THAT OTHER RACE
2 Timothy 4: 1-8
Today we listen to teachings of a man getting
to the end of his work, similar to wisdom taught by retiring sports figures,
wanting to pass on the essentials of the game to those who are following them. Over
the years, Richard Petty has sought to both train his sons and to love them
too; Jesse Owens sought to make his family proud by his countless junior high,
high school, and college medals, and then to inspire children as he became the
first American to receive 4 Olympic medals in one Olympic year. Petty and Owens were all about finishing
their races first. Gymnast Mary Lou Retton was all about going for and getting
10s in her Olympic competitions. And one of the most successful coaches of all
time, Vince Lombardi, once said, “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour,
the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has
worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-
victorious.” Ages ago, the Apostle Paul was among the first to get people’s
attention away from the Greek games and on to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter
of the race of life. Preachers even today try countless ways to get a piece of
the allegiance that is showered upon NASCAR, Gator, Nole, Yankee, and Olympic
stars among others. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes was founded in part to
get a synergy going between sports and faith.
It is an old concept. Back in the
first century, when there was no television or radio, people all along Paul’s
travels would tell him about their interest in the Olympiad- the Greek games
that captured the attention of the world so much that the runners were often
not just treated as celebrities, but as gods. Like any wise preacher, Paul
decided not to preach head-on against that societal golden calf, but instead to
use sports images in his sermons and letters. My colleague and friend, the late
Blake Brinkerhoff, used to use sports images in his sermons, and he made sure
our family got to meet Vince Carter at
This was midterm report week for my Confirmation
Class; we too can sit in Paul’s class today and hear him, “correct, reprove,
and encourage” us to get back on track with our Christian lives. The season of
Lent starts in three days, when we can each face 40 days of Christian revival
and examination. How would you do on that test today? It is time to reclaim the
power of the faith, to re-anchor ourselves in Jesus Christ and to see how far
we have drifted from the Way, the Truth, and the Life. While we work to get back on track, many
people are paid millions of dollars to try to put our attention on other
products; commercials and ads are continuously successful in getting viewers
and readers to buy soft drinks and drink beer, to drive a certain car or to use
a certain product. They are good at it.
But in the end, when all those products have either rotted or rusted, expired
or have been expended, God and God’s
truth will still abide, and people will still fumble their way through life looking
for the answers when the answers to abundant life are offered to them each week
in the under funded, under advertised, unappreciated vehicle that God created
called the church. Today, imagine that one of the greatest
coaches (if you are a player,) or the greatest drivers (if you are a rookie,)
or the greatest preachers (if you are a disciple,) is talking to you; directly
to you, to keep you from being discouraged or devoured by the “many dangers, toils,
and snares” that surround us in the world.. His name is Paul, a late-named
Apostle of Jesus Christ. Hear him
today not as an expert, but as a student; not as a champion, but as a rookie;
not as a sage, but as a neophyte. The great Apostle, either through his own
writing or the writings of a follower, is teaching us today as he teaches
Timothy, his young protégé. These are
the very words that I use in our DISCIPLE Bible study Communion Service at the
end of each year. Hear them anew today. Verse one: Paul reminds us of the presence
of God: no matter where we are or what we are doing 24/7, God is present. Are
the things you are doing at work, at school, at home, and in the community
things that would make God pleased or ashamed? God is watching us! And as for Jesus, who is the judge of both the quick
(living) and the dead, (yes, that part of the creed comes from this passage), he gets the power to judge you. As I taught Confirmands this week, if the
only thing you do for God is to come to worship, you are only giving God one hour out of 168 every week! How many
hours do you spend doing other things? The high commitment request we ask of
Confirmands is just 4 hours out of 168- worship, Sunday School, youth group
every other week, and Confirmation Class. It seems like a huge amount until you
think about it. What do you think God believes about you if 4 hours stretches
your spiritual life as it stands today? A while ago I handed out cards to youth
that asked them to answer one question: “If you were arrested for being a
Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Honestly, what do
you think about yourself? Your calendar, and the Sovereign Eye of God, will
know how you spent your 168 hours.
Next Paul urges Timothy to “Preach
the Word,” that means proclaim the
message. Our Confirmands said they were often afraid to show that they were
Christians at school. Youth group meetings are designed to help give them the
courage to “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus” on the solid rock instead of
succumbing to the slippery slope of popularity. I am helping youth build their
confidence to witness; how would you do? “Be persistent in and out of season,” Paul
continues, meaning, do not give up when results seem easy or when results seem
difficult. Persistence is not tested by the ease of making one’s case or
winning a race or a game, but by working the hardest to win when odds are
stacked against you. Sometimes the obstacles in life are what lead us to field
goals and finish lines that matter most.
Being a Christian in Paul’s world was
difficult; in some corners of life today it is way too easy to go with the
popular flow than to “Run the straight race” as the words of our anthem put it.
What we have asked of our Confirmation Class starting this week has caused some
shifts in calendars: sometimes we call, or correct, or encourage people back to
Christian living. It is not easy to make such choices, but neither is it easy
being a good parent and having the obligation to guide and correct your
children. Paul’s message to Timothy and to all readers is like the “warning bumps”
at the edge of a highway that warn distracted drivers that they are drifting
off the road. Paul is teaching Timothy that people will stray, explaining that “the time is coming when people will
not put up with sound doctrine.” Instead, people will surround themselves with
those who are attractive to them, who feed their own interests and satisfy
their own desires. For those who have succumbed like that, who is most
important in their lives: God or self? You
know. From Genesis to Revelation, humanity has been taught the peril of a
self-serving life. The problems of the first
century remain in the 21st
century. “[People] will wander away to myths,” Paul teaches. There is such
a hunger in the human spirit to believe in something
that if Christians do not present a convincing story that people are saved
through God in Christ, people, instead, will fall for all kinds of stories
based on fantasy instead of faith. And since Paul has seen the ways of a world
that would rather, as Billy Joel once put it, “laugh with the sinners than cry
with the saints,” he reminds young Timothy to keep his wits and his head about
him as he carries out the ministry. If I were talking to young people who were
perhaps exploring a call to ministry, I would remind them that on Friday nights
when others may be partying, they may be called to a hospital to minister to
parents in the deadly crash of their daughter, who had just left one of those
parties. I would remind them that when the world sees Saturday as a play day,
you face it as a work day for reading and re-working Sunday’s sermon, writing
prayers, or performing wedding ceremonies. I would tell them that when their one
or two or three services are finished on Sunday, their voice may be shot and
their energy low. The work they will
have to do, because Jesus and Paul assure
us that the time is short in which to do it, needs someone who is attentive
and compassionate, willing to skip some parties and put in the hours. The
warning to “be sober” in verse 5 calls us to avoid the impairment of our God given senses. Ministers, like teachers and others, have
huge responsibilities that are often not noticed in our “American Idol” world. But Paul, with the wisdom of one who has
retirement in his sights, takes the images back to the sporting venues that are
so familiar to his world. Could he have
had
Jeffrey A. Sumner February
18, 2007