In his rule St Benedict quotes John 12.35, "Run while you have the light of life...". Then, knowing that obedience is about disposition and performance, he urges those seeking God, "If we wish to dwell in the tent of that kingdom, we must run to it by good deeds or we shall never reach it. In fact Benedict calls the life of faith a marathon in which we "run in the way of God's commandments".
The great Hebrews 12.1-2 text, "Run with persevarance the race that is set before you, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith".
My suggestion. Go listen to the London Marathon theme tune over here. (It comes from the movie "The Trap", conducted by Ron Goodwin). Then listen again but read Hebrews 12.1-2; Philippians 3.12-16 with this music as background. The months of training, the hard slog, the longing to give up, the determination to keep going - following after Jesus isn't a dawdle and it isn't a sprint. Every year I watch the start of this race - not the elite runners - the mass crowds of folk who have trained and looked forward to running the race and finishing it. As an image of the church it works quite well - running for charity, helping each other along, fulfilling a life goal, pushing beyond our comfort zones, "having the same purpose, being of the same mind", the sacrament of water for the thirsty, and the great refusal that every step represents to not give up.
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