Benny Nalkara,CMI

“Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:1-2).

The Letter to the Hebrews which stands out as a unique literature in the realm of the biblical scholarship is considered as a ‘word of exhortation’ (logos tesparakleseos) or a ‘sermon’ rather than a letter written by an unknown but committed and responsible Christian leader to a group of Christians who were in danger of giving up their Christian commitment when they were undergoing severe persecution and imprisonment because of their association with Jesus. So the author writes this letter to tell them that Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God’s love and mercy and that God will never abandon them.

The pilgrim aspect of Christian life gets many parallel thoughts from the Letter to the Hebrews, where the Christian community is presented as a community on the move. The main idea that prompted the author of this work was that Jesus Christ is the High Priest of the new people of God, the new and the living way on which the readers are to keep on walking so that they reach the goal of their pilgrimage. On this pilgrimage, Christ as the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:1-2).After giving a “genealogy’ of figures who collectively function typologically to point to Jesus, the ‘pioneer and perfecter of faith’ in Chapter 11, the author of the Hebrews presents Jesus’ faithfulness as ‘both the model to follow and the means by which salvation has been accomplished.’The author of Hebrews is concentrating here on the divine and the human aspects of the person of Christ, and thereby invites the readers to develop a personal and intimate relationship towards this unique and universal trail-blazer and goal-setter of human history.

In our pilgrimage of faith, Jesus is presented as the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. The word archēgon in the Greek can be translated as “originator,” “author,” “founder,” “prince,” “captain” or “pioneer.” Jesus is the first cause of our faith. He blazed the trail of faith, showing us what it means to trust our heavenly Father with our whole lives. The language of faith in its deepest essence, the very element of trust and dependence is found in Jesus. In the crisis hours of His life it was faith that sustained Him. Christ is the pioneer of our faith by his words, by his works and by his inspiration.

The author also calls him the “perfecter” of our faith. This word teleiōtēn in Greek translated “perfecter” in Hebrews 12:2 appears only this one time in the New Testament. The word literally means “to carry through or complete,” and translated as “completer” or “finisher” and speaks of bringing something to its conclusion. For the goal that was set before him, he endured all things; to win it meant the way of the Cross. He ran with endurance.  His sacrificial death on a cross, and his resurrection three days later, completed the mission of God.

Understanding Christian life as a journey or a race, the author refers to the basic requirements for the successful completion of such a courageous journey or hopeful race, namely, the laying aside of all extra weight and the actual running of the race with perseverance and determination as Jesus did. There is in life an essential duty of discarding things. There may be habits, pleasures, self-indulgences, associations which hold us back. We must shed them as the athlete sheds his track suit when he goes to the starting-mark; and often we will need the help of Christ to enable us to do so. Jesus is the perfect example of someone who laid aside anything that kept him from doing the will of his Father. He is the model of enduring the experience of suffering for the faithfulness to the Father.

As faithful followers of Christ we proclaim our faith. But for us faith is often an unfinished product. We often fail to perfect or complete our faith. Our imperfections of faith are due to our attachments, ambitions and attitudes. Forgetting the essence of faith, namely, the trust and faithfulness to the heavenly father, we focus on the rituals and rubrics of faith, which will never take us near to the goal. Here, it’s the question of reflecting on the humanity of Jesus, who stood firm in his commitments to the Father and became a perfect model to emulate.