Olympic Victory in Faith

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
For the next two weeks, we will hear stories of perseverance. For the next two weeks, we will hear stories of years of struggle, years of determination, years of focused effort. For the next two weeks, we will hear stories of triumph, of dreams achieved; and we will probably also hear stories of dreams that have fallen short of reaching their final goal. These are the weeks of the Twenty-Ninth Olympiad, and the whole world is focused on Beijing as over 10,000 athletes compete for medals in 30 summer sports. In the weeks and months leading up to this point, there have been countless stories of local heroes and determined athletes striving to achieve their life’s goal of competing in the Olympics, and those stories will certainly continue. Just to compete in the Olympic games is a dream-come-true for many, a recognition that their long hours of determined practice have paid off. But for others, the only accomplished dream will be a gold medal, or even eight gold medals. Because in the end, there are winners and losers. These athletes are the best of the best, but we have to admit that some are better than others, and it is the competition for victory that now takes center stage.

But is that true for us, who run the race of a Christian? Is it true that there are some who are better at being Christian than others, that if we have an Olympic contest in faith, there would be some type of winners and losers? If so, then certainly the Peter we meet today would not fare very well. Walking on water is not an Olympic sport, but faith in Jesus Christ is very much at the heart of the Christian race. Even standing right in front of his Lord and Savior, Peter lacked the focus, he lacked the determination, he lacked the faith to stand firm with a sea full of distractions. Peter’s trial-run in faith was a failure; without the ever-ready hand of Christ, he would have sunk in the waters of the Sea of Galilee. There would be no gold medal in faith for this failed fisherman.

But St. Paul tells us a different story. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul reminds us that “the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize. Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one” (1 Cor. 9.24-25). Run so as to win. The story of Peter’s faith did not end that day on the Sea of Galilee. He had some really strong moments – like when he proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. But he also had some other failures – like when he denied even knowing Jesus right before his Lord’s death. But in the end, he persevered. With God’s grace, with divine forgiveness, and with a hand that was always stretched out to lift him up, Peter persevered in running the race of a Christian, and he was given the task of feeding the sheep of Christ’s flock.

The Christian race is not too different from the Olympic games. To triumph as a Christian it takes years of practice, and it comes with countless failures. It takes constant perseverance and determination. And, yes, there are winners and losers. But the only way to lose is to trust so much in your own abilities and your own efforts that you ignore the hand that Jesus is stretching out to you to lift you up. The only way to win is to grasp the hand of Christ and let him lead you to victory.