(Prepared to go with a sermon on Hebrews 13:1-14)
We live in a huge country. It’s so big that it’s hard for foreigners to grasp just how big it is. Even for those of us who live here, it’s sometimes hard to wrap our heads around the distances involved. Every time my wife and I travel east of the Cascades I marvel at the endurance and fortitude of the pioneers who took months out of their lives to travel the Oregon Trail. Even yet, there are miles upon miles of emptiness.
How did they do it? How did they know where to go? How did they know where the passes through the mountains are and which places to avoid? How did they know where to find water and where to camp? What gave them the confidence they needed to leave their old life behind and push on into the unknown?
One answer to these questions is, of course, that others had already made the journey. There were published guide books which described what to expect on the trail. The fact that others had already passed that way gave people the confidence that they could make it, too. But even with guide books and scouts who had been over the trail before, the journey was still incredibly risky. Over 50,000 people died on the trail, mostly from illness. That’s as many as our soldiers who died in the Vietnam War.
Spiritually, we’re also on a journey. Sometimes it seems long. Sometimes it seems daunting. Sometimes we wonder whether we’ll be able to make it to the next watering hole. Sometimes we wonder if there’s an end to the trail.
Though the trail sometimes seems rough and hard, we can have confidence in our journey and especially that we can reach our destination. The reason we can have that confidence is that Someone has already gone before us and has shown us the way. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:12-23 NIV)
Yes, we can have confidence on our journey toward heaven because our trail-guide is faithful. He not only has gone before us to blaze the way, he has equipped us for our journey by means of the sacrifice He made for us.
One of the purposes for our gathering today is to remember our guide and the sacrifice He made. As we eat the bread which reminds us of His body, and as we drink the juice which reminds us of His blood, let’s renew our confidence. As long as we follow our guide, we’re guaranteed to reach our heavenly destination.
