receive what was promised, though they were given approval for their faith. God provided something better for us so they wouldn’t be made perfect without us.” (Hebrews 11:39-40)

I appreciated very much the member of Christ Church who, summarizing my preaching style, called me the “storyteller.” As I said in my summer series on interpreting the Bible a couple of years ago, the Bible is a story of God’s conversation with us, our reply, and God’s continuing response. The rest of chapter 11 before the verses above is a story of the faith of Israel, as expressed by faithful men and women, who kept moving forward, trusting in God’s promise even though they themselves did not see it.

The first readers of the Letter to the Hebrews, and we today, have received the promise: a newborn boy who will become the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. But through us who have seen the promise, those who handed on the baton of faith also see the promise now, and are being perfected as we are.

The story of our perfection is still continuing, as the baby is revealed to wise men, becomes a man with a message to proclaim, and who will die to reveal the depth of God’s love for us. On this “Twelfth Night” of Christmas, 2011, we are still running the race with Him, perfecting our faith in His. Our ancestors in faith have handed the baton on to us. And yet they still run with us toward the promise, whose light we now see. Don’t stop telling each other the story. It is the only story with a truly happy ending.