Ultramarathon Faith -- FPC sermon excerpt
One step at a time.
That’s the only way to run a marathon. Focus too much on the finish line, and you’ll never complete the course.
On my 40th birthday, a friend of mine challenged me to run the Marine Corps Marathon. The friend happened to be a Catholic priest. I thought he was crazy.
I had no experience as a runner, and the prospect of 26.2 miles was daunting. But I needed a midlife challenge. My priest friend had run several marathons, so he gave me some tips and turned me loose.
The first time I hit the road, I ran for three minutes and had to stop, gasping for breath. But after walking for seven minutes, I was able to run for another three, and then I walked another seven and ran three. Over several weeks, my running increased and my walking decreased until I could run for an hour. And then I ran two hours.
“If you can run two hours, you can run four hours,” my priest friend said. “If you can run four hours, you can do a marathon.”
He was right. Six months after beginning my training, I finished the 2000 Marine Corps Marathon in a respectable four hours and 12 minutes. I felt as if I’d been through boot camp, but my wobbly elation at the finish line made the pain worthwhile.
Since then, I have run a marathon a year — from Tucson to London. The most thrilling and agonizing was the Boston Marathon. Heartbreak Hill is perfectly named.
The Bible doesn’t record it, but Abram may have thought that God was a bit crazy when he issued the challenge, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). The Lord was calling Abram, at age 75, to do more than a marathon — much more than a mere 26.2 miles. God was laying an ultramarathon in front of Abram, one that would take him from Haran to the land of Canaan, about 500 miles.
There was only one way to do it: One step at a time.
Now before you dismiss this as an impossibly long distance to cover on foot, realize that people today are routinely running incredibly long courses. Bob Brown is an ultra-distance athlete who completed a solo run across Europe in 2005. That same year, ultra-runner Pam Reed completed a 300 mile run without sleep — it took her about 80 hours. Thirty years ago, in the spring of 1978, 53-year-old Mavis Hutchinson became the first woman to run across the United States. Her journey took her 2871 miles, from Los Angeles to New York, and it lasted 70 days.
Run, Mavis, run.
You need some real faith to embark on such a journey — ultramarathon faith. This is faith that cannot see the finish line, but trusts that a blessing is waiting at the end. This is faith that cannot anticipate every obstacle, but believes that God is offering guidance along the way. This is faith that cannot always see the big picture, but focuses instead on the path that lies ahead. This is faith that requires hard work, struggle, even sacrifice — one in which the benefits come through serious exertion.
That’s the only way to run a marathon. Focus too much on the finish line, and you’ll never complete the course.
On my 40th birthday, a friend of mine challenged me to run the Marine Corps Marathon. The friend happened to be a Catholic priest. I thought he was crazy.
I had no experience as a runner, and the prospect of 26.2 miles was daunting. But I needed a midlife challenge. My priest friend had run several marathons, so he gave me some tips and turned me loose.
The first time I hit the road, I ran for three minutes and had to stop, gasping for breath. But after walking for seven minutes, I was able to run for another three, and then I walked another seven and ran three. Over several weeks, my running increased and my walking decreased until I could run for an hour. And then I ran two hours.
“If you can run two hours, you can run four hours,” my priest friend said. “If you can run four hours, you can do a marathon.”
He was right. Six months after beginning my training, I finished the 2000 Marine Corps Marathon in a respectable four hours and 12 minutes. I felt as if I’d been through boot camp, but my wobbly elation at the finish line made the pain worthwhile.
Since then, I have run a marathon a year — from Tucson to London. The most thrilling and agonizing was the Boston Marathon. Heartbreak Hill is perfectly named.
The Bible doesn’t record it, but Abram may have thought that God was a bit crazy when he issued the challenge, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). The Lord was calling Abram, at age 75, to do more than a marathon — much more than a mere 26.2 miles. God was laying an ultramarathon in front of Abram, one that would take him from Haran to the land of Canaan, about 500 miles.
There was only one way to do it: One step at a time.
Now before you dismiss this as an impossibly long distance to cover on foot, realize that people today are routinely running incredibly long courses. Bob Brown is an ultra-distance athlete who completed a solo run across Europe in 2005. That same year, ultra-runner Pam Reed completed a 300 mile run without sleep — it took her about 80 hours. Thirty years ago, in the spring of 1978, 53-year-old Mavis Hutchinson became the first woman to run across the United States. Her journey took her 2871 miles, from Los Angeles to New York, and it lasted 70 days.
Run, Mavis, run.
You need some real faith to embark on such a journey — ultramarathon faith. This is faith that cannot see the finish line, but trusts that a blessing is waiting at the end. This is faith that cannot anticipate every obstacle, but believes that God is offering guidance along the way. This is faith that cannot always see the big picture, but focuses instead on the path that lies ahead. This is faith that requires hard work, struggle, even sacrifice — one in which the benefits come through serious exertion.
posted by Henry Brinton | 9:54 AM
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