Following a summer of sport, Revd Canon Nicola Stanley, Precentor of Bristol Cathedral, reflects on the link between Christians and athletes.
St Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons and an early church Father, said, the glory of God is a human being truly alive and to be truly alive is to behold God. What with the World Cup, Wimbledon, golf, cricket and the European Championships we've seen plenty of people truly alive this summer.
St Paul frequently drew on sporting analogies in his letters and time after time he used sport to underline the sheer dedication and team effort required if we are to succeed, together, in the Christian race that is set before us. He taught that Christians and athletes are part of something so much bigger than themselves: Christians are part of that great cloud of witnesses Paul speaks of in his letter to the Hebrews. Athletes are part of a team who must support them through years of hard work, commitment and sacrifice.
Christians and athletes alike have a course to run, a goal to reach and the effort required is considerable.We cant live our Christian faith vicariously.We arent spectators here, were all participants.Unfit as I am, I have to step out onto the track and run the race, as do you. Yet Christians wont only be looking at the ground we must cover, we are called to lift our eyes and look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
If we succeed we wont receive a shiny medal or a trophy but we will gain the imperishable crown of eternal life and we will hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant.