In a deeply divided world, becoming increasingly more polarised, it is very encouraging to see tens of thousands of young people representing nearly every country and sport in the world.
They are coming together, as the Olympic Charter says, ‘to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility, and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles and without discrimination of any kind. The Olympic spirit requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.’
Sport at this level is intensely competitive and there are often moments of deep disappointment when an athlete loses after everyone expected them to win, and sheer life-changing elation when they do.
Only a small minority of those competing will receive a medal of any colour, let alone gold, and I find it sad that some commentators give the impression that this is the only medal worth celebrating.
This all goes against the spirit of the Games which is doing your very best, appreciating those who do better, and encouraging those who lose. Competing in friendship and with excellence in your chosen sport makes everyone a winner.
This brings to mind St Paul’s famous sports metaphor of Christian discipleship:
‘Do you not know that the runners in the stadium take part in the race, only one of them gets the prize? Run like that: to win. Every competitor is self-disciplined in all respects, but they compete to win a wreath that will wither, whereas our wreath will never wither.’ (1 Corinthians 9:24-26)
What St Paul was teaching the people of Corinth, and us now, is that all those who try hard to follow Christ – and it requires a whole lifetime of training – will receive their reward, a prize already won for us by Christ.
Success and failure
How do we judge success and failure? The world knows how to do this by the standards of the world. If you are a winner, you are celebrated while calling someone a ‘loser’ is usually meant as an insult.
There have been many great missionaries who were celebrated for their achievements. They built churches, schools, and hospitals that have really helped the people, yes, but this is only a part of the success story of mission.
Beyond winning or losing
When I first went to Kenya as a Priest in 1981, the people spoke very warmly about the Mill Hill Missionary Priest who served them for many years in the 1950s and 60s. No one seemed to remember whether or not he built any churches, chapels, schools, hostels, or health clinics.
What they remember is that he used to visit them regularly in their homes, prayed with them, shared the Gospel with them, and taught them the Catholic faith. He ate with them, stayed with them, and shared their hopes and joys.
They knew he loved them.
It is easy to judge success and failure in sport, education, business, politics, in the workplace, and in relationships. But when it comes to following Christ, we really need to listen deeply to St Paul.
Following Christ is about endeavour not achievement, about trying not winning. We do our very best to love God and our neighbour. We pray for the coming of the Kingdom and we work hard to strengthen it. We try hard to forgive others their failings, and ourselves when we fail or fall. We reach out to those in need, and we fight for peace with justice.
We do our best and like St Paul, we run the race to win in God’s eyes. God does not see us as we see ourselves. God values us more than we sometimes value ourselves. God’s love for us goes beyond anything we can imagine in the here and now.
Think on the life, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. He was rejected, scorned, abandoned and ended his days on a Cross. This is failure in the world’s eyes, yet God took that apparent ‘failure’ and by the power of the Resurrection turned it into success for all of us, for all time.
Whatever our circumstances are, whatever gifts we may or may not have, however disappointed we may be in ourselves and others, whatever dark clouds of failure hang over us, our best is good enough for God, and we are all guaranteed a gold medal at the end of it.
Our mission is to go for gold, and because of Jesus Christ we are all winners!
Links and stories from this month’s eNews
Amongst the many resources Mission Together creates for Catholic schools are Five Facts Assemblies based on the lives of Saints and holy people. Click here to find them>>
In August we pray with Pope Francis for political leaders to be at the service of their people. Click here to pray>>