September 2025 Chimes
Pastor’s
Letter
Dear siblings in Christ,
Sometimes there are Sundays when the lectionary gives us so many rich readings, it’s impossible to touch on them all in a single sermon. August 17 was one of those weeks for me. I preached on the gospel that morning, but the reading from Hebrews 11–12 has stayed with me, and I’d like to share a reflection on it here.
The writer of Hebrews paints a sweeping picture of the story of God’s people, moving through generations of ancestors in the faith. Some names are familiar—Moses, Gideon, David, Samuel. Others are left unnamed, described only by their struggles and endurance. Together, they form what the author calls a “great cloud of witnesses,” those who have run the race of faith before us and now surround us with their presence and encouragement.
What strikes me is how ordinary these ancestors were. They were not flawless. In fact, many of them carried glaring imperfections. Moses lost his temper. David abused his power. Sarah laughed at God’s promises. And yet, their lives bore witness to God’s power and promise.
Here is where our Lutheran tradition gives us language for the paradox: simul iustus et peccator—at the same time righteous and sinner. Our ancestors in the faith were not saints because they got everything right, but because God claimed them, forgave them, and worked through them, nonetheless. The same is true for us. We are at once broken and redeemed, imperfect and beloved, stumbling and yet carried forward by grace.
In many ways, we stand in that same tradition. We are not called to be perfect heroes of faith. We are called to take our place in the ongoing story God is writing, running the race that is set before us with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
It is humbling to think that just as we look back at Moses or Rahab or Sarah as examples, someday others in the family of faith may look back at us. They may tell stories of how we kept faith through uncertainty, how we showed kindness in a divided world, how we trusted in God’s promises when life was hard. Our lives, too, may become part of the witness that encourages someone else to keep going.
So let us be encouraged: we are not alone in this race. We are surrounded—by those who came before us, by one another, and by the One who has already gone ahead to make the way clear.
In Christ,
Pastor Laura
Read the full issue HERE.