A Large and Great Cloud of Witnesses

A sermon based on Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-10, 24-26, 39 – 12:2a,
with additional readings from Ecclesiasticus 44:1-15 and Isaiah 25:6-9

Don Friesen
October 11, 2009
Ottawa Mennonite Church

www.ottawamennonite.ca

Some years ago Dorothy and I were travelling from Calgary to Lethbridge in mid-evening, which in the west is still quite light. We were treated to a sky-scape that only a prairie sky can offer – a panorama of clouds that almost encircled us. The vast sky looked like a gargantuan canvas on which an artist had painted a dazzling array of clouds. In the west were threatening clouds, dark and menacing, portents of stormy weather. In the east were lighter clouds through which filtered diagonal shafts of light. In the south were lower, enveloping clouds. The whole array of clouds cast a magical light over the endless prairie landscape, and the suffused light, coupled with an eerie absence of traffic, gave the scene an astounding otherworldly feel. Normally the colossal Rocky Mountains in the west held our attention, but on that day the clouds were rivetting!

Clouds often have a negative connotation in our language, even in devotional literature. Saint Catherine of Siena, a fourteenth century mystic, wrote of clouds of doubt, clouds of woe, and clouds of darkness, all clouds that inhibit our spiritual communion with God. (Treatise of Divine Providence) She wrote, "The cloud of self-love darkened the eye of my intellect." We talk of something clouding our vision or clouding our thinking. To say that someone is "on Cloud Nine" is not necessarily a compliment. To say that someone "has his head in the clouds" is intended as an insult. Clouds can be menacing, announcing bad news, like the devastating descent of hail, a tornado, a typhoon, or a hurricane!

The Clouds that Populate the Scriptures

We talk of cloud cover, and clouds may obscure our view of the heavens but in biblical literature clouds take on a more positive hue. Early on in the Scriptures God chose to set his rainbow in the clouds. Clouds became the venue for a sign of promise, a sign of the covenant between God and the human race. (Genesis 9:13) When the recently liberated slaves of Egypt stumbled their way home, we are told that the "Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud...." (Exodus 13:21) The people of God were guided by a cloud. There are other times in the Old Testament when we read that "the glory of the Lord appeared in (a) cloud". (Exodus 16:10) And then, in one of the foundational events of salvation history, the summit at Mount Sinai, Moses and God hold their consultation while covered by a "thick cloud". (Exodus 19:16; 24:16; Deuteronomy 5:22)

Occasionally the Scriptures mention clouds in a negative way, like the writer of Lamentations, who complains to God, saying, "You have wrapped yourself with a cloud... that no prayer can pass through." (3:44) A vivid image! At times a cloud can be a sign of doom (Ezekiel 30:3) or a bad omen (Ezekiel 30:18), but largely it figures as a positive metaphor. In fact, at Jesus' baptism "a bright cloud" appeared,"and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased...." (Matthew 17:5) Another cloud – or perhaps it was the same one? – appears at Jesus' transfiguration and offers a similar confirmation. (Luke 9:34-35) This is another important summit, as Jesus confers with Moses and Elijah (9:30-33), and the cloud is almost lost to view because the scene is enshrouded in this dazzling apparitional light and glory. The disciples were stunned, and even Peter, who normally verbalized his every thought and twitch, said nothing.

A cloud also plays a positive role in Jesus' ascension. (Acts 1:9) And when the Lord returns, says the New Testament, we "will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:30) And we will get to ride on that cloud! We, "who are alive," says 1 Thessalonians, "...will be caught up in the clouds ...to meet the Lord ...and ...be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

The biblical cloud image that jumped out at me on this occasion, however, is the "cloud of witnesses" mentioned in the book of Hebrews. (Hebrews 12:1) E.E. Cummings describes being abandoned to "a cloud of angry witnesses" (The Enormous Room, Chapter 11), but the image in Hebrews 12 is a positive one. The writer has just presented a gallery of saints who inspire our faith. (Hebrews 11) Oh, some of them had cause to be angry. Some of our spiritual ancestors died before even getting a glimpse of the biblical promise. Hebrews mentions those who "died ...without having received the promises...." (11:13) They felt like "nomads" (JER), of no fixed address, who kept wandering about in search of the promise.

The Hebrews Gallery of Saints includes Abraham and Sarah, who set out on a long trek with little information about their destination! (Hebrews 11:8-19) No GPS provided! They had to live in inadequate shelter for a long time, living as transients. Then God promised this exhausted couple offspring, but the promise came to a little late! Way past childbearing age!

The Hebrews Gallery features saints like the venerable Moses, who had to be squirrelled away in order to save his life. (Hebrews 11:23) It features the whole community crossing the Red Sea, at the risk of drowning! (11:29) How long would those walls of water hold? The Gallery features women, some of whom were tortured, others mocked, flogged, shackled and imprisoned! (11:35-36) Unimaginable horrors are specified in Hebrews 11 (11:37), but this cloud of witnesses, far from being angry or disillusioned, persevered in faith. (12:1) Like Jesus, "who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame" (12:2), the cloud of witnesses persevered in faith. It's an impressive cloud of witnesses, and it's an encouraging image of the Church. It is the intention of the writer of Hebrews that the saints "not grow weary or lose heart". (12:3)

The image of a cloud of witnesses represents not just one congregation, or one denomination, but the communion of the faithful throughout time! It includes all who have gone before us, and all who will follow in our wake! It includes those who have left us a heritage of faithfulness as well as those to whom we will leave a heritage of faithfulness.

