Scripture: Hebrews 12:3 – “Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.” (NRSV)
If you have lived in Massachusetts for a while, you have become familiar with the Boston Marathon, the centerpiece of the Patriots’ Day celebration in Boston. It is such an anomalous holiday: celebrated only in New England, marked by the only AM starting time in the Major League Baseball season, containing all the festivity of a massive parade with sweaty runners as the only participants. In a region where March and April weather can be iffy, the Marathon marks the beginning of spring in a special way.
One of the centerpieces of the Boston Marathon is “Heartbreak Hill”, a relatively steep hill near Boston College. All marathon courses have their ups and downs, but this hill occurs at a place in the race when runners are at their most vulnerable, and they often hit a wall. Their muscles seize up and they may have to walk or even pause to continue the race. This can be the difference between victory and defeat for competitive runners and between completing the race at all or not for amateurs.
The long road of life is compared to a marathon with great regularity. Life is an endurance test, but there come points where even the hardiest of us begin to buckle. These may be things like the sudden loss of a job, the shattering of a relationship, the death of a loved one, or the realization that one is no longer able to do the things they used to do. Like Heartbreak Hill, they occur well along life’s path. They are times when we have gone to far to turn around or quit but feel we cannot move forward either.
When we reach these heartbreaking moments in our lives, we must remember the heartbreak of another who walked through a strange parade through a city. Jesus’ passion contained many terrible moments, but one of them was the long road from the governor’s palace to Golgotha, where he was to be crucified. Jesus was forced to walk that way publicly, carrying at least partially the cross that would be used to kill him. As he walked, he did not have the cheering well-wishers of Boston, but jeering throngs that laughed at him or celebrated his suffering. And before him was that hill of Golgotha, where all the world’s heart would break.
The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us to keep Jesus’ suffering in mind when we reach such heartbreaking moments in our lives. Jesus endured it all, not to prove his strength to his enemies, but to show us God’s mercy that we might be forgiven for our sins. And if our Lord could endure such trials as a human, we can find strength through him to face our own troubles. So, when you reach those Heartbreak Hill moments in your life, when we feel too weak or tired or angry to carry on, remember the life and suffering of Jesus, and you will find the strength to carry on.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the example of Jesus Christ, who calls us to glory through our suffering. Amen.
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