Tuesday, May 26
I have always been impressed with long-distance runners. They set out alone, run steadily, keeping pushing forward when exhaustion sets in, and stay focused on one thing—the finish line. Distracting activities on the sidelines, sudden changes in the weather, and even the pain in their own bodies do not deter them, because their whole purpose is to reach the finish line.
I have a suspicion that St. Paul ran track when he was in school. In his writings he likes to use the image of running a race. Today we read about his final moments with the Ephesian community. It was a sad occasion because they knew they would never again see this beloved apostle. He spoke to them (Acts 20:17-27):
“But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonments and hardships await me. Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.”
Paul was leaving a community that loved and supported him and moving forward to Jerusalem where he would be hated and persecuted the way Jesus was when he made his final visit there. Because Paul’s preoccupation was to “finish my course,” he didn’t let the thought of “imprisonments and hardships” distract him from his goal. When Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he entered him in a missionary race, and Paul never stopped running it. He was about to begin his last lap.
Jesus was a worker not a runner. He grew up under the tutelage of St. Joseph who taught him the disciplines of work. Under the guidance of Joseph, Jesus learned how to plan a job, work steadily at it, and not give up until it was finished. So Jesus talks about his “last lap” on earth in terms of getting a job done (John 17:1-11). Speaking in prayer to his Father, Jesus said:
“I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.”
Jesus had finished his missionary work and was about to finish it off by bearing his cross to Calvary. A worker, near the end of a week, begins to get excited about getting his paycheck. So Jesus was uplifted in knowing that his “paycheck” was about to arrive. The Father was ready to give him the glory that he deserved—the glory that Jesus had from all eternity—the glory he freely surrendered during his sojourn on earth.
Paul had a clear purpose—to finish the race he had begun. Jesus had a clear purpose—to finish the job that his Father gave him. Both knew that their time on earth was coming to a close, and rather than “coast” to the finish line or “loaf” their way to quitting time, they continued with zeal the missions God had given them.
We like to think in terms of retirement. We like to think that when he reached a certain age our mission on earth was accomplished. Rather than thinking the way the world thinks, let us think as Paul and Jesus did. Let us remember that our mission on earth is not yet over—we are still running the race, still applying ourselves to the task. We pray for diligence, perseverance, and dedication to doing God’s will.
“I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always” (John 14:16).
