Legacy Sunday

Life isn't an individual event—it's a team event, a human event, and we're in this together with each other and for each other. Even more, we're in this with those who came before, who handed us the baton of this great race, and with those who will come after and carry on the work. The first followers of Jesus had a word for those people—hagias, saints—not stained glass perfection, but those who have been used by God for good in our lives, for love, life, and liberation.

The author of Hebrews paints this beautiful picture: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us." These are the people who have run the race before us, caught their breath, and are cheering us on right now. The Greek word "surrounded" means being bound up together—their lives are interwoven in ours, surrounding us and woven into who we are.

We don't get to choose what part of the race is set before us, but we get to choose how we run. At this church, we stand on the shoulders of those who faced great obstacles and oppression—inclusion advocates, integration pioneers, saints who opened doors we walk through today. They could not have imagined what God was doing, just like we can't imagine where our race will lead.

We run in honor of those who have gone before and for the sake of those who will come after, pursuing God's dream of justice, joy, and peace with courage, creativity, and conviction. May we run our leg of this great relay with perseverance, knowing we're surrounded by that great cloud of witnesses.