Sermon on Romans 15:4-13, for the 2nd Sunday in Advent, "With One Voice"
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. A runner strides along the racecourse, pushing toward the finish line. The marathon is a grueling race, and the frequent splashes of water on the face, and cool hydration for the body are life in this contest. The mind reduces to one single focus—finishing the race. The rhythmic pounding of legs against pavement makes the knees feel weak and wobbly as the runner grows weary. Then all of a sudden the runner hits “the wall”—the point where their body and mind conspire to convince them that they can’t possibly go any further. Their strength reserves and energy are exhausted, they’ve reached an insurmountable obstacle, and the only rational choice is to give up. Marathon runner Jerome Drayton put it this way: “To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who’s never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind.” But a great many marathon runners have pushed through...