This week there were more warnings concerning the possibility of some sort of attack by terrorists. And I am confident this will not be last such warning. From all I have heard from our leaders, it seems very clear that our ordeal with terrorists is going to be long one. Already there are casualties among our citizens, and there will probably be more.

This set of circumstances makes the passage we read especially relevant because the Book Of Hebrews was addressed to people who were facing terrible times. Already some had been tortured and some killed, and it was apparent more would suffer. One of the obvious intents of the Book of Hebrews was to encourage the faithful, to remind them of who they were and to remind them about the gifts, the resources of faith that were theirs.

This is certainly evident in the passage we read today. As I see it, the basic theme in that passage is: "Let's run the race that is set before us with perseverance, keeping our focus on Jesus, because Jesus is the pioneer who has blazed the trail through bad times, enduring suffering he did not deserve." As I read the passage, it was Jesus' faith, his trust in God, that gave him the hope he needed to endure the shame and suffering of the cross. Jesus trusted God would use his pain and public disgrace to bring about ultimate victory, even though, to the world his crucifixion looked like total failure and defeat. He trusted God would somehow use his public disgrace, suffering and death to fulfill God's plan for all creation.

Jesus is what the writer of Hebrews called the "perfecter of our faith;" that is, Jesus is the one who shows us not only what it is to trust God but in the resurrection Jesus shows us that even in crucifixions, God is trustworthy. The writer tells us that if we will keep our lives focused and centered on Jesus who was crucified and raised from the dead, we will be able to face what we must face and move on with our lives without losing heart.

But how can we keep our focus on Christ so that we do not lose heart, especially in the midst of bad times?

In the passage we read, the writer spoke about our being surrounded by of a cloud of witnesses. The people the writer of Hebrews had in mind were were not only men and women of faith who lived long ago but also faithful women and men who were alive at the time he was writing. They were people whose living not only illustrated what it is to be faithful, but whose living also inspired the people to whom the Book of Hebrews was addressed to live by faith.

As I see it, the people who are in this cloud of witnesses are those persons who not only enable us to see and understand more clearly the Jesus the Bible describes but also inspire and encourage us to live our lives focusing on Jesus. Each of us is surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses: not only the women and men of the Bible and faithful men and women across the centuries of Christianity, but also faithful persons we have known. It is these we have known personally who are most often, the most effective in showing us what faithfulness looks like and inspiring us to be faithful.

Who is in your cloud of witnesses? Who in your experience helps keep you focused on Christ, and inspires you to live trusting God?

One of the people in my cloud of witnesses is Dean Joe Quillian. After one of our annual conference sessions that had gone especially bad because of protesters and the mishandling of protesters, I was blue and discouraged. I guess it showed, as I stood leaning against the wall outside the sanctuary of Travis Park United Methodist Church in San Antonio. Dean Quillian, who had been the guest preacher that week, walked up to me, put both hands on my shoulders and pushed them up against the wall. "Put those shoulders back and get your head up," he said. "You know enough church history to know the Church has been through a lot worse than this in the past and will probably face a lot worse in the future." Joe Quillian is in my cloud of witnesses, telling me to grow up in the faith; to stop being sentimentally naive about what is involved in being faithful and in being the Church. Who is your Joe Quillian?

One time when I was not yet old enough to go to school and was very sick, my kindergarten Sunday School teacher, Ms Grace (her name was Grace Shaver but everyone called her Ms Grace) came to see me. I heard her enter the house telling my mother, "I have not come to see you today. I have come to visit Jimmy." Her visit meant more to me than I can say. Looking back, I can see that it told me I mattered, that I was special to her and in the process helped me discover what it means to be loved by God. Without out preaching a sermon, she proclaimed the good news that I was not a "nobody;" she helped teach me I really am "somebody." Who has helped you discover that you matter, that you are loved by God? My family moved to San Angelo just a few days after I graduated from high school. It was not an easy move for me. I was very lonesome. One day, I was mowing our front yard; a guy in a pickup drove by, stopped and backed up. "I'm Marcus Young," he said. "I met you in church Sunday. I'm going to the movies tonight; do you want to go with me?" At the time, all I knew was how glad I was to have someone in that strange new place to be friendly. Later I realized, through Marcus I had come to understand the importance of what Jesus was talking about in the parable about the last judgment when Jesus blessed those who would welcome the stranger. Marcus is in my cloud of witnesses. Who in your cloud of witnesses helps you remember to reach out to the lonely?

Many of you have heard me talk about Mrs. Baker, an elderly woman who was a member of of the congregation I served in Mathis. This woman who struggled to make financial ends meet by baking pies for a couple of restaurants in town, who had such advanced arthritis it was difficult for her to walk, who had gone deaf as an adult but had taught herself to read lips, who had more than her share of sadness, disappointment and heartache in her family, this woman with many problems, in the five years I was in Mathis never whined or complained to me about her situation. But frequently, some months as often as once a week she would be in my office, asking (really more or less telling) me to help her find shoes for the children of some migrant worker so that they could go to school in the cold weather, or asking me to help her find some way to help a child of a migrant worker get glasses or a warm coat. And I learned, she came to me for help only when she had exhausted all her resources. She was not one of these folks who simply says: "This is what you ought to be doing." She was one of those rare persons who was heavily invested in helping those who really needed help, and when she called on me for help, her call had the powerful authority of one who had done and was doing much, much more than she ever asked of me. Mrs. Baker is in my cloud of witnesses continually teaching me and reminding me not just to say I love my neighbors but to get off my bottom and to walk the pious talk I talk. Who is the Mrs. Baker in your cloud of witnesses? I could go on for long time calling the roll of those in my cloud of witnesses, and I am confident you could do the same. On this All Saints Sunday, it is appropriate for us to remember these persons who populate these clouds of witnesses that travel with us wherever we go. No one of these persons fully exemplifies what we see in Jesus, but the composite witness of their living not only helps us see and understand more clearly the Jesus described in the Bible, but also helps us keep our focus on Jesus so that we live by faith and do not lose hope, even in bad times.

The times we are in are not easy. The writer of Hebrews urges us at all times, and certainly in bad times, to run the race that is set before us with perseverance, keeping our focus on Jesus, because Jesus is the pioneer who has blazed the trail through bad times, enduring suffering he did not deserve. Trusting God, even in the face of crucifixion, Jesus showed us how to face even the worst of times. Confident God is not defeated, even by crucifixions, Jesus showed us how to live with hope, regardless of the situation.

Listen again to these words from the passage we read. "Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart."

God, we are grateful for the cloud of witnesses who go with us wherever we are, reminding us and inspiring us to keep our focus on Jesus as we run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Amen.

Let us thank God for the gifts and blessings we have received.

We have come here with a variety of concerns and problems. Let us ask God for guidance and help. God, as we participate in this service of Holy Communion, we remember those persons dear to us who have died this past year. Thank you for their lives and for all the good memories we enjoy; we are grateful for all they said and did that inspires us to live better lives. We also thank you for the wisdom and strength that comes to us through the painful memories. God, for all the ways your grace was at work through them, we give you thanks. Thank you for each of these persons who have been part of this church family: [read the names of each] (After each name is read, the congregation responds: "For ______ thanks be to God.")

God, there are others who have died whose lives have touched us deeply. Hear our prayers of gratitude for these persons we now silently name in our hearts.

God, the horrors of September 11 are still fresh in our minds. Hear our prayers of compassion and concern for all those who died on that terrible Tuesday and for their family and friends.

As we gather in Holy Communion with Christ, may we also be aware of our communion with all those who have died in the faith. This we pray in Jesus name. Amen.