Running the Race
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 43: 16-21; Philippians 3: 4b-14 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
March 13, 2016
Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honour me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise. - Isaiah 43: 16-21
I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3: 4b-14
McFarland, USA is a family movie which was released last year. It is a powerful film based on a true story. Kevin Costner plays Jim White, a running coach who is fired from his job. Coach White and his family relocate to Central Valley, California. It was a humbling move to a very poor area.
The majority of McFarland is made of Latino farmers who raise crops of avocados and almonds. The kids of these farming families were used to exhausting days. They would wake up long before the sunrise to work the fields before the school day began. After the school day, these teens would run back to the fields to work them again before the day ended. Their efforts were needed for their families to survive.
Coach White was in awe of how quickly these farming kids could run. He formed a cross country team and that not only began to transform the student runners, but also began to redefine the town of McFarland.
Aside from tough training regimens, Coach White took the kids on his team as his own. He paid for their running shoes and uniforms out of his own pocket. He sat with his students and their families around the dinner tables to experience their culture. He went as far as working the fields with his students before the school day to live in solidarity with them. As Coach White built up the team, he also began to help the students see something bigger happening.
Running became a venue to rewrite these runners’ past stories of no hope into that of becoming empowered. These runners and their families were empowered to see opportunities of an abundant future. They were empowered to move past the odds of an underprivileged high school to reach the goal of winning numerous championship titles. The town of McFarland started to gain respect.
These runners were also empowered to continue growing in their education beyond high school and to follow Coach White’s leadership to bring about positive change for others in their adult lives. McFarland, USA really captured a powerful image of running to press on towards greater things.
Paul is also captivated by the image of running. Can you imagine the Apostle Paul all geared up in 1st century running attire? He speaks of a sprinter pressing on to reach the goal. And the goal is to experience not just greater things but specifically the empowerment of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. There was nothing greater than knowing the power of Jesus Christ in his life. Paul takes some time to look back into his life to see how he got to this point. He looks back into his history but he has no desire to linger there for very long. He says he counts it all as loss because of Christ.
If you are a sprinter or a long distance runner you can’t look behind you for more than a glance. It will slow you down. It will cause you to lose focus and enter another runner’s lane or off the track completely to be disqualified. It will disrupt your running rhythm.
Paul says that the journey of faith is much like running a race. And as we run we do have to take some breaks to catch our breath and look behind us. There is something at stake for us to look to what lies behind us. We all need some time and space to think about how far we have come. I trust this season of Lent has been and will continue to be a meaningful space for you and I to see how far we have come along the track of time for these 40 days.
As we look back into our individual and shared histories, we have recognized a few things together on our Lenten journeys.
In order to run the race of faith well we need to run it without pretense. We need to run the race of faith with a growing sense of vulnerability with God. Like any good runner, we need to hone our disciplines and obedience to the sport. In our race of faith we need to follow in Christ’s obedience. As we take a pause before the next turn of the track, we need to refocus. In the race of faith that refocusing is to discern how God might be working behind the scenes of life to prepare us for the next growing opportunity. All runners want to finish the race strong. To do so it is important to let go of past missteps to move forward into the next turn. In the race of faith that is to let go of past regrets and grievances by forgiving others and ourselves as we have already been forgiven so that we might move forward.
What we have been learning this Lenten season about vulnerability, obedience, refocusing, and forgiving are all marks of the Christian faith. Growing stronger in these marks allows us to run the race of faith with perseverance.
But there is something else that is at stake if we take the time to breathe and look behind us. We cannot linger in the past. We cannot afford to stay there for too long. While it is good to see how far we moved past the obstacles that slow us down, if we focus on these things for too long then we risk getting stuck there. Looking back for too long will slow us down. It will cause us to lose focus on God’s guidance. It will disrupt our rhythm to press on towards the goal. You know how old patterns begin to take hold of us again.
N.T. Wright says the Christian goal is not solely to reach heaven or to focus on God’s promise of eternity. Rather the goal is to allow Christ to take hold of us in such a way that we experience the power of our Savior’s death and resurrection in our lives each day.
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ rewrite our past, present, and future. Christ comes alongside us and accepts us for who we are. Christ makes us his own. Christ lives in solidarity with us and our human experience. Christ is our ultimate faith coach and trainer. Christ knows our greatest joys, toughest challenges, and deepest hurts. When we feel like giving up, giving in, or losing hope then Christ pushes us on. Christ says, “Run the race and follow me! Keep your eyes on me. Move past the odds of what holds you back and follow me!”
Christ speaks through others like Paul, like Coach White, like Sunday School teachers, like mentors and friends. These people support us in the race of faith and remind us of our God-given talents as well as the Christian marks and virtues that strengthen our running rhythms. Of course these God-given talents and virtues are not a means to an end. Instead they create opportunities for God to work through us that we might see this new thing that God is doing. God is working to reconnect the parts of our lives so that we might truly be a new creation. We hope to experience this on Easter Sunday.
As we continue to run the race of faith towards the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter, take some time to look back into your past. See how far you have come. As you take the next turn of the track of time, take a deep breath in and consider the transformation that Christ is bringing about in your life. Use this discipline of Lent to reflect into your past and consider how Christ is rewriting it.
The more we practice our time of reflection and understand ourselves, the more we will be able to run the race of faith with perseverance, focus on God’s guidance, and strengthen our rhythm. We are not meant to stumble and get stuck in the past. We are meant to grow in our stride and our confidence in Christ.
Let us run the race of faith with perseverance to tap into our ultimate source of empowerment – Jesus Christ our Lord.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sources:
N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), p. 123.
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