Run 26.2 Miles, Are You Crazy?

My sisters and I would never consider ourselves runners.  However, my middle sister, Tina and I have ran 6 marathons together in the past 10 years.  She's currently trying to convince me to do another one next year!  We will see.  The crazy thing about running is that it doesn't matter how many long runs or marathons you have done.  If you even take a month or two off, it's really hard to run even a shorter distance like 4 to 5 miles!  Why is that?  When you stop your discipline, you lose your perseverance and endurance and in a way you need to start your training all over again. 

The crazy thing is that this doesn't just apply to exercising and running.  Have you ever been on a diet?  You carry strong discipline for a month, two month, or even a year, but when the diet stops... every dessert looks great! 

How about studying?  I was the master at cramming before exams, but the instant the exam was taken and I stopped studying, the information went right out the door.  Only to having to return to cramming before the final exam!

The one thing that connects all these things together is a lack of discipline and falling into complacency.  And just like exercising, dieting, and studying, our faith has the same results. In all reality, we don't think about the need to be disciplined in our faith, especially when we have so many other things going on in our life.  But our faith, like everything else, slowly declines when we don't practice it; when we don't live it out!  Our relationship with Jesus Christ is either growing or fading, it never remains at a certain level. 

The readings from this weekend touched exactly on this point. (26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C).  Amos, the prophet, warns to the Israelites about living in complacency, living a life of comfort.  He challenges them to be present to the poor and rejected.  He challenges them to live their life for others, instead of living a life of comfort and themselves. 

St. Paul in our second reading, exhorts the people to "compete" in their faith.  Think about how an Olympian trains: everything they do is for the sake of their upcoming competition.  There entire schedule is based on their goal, to achieve a gold medal; from their sleep, to their exercise, to the food they put in their body.  St. Paul is exhorting the early Church to live just like that!  Compete in the faith.  Center your entire schedule on living your faith and building up your relationship with the Lord.  Oh how our lives would change if we actually did this.

In the Gospel, Christ reveals a parable to the Pharisees about the rich man and Lazarus; a story about heaven and hell.  The rich man ends up in hell, while Lazarus ends in the bosom of Abraham in heaven.  The rich man doesn't end up in hell because of his wealth.  The rich man ends up in hell, because he fell into complacency.  He fell into a life of comfort.  He didn't extend his gifts to those around him.  He lived his life for himself.  This was his downfall.  For the Christian life, revealed by Christ, is not one lived for oneself, but to be a gift given to others!

Pope Benedict expressed similar lines that tie all three readings together.  He said to the youth shortly after being elected Pope, "The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort.  You were made for greatness!"  I believe it is fitting for us to hear these words once again after these weekend readings.  Let us not settle for the comforts of this life, but strive the greatness we have been made.  Let us be a gift for others!