Marathon Minions

Running the relationship race so as to win

Letter to the hebrews 6:10-20 Brothers and sisters: God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

          Boys and girls, on February 12, Fort Smith will host the True Grit Marathon and I plan on running it. I’m running in order to raise money for Trinity Junior High, and because I love this school more than I love my knees! There’s actually a group of people who are running with me – that I call my “marathon minions” – and it includes some of your parents, like Hunter Criswell’s dad, and Eve Gilker’s mom, and Mr. Edwards. You’re welcome to run with us, if you think you can handle being a “marathon minion,” but first talk to your parents, and then talk to your knees! You don’t have to run the full marathon (26.2 miles), you could do the half (13.1 miles) or form a four-man team, and do a relay, where each runs 5-6 miles. I would love to run with you, and see if you can keep up with this old priest.

          You can learn a lot of life lessons by running a marathon. For instance, all good relationships – friendships, family, sports teams, and even marriages – are more like a marathon than like a hundred yard dash. In a dash, you just give it all you have and run as fast as possible because you know the race will be over soon, like Eusain Bolt does. That’s easy. But in a marathon, you have to be patient, not come out too fast, you must pace yourself, and you have know own weaknesses and limitations. In every marathon you will sooner or later hit “the wall,” a moment when you feel complete exhaustion – both physically and emotionally. You simply want to give up and you cannot go on. This usually happens around mile 20, and so experienced marathoners often say, “The real marathon starts at mile 20.” All human relationships also have “a wall” – where we want to give up on other people or on ourselves – but that’s when the real friendship and the real basketball team and the real marriage start.

          In the first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, the ancient author says we should have a “marathon mentality” when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. That relationship is called “discipleship,” and it, too, has “a wall” that we eventually hit. So Hebrews says, “We earnestly desire…that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.” And a little later he describes Jesus as the “forerunner” to drive home the point about running a spiritual marathon. In other words, sooner or later, we hit the wall in being a disciple of Jesus, we’re exhausted, we doubt our faith, we’re bored at Mass, we want to give up on the Lord. But remember what experienced marathons say, “That’s when the real race begins,” and that’s when real discipleship begins.

          This wall looms especially large at two decisive moments in our marathon with Jesus throughout life. First, in our teens and twenties. Do you have any older siblings in high school or college who don’t go to church anymore? Why is that? It’s because they’ve hit the wall. But now their real relationship with Jesus has just begun. The second time is in our forties. Do you know any adults in their forties who are struggling with their relationships – marriage, occupation, faith? Don’t worry, I’ve had similar struggles myself. But they’ve hit the wall; they feel exhausted and think they can’t go on. But now the real relationship has begun. In a sense, you could say that we are all “marathon minions” – whether we like it or not – and we’re all running a marathon called “life.”

          Every good and meaningful relationship is more like a marathon than a hundred yard dash. And to run a successful marathon, you have to be patient, not come out too fast, you must pace yourself, and know own weaknesses and limitations. And when you hit the wall – which you will sooner or later – just remember: that’s when the real relationship has begun.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!