The Nature of OMC's Cloud of Witnesses

The image of a cloud of witnesses is a wonderful image to describe the Church, and on a day that we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this congregation, I would like to suggest some of the things that characterize the Ottawa Mennonite Church (OMC) Cloud of Witnesses. Allow me to suggest five characteristics.

     1) The OMC Cloud of Witnesses Is a Large one

Firstly, I want to point out that the OMC cloud of witnesses is a large one. Once upon a time it was small. Once upon a time there was a handful of families who decided to launch a Mennonite congregation in the nation's capital, hundreds of miles from the nearest Mennonite church. It was a daunting step of faith, especially courageous when they decided to purchase land, build a chapel, and hire a minister. They went ahead, in faith, and nothing our congregation has done since matches the risk they took in doing so.

In reality we're but a medium-sized congregation, but we're bigger than we look. When I think of all the people who have passed through this congregation, our numbers swell enormously. In many congregations the majority of their members have roots in those congregations; there is little movement, in or out. Not so here. Most of us come from elsewhere, and many who were here for a time moved on. The bad news is that our membership through the years has been a very transient one; the good news is that they're now spread across the country. The OMC diaspora reaches from the Maritimes to Vancouver Island, and down to California. We touch people from Africa to New Zealand. The presence of many of you here today is testimony of your ongoing love for this congregation, even after years of being away. Had all the people who are no longer a part of this congregation stayed, this building would be far too small for us! So when Hebrews talks about a great cloud of witnesses, meaning a large cloud of witnesses – many witnesses – it applies to us. OMC over fifty years is not just a wisp of cloud, it's a large one. This congregation has touched the lives of many, many people.

     2) The OMC Cloud of Witnesses Is a Great one

Secondly, the OMC cloud of witnesses is a great cloud of witnesses, and I'm referring now, not to our size, but to the nature of the people who have comprised and continue to comprise this congregation. It has been my unique privilege to meet many interesting people through the years. For one thing we're an odd assortment of Christians, not only a unusual assortment of Mennonites, but an ecumenical assortment of believers that has drawn on a vast variety of Christian traditions: Anglican; Roman Catholic; Quaker; Plymouth Brethren; United; Christian Science; Lutheran; Orthodox; Hutterite; Presbyterian; Christian and Missionary Alliance; Baptist; Southern Baptist – you name it! We have even attracted some who didn't believe much of anything at all!

We have drawn the members of our community from across Canada, the United States, and Europe, including the Netherlands, England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, and the former Soviet Union – as well as New Zealand, Sudan, Botswana, South Africa, Ethiopia, Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda, Korea, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, and points elsewhere.

Interesting people have walked through this congregation: some odd people; some characters; many talented people; knowledgeable people; leadership people; people with years of cross-cultural experience; people who speak other languages; artists; musicians; scientists; teachers; and preachers. We're attracted a diversity of people, and it's been great! It has made all of our lives richer. There have been people with conservative views; people with liberal views; people with radical views. This congregation has managed to contain views contradictory to each other, as well as people with ideas that contradicted other ideas held by the same person!

This community has had amazing leadership. Four of our past ministers had doctorates. Two went on to teach at universities. One went on to become a university president and write the history of Mennonites in all of Canada. Another served Mennonite churches through engagement with people on Parliament Hill. Another joined a unique Roman Catholic community that serves the poor all over the world. The least interesting one stayed the longest. We have been blessed by the excellent leadership of those who have chaired this congregation, as well as the many others who contributed the talents and time without which a congregation would cease to function.

A great bunch of people have marched through this congregation, and each one has contributed a part of himself, herself, and become part of this community's story. It's been a privilege to be a part of that story.

     3) The OMC Cloud of Witnesses Is a Thick Cloud

Thirdly, the OMC cloud of witnesses is a thick cloud, and I'm not referring to our intelligence. The Scriptures talk more than once of thick clouds (Exodus 10:16; Job 26:8; 37:11), "dark with water". (Psalm 18:11) The image becomes even more vivid when one of the New Testament writers compares unproductive members of the Christian community to "waterless clouds" (Jude 12), "clouds without rain, blown along by the wind". (NIV) It also compares them to "trees without fruit, twice dead...."

Thick clouds, however, are clouds heavy with the blessing of rain. The OMC cloud of witnesses has endeavoured to be a thick cloud, sharing a gospel that has some substance, some fibre, some significance in the grand scheme of things. Not for us has been the caricature drawn in the New Testament book of James, in which a Christian says to a person in need, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and doesn't lift a hand to supply a source of warmth and nourishment! (James 2:16) In various ways we have tried to live out a practical and helpful discipleship, be that through counsel offered to draft dodgers; sports activities for youth in this neighbourhood; a service programme on the Hill, predating the Ottawa MCC office; assistance offered to refugees from all over the world; or ways of modelling fair trade.

     4) The OMC Cloud of Witnesses Is a Delicate Construct

Fourthly, I have observed that the OMC cloud of witnesses is a delicate construct. The diversity that has enriched our congregational story has also tested us at times. The transiency of our members have made for constant change in our composition. I remember, vividly, the summer we lost seventeen households, and at that time we were almost too small to withstand such a change. The forces of cohesion in this congregation have been weak at times, and we can only thank God's Holy Spirit for keeping this particular cloud from dissipating into a thousand small wisps of vapour!

Clouds are delicate and elusive formations, and I was not surprised to learn that clouds are difficult to paint. Some painters just leave them out! Clouds are easily dispersed, easily broken up. The poet, Shelley (1792-1822), wrote, in a poem called "The Cloud":

That orbed maiden with white fire laden,
Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
By the midnight breezes strewn;
And ...the beat of her unseen feet,
Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof...."

("The Cloud")