Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fall sports are starting back up in a big way. Any high school student participating in a sport knows how all-consuming they can become. Practice every day after school, a game or meet a few times a week and at least once every weekend. Some coaches have really strict policies about the commitment their players make. If you miss a practice, you might be benched for the next game as a punishment, and it can get more intense. Coaches want their teams to do well, to compete well – they are calling them on to be the best, most well-trained, high school athletes they can be.
In fact, as a youth minister and Confirmation teacher, sports might be my number one competitor. Students missing class for a tournament, or late to a retreat because of a game, or not attending Mass regularly because they need a day to do homework. As a youth minister, my goal is to call students on to be more than just the ‘best high school athletes’ they can be. I have a bigger goal in mind.
In the letter written to Timothy we hear St. Paul calling him on to be a better man, to be the best Christian that he can be. Paul tells Timothy “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith.” This isn’t the only place that Paul talks about faith-life as a competition. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he says “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.”
Here, in two different letters he’s written, Paul tells us to “compete well for the faith, run so as to win.” High school sports might seem important in high school, but Paul isn’t talking about high school sports. He’s talking about life. Are you competing well for your faith? Or just for your field hockey coach? Are you exercising discipline for an imperishable crown? For eternal life in Heaven with Jesus? Or are just running laps to get better at winning a perishable crown at the next cross-country meet?
My challenge to you is to pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love and patience – to compete well and win the imperishable crown of eternal life.