The Race Set Before Us

Defend the Black Vote

Defend the Black Vote is combating massive voter suppression with massive voter mobilization. We believe these voters are ready and willing to cast their ballots when they are informed and engaged – not overlooked. Democracy works best when every eligible voter casts their ballot and has their vote counted. Only then do communities have elected representation that reflects their interests and meets their needs. When Black voters make their voices heard, their power is felt. Anti-democratic forces know that, and that’s why they try to suppress voting rights. We’re working to make sure Black voters make their voices heard at the ballot box.

Our successful, field-tested outreach and education program targets millions of Black voters with peer-to-peer texting campaigns, social engagement, and more. Defend the Black Vote is one of the most significant GOTV efforts, directly reaching millions of Black men and successfully moving them to cast a ballot.

The People For American Way Religious Affairs program was founded by our board member and longtime community leader, Rev. Timothy McDonald. The Religious Affairs program has served to unite leaders across faith traditions, driving civic engagement, voter turnout, and the fight for equality. From Souls to the Polls efforts and beyond, we’re proving that people of diverse faiths can form a powerful movement to counter White Christian Nationalists and all who stoke hate and division.

The Religious Affairs program is designed to help African American churches and communities fight off racist attacks and combat voter suppression efforts led by right-wing media and Christian nationalism from the radical Evangelicals. Through a series of trainings and convenings, the program will create plans for aggressive voter engagement and turnout for local, state, and federal elections with an emphasis on combating rampant misinformation and disinformation campaigns. 

The Race Set Before Us

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us... Hebrews 12:1 (NRSV)

Between the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2024 Presidential Election, we have been captured by the emotional journey of watching a race. This summer, we have cheered for the runner who came from behind to break the tape at the last minute and been overwhelmed by the swift transitions in the presidential race. But there is a more significant race set before us this season.

The theme of this sermon toolkit—The Race Set Before Us—draws directly from the encouragement in the Letter to the Hebrews to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” During an election season, the preacher must steward both the urgency of the short run and the priority of the long run. Such preaching calls the faithful to take immediate action to shape the contours and conditions of faith-rooted community-building, organizing, and advocacy that follow the election. It reminds communities of moral courage that they come from a long line of courageous people and communities who acted with great faith to bridge differences, build power, and cultivate Beloved Community. At this moment, it is a call to run the race set before us faithfully.

This toolkit endeavors to provide inspiration and information that support the preaching and teaching of faith leaders in the final weeks of the 2024 election season. This toolkit offers a set of preaching ideas based on a single passage from Hebrews 11:29-12:3, including analysis of the text, and reflection questions. Additionally, there are links to additional resources for preaching, issues priorities of People for the American Way, and information about voting in general.

Hebrews 11:29 - 12:3 - New Revised Standard Version

• 11:29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

• 32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

• 39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better so that they would not, without us, be made perfect.

• 12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

• 3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

Analysis and reflection

Studying the Text

This passage comes near the end of the letter. The thrust of the letter has been to place Jesus within the context of the religious history and tradition of his ancestors. Chapter 11 begins the discourse on faith that many in the church are familiar with: 

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 
(Hebrews 11:1 KJV)

The writer proceeds to tell the “faith story” of the spiritual ancestors, emphasizing the stories of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Moses, and Abraham. “By faith,” these ancestors embodied the “substance” and “evidence” of stepping out on nothing but landing on something. 

By the time we reach the focus scripture (11:29ff), the writer briefly lists the names of additional heroes in the spiritual lineage and (without names) the many feats of faith who are now part of a “great cloud” of spiritual forbearers. The writer is celebrating the stories, memories, and legacies of the spiritual lineage - the great faith of those who relied on God’s promises for the future. They remind the church of the everyday people, prophets, judges, and kings who acted with faith - from Rahab and Samson to Barak (and Deborah) to David and Samuel. 

