As I’ve mentioned previously, I like to run. But I also like various other sports – baseball, basketball and American Football just to name a few. And I’m sure a lot of you are fans of another kind of football (aka Soccer here in the States). Whether it is running a race, or playing a baseball game or either kind of football game, the amount of training and practice you put in determines how you perform on race day or during actual games. Regardless of your sport, it takes practice if you want to do well – individually as well as a team.
How you perform when it counts reveals a great deal about the amount of preparation you put in, and no matter the sport, the people who put in the practice and are the most prepared are those who win the games, or in the case of running, finish the races in better shape. Granted, I will never win a running race, I’m not that fast. But how I train determines whether I will finish feeling good, or with injury, or not finish at all. The same is true in whatever we do, whether it is work or a hobby we’re involved in. The more we practice, train, and prepare, the better we will be in whatever we choose to do.
The same holds true with our faith. Today’s readings are a revelation. A revelation of God’s plan for us, and how He sent His son to save us, and also a revelation of how we can be saved. St. John the Evangelist writes in the Gospel about how John the Baptist revealed Jesus to us through God’s revelation to him.
“but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’”
John’s baptisms were for the sole purpose of preparing humanity for Jesus’ arrival and revealing Him to the world:
“but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.”
Then once Jesus arrived and the Holy Spirit revealed Him to John, he revealed Him to Israel.
“Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
God prepared John the Baptist for Jesus. John in turn was preparing Israel for the Messiah. He was training them for game day. The plan was executed to perfection. Just like when Mary listened to God and did according to His will in becoming the Mother of Jesus, John the Baptist executed the plan perfectly by doing God’s will and proclaiming God’s Son when he saw Him. Through John’s faith and preparation, and God’s grace, he executed it flawlessly, just as Mary did during the incarnation and birth of Jesus. God is perfect, His plan is perfect. He doesn’t need to practice; he hits a home run every time. The same cannot be said for us. We need practice.
John the Evangelist writes in his first letter today about how we can be saved. But it takes practice. It takes preparation. We need to train. We need to learn about our faith, understand it, and be passionate about it. We need to learn how to persevere through trials and endure through sin. We need to understand and appreciate where we came from, and we need to know where we are going. We need to try not give in to the money, power, greed, and sensual pleasures of this world, but when we do, we need to seek forgiveness and God’s grace. We need to try to keep getting better, and we need to have the faith and hope and love in God that we will get better. It takes training. It takes preparation. It takes practice. John goes on to write:
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
What we shall be has not yet been revealed. I think this speaks not only to what we are capable of being on this earth and the role we have to play, and what God’s will is for us, much like Mary and John the Baptist, but this also talks about who we will be revealed to be once our life on this earth is done. When we die, it’s game day. We’ve spent our entire lives preparing for this day. It’s the championship. It’s the finish line. Who we are will be revealed. Our lives are the training, the practices, and the preparation. When we stand before Jesus, how we live our lives and practice our faith, and prepare our soul while on earth will reveal everything about whom we are.
We cannot live perfect lives, but we can be perfect in our faith. And if we are perfect in our faith, and train ourselves to embrace God’s grace through the Sacraments and prayer, we can prepare our souls for eternity. The quality of training and preparation we put in during life will reveal who we are to become, and who we will be for eternity. Practice makes perfect.
