September 2008

For athletes running in the Olympic Games the presence, rising rank on rank in the steeply banked stadium around and above them, of a huge and supportive crowd, must have been an exhilarating experience and a powerful contribution to their achievement. I am also sure that for each athlete, running as they were in front of thousands, there was a keen sense that within that galaxy of spectators there was a little constellation that really counted for them; family, a nurturing teacher, an older role model, a supportive friend, whose presence, whose witness and support, meant more than that of thousands of others.

The Olympic Games began in the ancient, in the biblical world, and it was with the image of just such games in his mind that the author of the letter to the Hebrews, encouraging the young church in a time of persecution, wrote, ‘Therefore, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us...’

But now the great cloud of witnesses are not passing spectators at an earthly competition, looking for an afternoon’s entertainment; they are the innumerable hosts of heaven, the shining ranks of the faithful, all those who have run this earthly race and known for themselves the heat and dust with which we must contend, and who look on from the abode of bliss, encouraging and urging us on to the light and joy which they inhabit. Because of them we too can take courage in our own struggles in life and faith, and like the modern Olympians, we may keenly sense that in that great cloud of witnesses there is a special constellation that counts for us.

I feel that for St. Edwards there are particular saints and mystics, writers and teachers, whose life and witness are a special encouragement to us; from the great days of the universal church, there are figures like St. Augustine whose rigorous mysticism of love is as relevant as ever, St. Francis with his insights into our kinship with all creation, and mystics like Julian of Norwich, and from St. Edwards own family, extended through time, we are encouraged by the passionate compassion and courage of Latimer, the intellectual clarity and liberal vision of F D Maurice. Over this coming year we will be remembering from amongst the great cloud of witnesses, our own special constellation of encouraging and guiding saints, do look out for the Sundays when we celebrate their lives, and be encouraged and supported as you run the race that is set before you.