The faithful's feats are as numerous as the names listed. These ancestors “administered justice,” “shut the mouths of lions,” and “quenched raging fire.” The receivers of this letter would likely have known the names attached to these feats, like Gideon, Daniel, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. They might be familiar with the stories of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, who brought life back to the sons of widows. 

Perhaps they would remember the stories of their more recent ancestors and martyrs who endured the anguish of the Maccabean Revolt some two hundred years earlier. These faithful, unsung heroes faced torture, flogging, chains, and execution by stoning, sawing, and the sword. Destitute, they wandered the earth and hid in mountains, caves, and holes, wearing the skin of sheep and goats. So great was their faith that the writer declares the world “was not worthy of them.”

Whether they accomplished incredible feats or endured great suffering, these paragons of faith are now in the “cloud of witnesses” who surround this first-century generation.  The writer of Hebrews offers this early church community wisdom and courage for the journey ahead. The writer counsels them to rid themselves of anything that would hold them back in this race and look to the faith and example of Jesus as their inspiration and destination. They are urged to keep their eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher, who endured great suffering and overcame it. Following his example, they will not lose courage (heart) in the race set before them.

Reflections for the Preacher

This passage reads as if it could be a sermon itself. It unpacks the meaning of ancient texts and stories familiar to the community. It weaves together the fabric of these narratives toward a single truth, vision, and calling. It is a eulogy and charge, tribute and motivational speech.

Indeed, by starting the reading at this point in the letter, one feels as if they have walked into the church in the middle of the sermon. Up to this point, the preacher has offered an expository presentation on the topic of faith, outlining the narratives of the great patriarchs and matriarchs who “by faith” accomplished great deeds. Now, the preacher is building their case by invoking the names and stories of countless others who “by faith” lived into the calling of their moment in history. 

We can imagine the call and response between the preacher and the congregation. We can see heads nodding as the preacher runs through the list of stories familiar to the faithful in songs and spirituals. The whoop and celebration build as the preacher brings the congregation home to the central charge: Now it is your turn to run this race “by faith,” with perseverance, looking to Jesus, the beginning and end of our faith.

Ideas for preaching

This toolkit intends to ignite the preacher’s imagination for preaching a sermon about civic engagement or a series of sermons in the final weeks of the election season. As we urge our congregations to Get Out the Vote, we create space for theological and ethical reflection on the meaning of our vote and social action.

Below are preaching ideas based on the key verse - Hebrews 12:1, and organized under three sub-themes:

• Cloud of Witnesses - Celebrating, honoring & practicing the faith of our elders and ancestors.
• What Weighs Us Down - Hindrances, and What is at Stake in this Election Moment

• Persevering in the Transgenerational Race - Seeing the 2024 election with the longer arc of history, resistance to injustice, and visions for Beloved Community

   

The Cloud of Witnesses

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses...
- Hebrews 12:1a (NRSV)

This text and season offer the preacher an opportunity to celebrate the ways we preserve the stories and wisdom of our ancestors. The writer of Hebrews offers a long list of individuals who are the paragons of the tradition, as well as references to feats and actions that evoke stories that would have been passed down in sacred texts, teaching, and oral traditions. Indeed, some of the individuals and actions named may be familiar to those formed by Black religious tradition. The writer is telling stories that have been encapsulated in the music of Black religious tradition—crossing the Red Sea, Joshua “fitting” the battle of Jericho, and Daniel in the Lion’s Den. In the same way that this ancient letter preserves the stories of these spiritual ancestors, the songs & spirituals of the Black Church tradition carry these stories and their wisdom.

This election season is also an opportunity to “say the names” of the women, men, and communities in Black history that embodied a resilient faith, practiced prophetic resistance, and modeled enduring love. They may be towering figures in American history -  Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, WEB DuBois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, A. Phillip Randolph, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, and Bayard Rustin. They may be banned writers and poets, underappreciated artists and musicians who helped us envision a healed and healing world - James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday. They may be among the prophetic leaders who faced opposition even as they helped us interpret and embody the faith, such as Howard Thurman, Prathia Hall, Ella Mitchell, and Samuel DeWitt Proctor.   They may be among the too-long list of those martyred for the color of their skin - Oscar Grant, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Ahmad Aubery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Sonya Massey, and countless names that never made the national news.

