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The Sixth Sunday of Epiphany-
The First Sunday of the Olympics
Gee, if I were still preaching and this came up on the lectionary for this week as it has, I would have thanked the powers that be that would put such a serendipity together:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (NIV)

Watching the Olympic opening the other night, I realized that for many of these athletes, they have just won the prize. Very, very few of them are going to win any medal whatsoever. They will barely be footnotes to Olympic history. Yet, for them, just getting to the stadium on Friday night is their winning moment.

They were exuberant, filled with life and spirit. There was one shot of American snowboarder Shaun White standing with his mouth open, staring in awe at what was going on. But that was just as true for the other lesser known athletes. It was a moment to be savored and experienced.

All of them have devoted years of their lives to this moment. They have, as Paul said it, beat their bodies into physical submission, made their bodies slaves to the torture and excess of the extreme workouts needed to become Olympic-class athletes. Even Bode Miller, whose image of the wild and carefree gut is just that- an image- behind which is one dedicated, focused hard-working athlete. He wouldn't be there no matter how good he is if he didn't work and work extremely hard for an extremely long time.

For most of them it is now over. No more. A race in which they may finish last if they finish at all. A slip, a slide, a misstep and they are out of the competition. But for that one bright shining moment on Friday night in Torino, it was all worth it.

If they work so hard and put so much energy into something that is so fleeting, it makes me embarrassed that I put so little effort into something so much more long-lasting and, I think, important- my spiritual life. Why? What is it that makes me fall so short in my disciplines and spiritual training?

Well, first, I get grace and growth confused. Salvation is one thing- spiritual growth is another. I can do nothing to earn God's favor in Jesus. That I know. So, since I have already received grace upon grace by doing nothing, how much more might I get if I continue to do nothing except attend worship and periodically pray or read the Bible? We know that the answer to that is that we will gain as much in growth as we put into it, but we don't want to be accused of "works righteousness"- working to gain our salvation. So other things get in the way. Things of this world, not of God.

Which is a second reason- we get side-tracked, tempted, by other things. Some of which may be very good. But they move us away from the ways of God. And they are easier.

Which may very well be the biggest reason we don't work and train like we could- it's too much work. I am discovering that the way to get to effectiveness in speaking a foreign language is the same way to the Olympic medal and the same way to get to Carneige Hall. Practice, practice, practice. Keep at it. Do it on a regular basis. Work at it.

Do the footwork is what is often said at 12-step meetings. We turn our will and lives over to God, but we still have to do the work of living out our faith and salvation in daily life. That's what Paul is talking about. Salvation is a gift. Living a "saved" life and growing deeper into the relationship with God on a daily basis is our gift of gratitude back to God.