Weekly Sermon of
Fr. Dave Johnson

Episcopal Church of the Resurrection 

“Good News for Running Fools” (Hebrews 12:1-3) 

August 17, 2025 

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In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

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As we start a new school year this month you can feel the energy amping up for another year, lots of running around for school supplies, running around to get to the next commitment, running around to adjust to the new schedule. As the summer winds down, even if you don’t have kids in the nest, you may still find yourself running around--and perhaps feeling like you’re already running behind. 

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One of my favorite movies is one you have probably seen, the gospel-soaked 1994 classic Forrest Gump. One of the recurring themes in this film is running. As a young boy Forrest had to wear braces on his legs and as he is being chased by bullies his leg braces suddenly break apart and with a huge grin he begins running. He outruns the bullies and runs along county roads and through town. As he races by a barber shop an elderly gentleman says, “That boy sure is a running fool.” 

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You know the story…Forrest falls in love with Jenny, who had spent her life running as well, running from an childhood abuse, running from the faithful love of Forrest. When Forrest proposes to Jenny, she declines because of her past life of promiscuity and substance abuse, “You don’t wanna marry me,” she tells him. The next morning Forrest is sitting alone on the front porch, wearing khaki pants, a blue gingham shirt, and his white Nike’s with the red swoosh. He dons his Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. cap and starts running. In a voice over Forrest recalls: 

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That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run, so I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town, and when I got there, I thought I’d just run across Greenbow County. I figured since I’d run this far, I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. That’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured since I’d gone this far, I might as well turn around and just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured since I’d gone this far, I might as just turn back and keep right on going….”

 

Then over a montage of breathtaking images of America’s natural beauty through which Forrest runs he continues, “I’d think a lot…but most of all, I thought about Jenny.” Later, as he is running through the desert with a small gathering following him, he concludes, “My momma always said, you got to put the past behind you before you can move on, and I think that’s what my running was all about. I had run for three years, two months, fourteen days and sixteen hours.” Forrest then slows down and stops. He turns to his followers, who have stopped in silence to listen. “I’m pretty tired,” he says, “think I’ll go home now.” He concludes in the voice over, “And just like that my running days was over.” 

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That film sequence resonated with many people, because, as you know, Forrest is not the only “running fool” out there. There are likely running fools here today. 

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In 2014 the rock band The Call did a tribute concert for Michael Been, their lead singer, songwriter and bassist, who died in 2010. During this concert Michael’s son, Robert Levon Been, played and sang in his dad’s place, and sang a stirring solo version of a song called “You Run.” See if these lyrics resonate with you: 

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You run and you run and you run and you never stop And you work and you work and you work until you drop You’re in over your head and the pressure just don’t quit But you can’t escape the reach of love 

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(From the 1989 album Let the Day Begin by The Call) 

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When I stumbled upon it on Youtube, I was grilling dinner. I played it repeatedly on my phone—grilling, crying, and drinking a brew at the same time. My daughter Emily stepped outside, “Dad, are you okay?” I lied, “Yeah, it’s just allergies.” Actually, it was being reminded that I was a running fool who was really tired. 

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If you are not familiar with The Call, that’s okay--perhaps you know these lyrics from Jackson Browne: 

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Running on, running on empty

Running on, running blind

Running on, running into the sun

But I’m running behind 

(From the title track of his 1977 album, Running on Empty)

 

Today’s passage from the Letter to the Hebrews has good news for running fools, because it is about a different kind of running: 

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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, looking 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. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3). 

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God calls us to stop being running fools and instead to run the race of faith, “Let us run with perseverance.” Our perseverance is tested the most when we are knocked down while running—knocked down by a bad decision or the meanness of someone else or an unforeseen life-altering circumstance—we are running along just fine until something or someone knocks us off our feet. When I was in middle school I saw the award-winning film Chariots of Fire in the theater, a film based on the true-life story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams as they trained for and participated in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. The scene that impacted me the most was early in the film when Eric Liddell was running a 400-meter race and was knocked off his feet by another runner. Instead of just lying there, blaming that runner and wallowing is self-pity, Liddell sprang to his feet and to everyone’s shock, not only managed to catch up with the other runners but even won the race. I still get goosebumps at that scene. 

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Scripture tells us, “Though (the righteous) fall seven times, they will rise again” (Proverbs 24:16). If you get knocked down, get back up. But what if, while running your race of faith, you are knocked down and cannot get yourself back up? What happens if you need help? I once saw a Special Olympics video in which several athletes were competing in a sprint. One of the contestants tripped and fell… and the others all did something you would never expect. Instead of seeing the fallen sprinter as one less competitor to worry about, they all turned back, every single one, and helped him to his feet. Then smiling, they all linked their arms and crossed the finish line together. The race was not about winning; it was about helping others. That’s what the race of faith looks like. 

 

It is the same with the Christian race of faith. We are to run with perseverance the race God has marked out for us—and along the way to stop and help those who have been knocked down and are unable to get themselves back up, those who have grown weary and lost heart, and yes, sometimes allowing others to do that for us. And all the while we are not to focus on the finish line, but rather the One waiting at the finish line, “Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” 

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Why? Because on Calvary Jesus “endured the cross,” where he atoned for your sins—where he put your past behind you so you can move on. You may feel toward God the same way Jenny felt toward, Forrest, “You don’t wanna marry me”—but the unconditional love of God doesn’t depend on your feelings. 

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“Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” …the Greek verb used here for “run” is trecho, a verb Jesus only used once in the four gospel accounts, in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which reveals God’s compassionate heart toward running fools. The prodigal son, a running fool who had run to a far country and wasted his entire inheritance on fulfilling his lusts, ended up broke and sick. One day he echoes Forrest Gump, “I’m pretty tired, think I’ll go home now.” Jesus tells us when his father saw him finally coming home, he “ran and puts his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). This was the most undignified thing an older man could do in Jesus’ day, lift his robes and run down the street, but the father cared about his son than his dignity, and became a running fool himself to demonstrate his unconditional love for his prodigal son. 

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The gospel is good news for running fools--good news for those who run and run and run and never stop, good news for those who are in over their head and the pressure just don’t quit, good news for those running on empty and running behind, good news for those who have been knocked down and need help getting back up. No matter how far you run, as The Call sang, “you can’t escape the reach of love.” 

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The unconditional love of God transforms you from being running fools like the Prodigal Son--running away from God and running yourself into the ground--into being running fools for Jesus, running with perseverance the race marked out for you, picking one another up and linking our arms together, and pressing on toward the One who waits at the finish line: “Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” 

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Amen.