(JER 31:7-9; PS 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; HEB 5:1-6; MK 10:46-52)
This Fall has been all about running for me. Not only am I training for the Indianapolis Monumental Half-Marathon the first week of November, but I am also helping to coach my son’s cross-country team as a training group coach. As rewarding as it is to finish a 13.1 mile or a 26.2 mile race, it is so much more rewarding to teach a group of 8 and under boys how to run well while loving it, and becoming a better person throughout the process. Because, that’s what running and training for races is all about – the process.
Whether it’s an adult training for a marathon, or a boy or girl training for a 2K, there is the person you start out as, and then there is the person you become. You build the physical stamina, character and mental toughness you need to get in shape and prepare for that race. There are ups and downs – literally in the form of hills as well as mental roadblocks and hurdles you must encounter. Sometimes it’s easy and you are having a blast. Other times, your wondering why you do this. But it’s all because you have a goal in mind, and there is a purpose.
In my opinion, there is no better metaphor for life than running. Life is one big marathon. It’s not a 5K. It’s not a sprint. You go out too fast and too reckless, and you’re going to tire out or fall. You’ve got to persevere up those hills, those trials in life. Don’t get too cocky on the downhill’s, when things are going well. Keep a steady pace throughout, and always enjoy the view – no matter what stage of the race you are in. And when you’re really in the zone, when your running is going well, the world slows down. When you’ve trained well and your running at a good pace, you can almost hear your heartbeat in-between the rhythm of your breaths. Because in running, it’s all about pace. You go at your own pace. You want to be comfortable, but not too comfortable. You also want to be pushed. Yet you don’t want to go too fast because you will tire out.
Life is the same way. Our relationship with Christ is the same way.
In distance races, they have pace-setters – experienced runners that run at a specific pace for the race. They will often carry signs with their expected finishing time, and you can run with the pace-setter that falls in line with your race goal helping you run the race not only in the desired time, but at a steady pace. The pace-setter is your guide. They push you along, or sometimes pull you along. They are your beacon when you think you can’t continue. They will help you get to the end, and see the light of the finish.
Christ is our pace-setter in life. Sometimes pushing us. Sometimes pulling us along, trying to inspire us. Other times he’s right alongside us, running right next to us. Life is all about the process, and Jesus is always right there, setting the pace, and help us keep the pace in this race of life. But the choice to run the race and stay at His pace is up to us.
God was this pace-setter for the Israelites in the first reading today from Jeremiah. He delivered them back to the Promised Land from exile – all of them, many in tears, struggling, and wondering if they could make it, or what was in store for them long the way. He led them, provided them a level road, so they would not stumble. In all their afflictions, and in all their sin, God was still their Father, the One to keep them steady all the way to the finish.
This is what He does for us in our lives – if we let Him. Because life is a process. We are constantly learning every day. Learning from our successes. Learning from our failures. Sometimes we’re stumbling. Sometimes we’re in an all out fall. Jesus is there though, and sometimes we reach out to Him for help, and look to him to keep pace, but many times we don’t.
God provided His Son not only as a sacrifice so we could be saved, but also to serve as a model, or a blueprint for how we can we can live this life and be saved. He gave us a face to see. A person that was God, but yet just like us. Someone we could relate to. Someone who experienced our temptations, trials, and the joys of life. Another runner to help us push on through life. This is what the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of today.
Christ is this pace-setter who will show us the way and help us get there, the one we should follow that can help us see life again and the light of all God’s greatness, just as he does for the blind man in the Gospel today. And He can help us to grow along the way, where we can help others steady their pace throughout their own life, and help encourage and motivate them when they’re struggling, and be His instrument.
He’s given us the tools. He’s given us the training plans and books that we need. We don’t need to buy shoes or special gear. We have everything we need in the Sacraments. We just need to seek His grace. He’s not going to force us to go too fast. But he will push us out of our comfort zone a bit if we truly want to experience His grace and finish.
He knows that to see the Promised Land as the Israelites did yet again on their return from exile, and to help us see His greatness all around us and our ultimate destination of Heaven, that we must work through the pain and suffering. We must work through the tiredness and the mental fatigue. We must push through the ups and downs, but do so at a steady pace. And we must look to Jesus for that pace, and He will meet us where we are, and help us to get where He knows we can be. For Christ is our eternal pace-setter, and if we let Him, he will see us through to the finish.