The violence listed in 11:35-38 evokes deep and visceral feelings. Here, one is reminded of the violence of enslavement, the history of lynching in the US, and the injustice of police brutality and mass incarceration. Such atrocities also bring to mind the mostly nameless ancestors and communities who endured suffering and lived in hiding among so-called Maroon societies throughout the African diaspora in the Americas - Brazil, Peru, Belize, Jamaica, Columbia, Florida, and Texas. These individuals engaged in active resistance and embraced ideals of liberation and self-determination that still inspire us today.

Against this panoply of heroes, the preacher may urge the faithful to find courage in the wisdom of a host of spiritual and cultural ancestors who are “in the stands,” cheering us on. The faithful are encouraged to run the race set before them because others stood up, sat down, and marched before them. We have these forerunners at our backs, and we have Jesus, the ultimate embodiment of faith, as the pacesetter running before us. Indeed, we can “walk together” and not “get weary,” keeping our “eyes on the prize” and our “minds stayed on Jesus.”

Reflection Questions

• Who are the witnesses in the history of the congregation and community? 
• What are the stories of civic engagement, organizing for voting rights, and social change within the congregation and community?
• How can these stories and untold stories be retold and reexamined for the ethical and theological reflection of the congregation and community?

• How can we honor and embody these witnesses in this moment?

   

What Weighs Us Down

Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely..
- Hebrews 12:1b (NRSV)

The imperative articulated in this verse has two parts. Here, we address the first part. Before attempting to “run the race,” this early church community is urged to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely.” Preaching on this theme in the context of a significant national and local election season provides the preacher with the occasion to give voice to the encumbrances and distractions that face individuals, families, communities, and the broader society in contemporary contexts. Recognition of and lamentation about these challenges also creates space for preaching that strengthens the faith of congregants amid the pain, suffering, and tensions that shape this moment of crisis and opportunity.

We are more aware than ever of what weighs us down in life. The ubiquity of telecommunications technology and media allows us to be linked up to lots of information and stories and, therefore, hyper-cognizant of the pain in the world. John Shelly described sin as the “orientation of the self as one of presumption, arrogance, pride and the will to dominate.”¹ At every dimension - internal, interpersonal, institutional/structural, and cultural, we witness the weight of pain and the “sin that clings.”

We know about the crisis of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and the rise in suicide rates. Indeed, the social media that delivers this news is also a contributor to the mental health crisis. We regularly encounter stories and statistics on housing, health, and educational inequities. Every week, we learn about another mass shooting or incidence of police brutality. Our concern for the wars in Gaza and Ukraine has heightened our awareness of insurgency, ethnic violence, border disputes, drug wars, and civil wars across the globe, from Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Haiti to Columbia, from Myanmar to India. All of this is happening on a planet and atmosphere that is overheating and weighed down by the decisions and indecision of governments and corporations to address the impacts of climate change effectively.

This doomscroll of pain and suffering contributes to the polarization and societal tensions on display in the electoral process. It impacts the future visions of younger generations. New questions arise about the viability of pursuing education and career aspirations, starting a family, and owning a home. This pain contributes to generational tensions and growing hopelessness and pessimism about the future, as well as our capacity to engage in cross-generational work together.

But this polycrisis is also a poly-opportunity. Lamenting the grief, pain, and suffering in people’s lives and society can be part of the healing experience. There is a catharsis or release that comes when we hear the preacher acknowledge the pain in our lives. We feel less alone. We are permitted to acknowledge our pain without shame and stigma. We can begin to imagine together what healing looks like for ourselves, individually and collectively. We have more opportunities to engage in ministries that address suffering and injustice. Indeed, movements for justice and theologies of liberation begin with open-hearted recognition of suffering and pain.

