By Colleen O’Sullivan
Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
Piety
O God, by whom we are
redeemed and receive adoption,look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom
and an everlasting inheritance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
(Collect for Week 23, Creighton University's Praying Ordinary Time Home Page)
Study
In today’s
first reading, Paul alludes to the Isthmian Games
conducted the year before and the year after the Greek Olympics. Besides athletic events, the games also
included chariot racing and poetry and music contests. The original prize was a celery wreath or
crown, which was later replaced by a laurel wreath. Only the person winning first place received one. There were no silver or bronze medals in
those days. Everyone in Paul's day would
have known exactly what the use of powerful imagery of athletes meant.
The apostle
uses imagery from these games to describe our lives as Christians. He makes one distinction, however. The prize for winning an Isthmian Games event
was a wreath that would wilt and dry up within a few days. The prize we seek as Christians, being with
Jesus forever in God’s Kingdom, is imperishable. Win that crown, and it will never wither or
fade.
So just how
do we followers of Jesus Christ train and keep ourselves fit? I'm no athlete, but I do know that different
types of sports call for different sorts of training. We soon realize that the journey as a
Christian is more a marathon than a sprint.
Faith calls for endurance and perseverance.
When the
way is steep, and we grow weary, what is it that keeps us going? Primarily, it's loving Jesus and wanting to
be with him. We don't love people we
don't know intimately, and being close friends with Jesus happens through
Scripture study and prayer. For me, the
Ignatian Spiritual Exercises have been an extraordinary means for growing
closer to the Lord.
Along the
way, we try to let go of the things that tie us to this world and hold us
back. Maybe it's unhealthy relationships
from which we need to walk away. Maybe
it's climbing the career ladder that has diverted our attention. There may be many encumbrances we need to
shed if we're going be able to keep on running toward the goal.
Companionship
along the way is a big help. When your
energy is waning, or your spirits are flagging, having someone running beside
you, encouraging you, helps. And
Cursillo provides us with running companions.
Sometimes our fellow Cursillistas carry us, and sometimes we carry
them. That’s being Christ to one
another.
There may
only have been one winner for each event in the Isthmian Games, but Jesus loves
all of us and wants all of us to be there at the finish line. He hopes and desires that we will be with him
for all eternity.
Action
I took
piano lessons for ten years when I was young.
As I was pondering Paul's words, I remembered one music teacher
saying: "If you don't practice for
a day, you'll know it. If you don't
practice for two days, musicians will be able to tell. But, if you let three days go by without
practicing, everyone will know it.
"
It's the
same principle in our lives as Christians.
We have to be disciplined. When we
don't pray for a few days, it's all too easy just to let talking with Jesus
fall by the wayside. If we don't discern
the disordered attachments that hold us back spiritually, they can weigh us
down and pull us entirely off track. The
solitary life isn’t the Christian life.
Going it alone can leave us feeling discouraged and ready to give
up. To stay the course, we need each
other.
Does your
fitness/training program need any tweaking?
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