The preacher may offer a framework for holding space for the multiple levels of suffering in our communities and world. While faithfulness does not exempt us from trial and tribulation, we do have the capacity to give voice to, destigmatize, and collectively engage the pain, suffering, and injustice we witness all around us. Such acknowledgment and affirmation could help to lift the weight off our collective shoulders and create pathways for healing in our communities. Perhaps we can imagine and practice co-generational bridge-building and organizing toward justice and healing in our world.

Reflection Questions

• What is the pain, grief, and suffering that accompanies the people and families that make up the congregation and community?
• How might we create space for collective lament and communal support?

• What are the opportunities for sharing wisdom for these times between and among generations within the congregation and community?

   

  ¹Bartlett, David L.; Barbara Brown Taylor. Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) (p. 891). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. 

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Persevering in the Transgenerational Race

And let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us... 
- Hebrews 12:1c (NRSV)

Part two of the imperative - after laying aside every weight - is to run the race with perseverance. Just as the writer of Hebrews places Jesus and the early church community within the long arc of history, so too is the preacher invited to place the current moment within the context of God’s unfolding history. In an election season, the preachers must remind the faithful of the timely nature of our ministry and prophetic action. 

We must imagine our work with reverence for our history, clarity about the present moment, and a vision for futures we will never see. This way of holding the moment is “transgenerational.” Our work today will live in an arc that started long before us, and that will extend long after us. Here, the preacher invites the faithful to see God at work in history, in this moment, and the future.

Paying attention to our history and the witness of our ancestors helps us remember that we are not alone in history. It reminds us that we have been here before. We follow the footsteps of those who walked the path with the same questions, without all the answers, yet with faith. Indeed, the political story of Black people in the US is about a series of actions toward a vision of full democracy being met with reactions to limit and redefine who is included in that vision: from Reconstruction to Jim Crow, from the Civil Rights Movement to the War on Drugs, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the challenges of this very moment: January 6th, the current wars on voting rights and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), stacked courts, bans on books, decreasing reproductive freedoms, and the rise of white Christian nationalism.

As faith leaders encourage their congregations and communities to turn out souls to the polls this season, the proposition is to engage the very souls of voters in the deeper spiritual meaning of civic participation. It is an opportunity to promote voting, as well as all the community building, organizing, and advocacy that must follow the election. Voting is one action in a series of actions that drive social change. Building a commitment to such action requires that the preacher create space for ongoing theological and ethical reflection at the nexus of faith and public life. Seeing ourselves as part of a long tradition facilitates such action.

We are in a relay race. As the hymn reminds us, we’ve come this far by faith, and we can’t turn around. The ancestors are coming up behind us with the baton, screaming, “Stick!” It is our time to take the baton and run with all our might. It is our turn to participate in God's ever-unfolding story. To draw from the river of history, to take courageous action at this moment, and to make more history and wisdom for our descendants downstream.

We run this race with our minds and eyes on Jesus, who did not lose sight of the joy that was set before him. Keeping our eyes on the prize generates perseverance in a world tired of waiting and averse to long-range planning. Keeping our minds on Jesus helps us persevere, whether the political context is foreboding or suddenly infused with new energy.

This season, we are called to be the new pioneers, opening up new possibilities and preparing a path for those who come behind us.

Reflection Questions

• How does placing the work of this current moment in the context of God's unfolding history open our imaginations for faithful and hopeful action?
• Take a look at the hyperlinks -  in the third paragraph - that highlight People For issue priorities this season. Imagine the ways the preacher can place these issues within the longer arc of history in the US.
• What are the spiritual practices in your community that help the faithful keep their "eyes stayed on Jesus?"

Additional Resources 

Below are links to additional resources, including recordings of Instagram (IG) Live conversations with national religious and organizing leaders about The Race Set Before Us and links to toolkits developed by trusted faith-rooted institutions.