The analogies of Men fall short of the full reality and scope of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. We simply cannot describe them completely enough. But we get a glimpse. And so, with fishing, farming, shepherding, and other examples, our Lord made known the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. He spoke in parables, like the one in the Gospel lesson today. St. Paul does something similar in the Epistle.
This is not the first time Septuagesima has fallen on Super-Bowl Sunday. It will most likely not be the last. If you have played a sport, you will appreciate the example St. Paul uses in the Epistle, our text for today. Specifically, our selection is the first part from the Epistle read, 1 Corinthians 9, verses 24-27.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we, an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
What St. Paul speaks of here is the Christian life of perseverance. Two aspects of perseverance we should focus on are self-control, and longsuffering. These are unpopular things in our day and age. My generation has little idea of self-control or longsuffering.
There are various exceptions to the rule, of course. But folks my age would much rather be content at splurging now and again for a venti mochaccino, because, as nearly every advertising company has discovered, buttering up people works: they tell you “you’re worth it.” “Pamper yourself.” Gone are the days when advertisements sold you a product using data. Now they sell using desire. Watch the football game today, and you may catch a glimpse.
This generation, it would seem, has chosen to not exercise its self-control. We do not all beat down our bodies, disciplining them, like St. Paul. It’s expedient to go by the drive-through and eat on the run. Eat addictive, unhealthy food, in a sedentary lifestyle. This is not how God wanted us to be. Adam and Eve were made for fruits in the Garden.
The problem of self-control is closely related to all forms of control, not just over the self. We let ourselves go, but it is a symptom of letting much more than ourselves go. We have let go of the fear of the Lord, trust in the Lord above all things, and love of the Lord. This is nothing more than a breaking of the First Commandment: you shall have no other gods. We have allowed ourselves to be made into the illusions of gods in our lives, as if we had control, all the while being puppeted around by the devil, the world, and the lusts and desires of our own sinful nature.
Our self-control over the appetites of the flesh has grown weak. Our firm grip on ourselves has slipped. What would happen if the quarterbacks for the teams today came out and looked like they weighed in at 450 lbs., and most of it fat? We would say that they had let themselves go. They had lost their grip on their discipline. Getting back into shape would be twice as hard for them now.
Then there’s the problem of suffering that goes hand in hand with self-control. Our old, sinful natures are always lurking beneath the surface of our smiling exteriors. But whether above or below the surface, suffering is an unattractive thing for the flesh. It could be simple as fighting the urge to reach for that last donut. It could be more complicated – living with someone who isn’t your spouse. It could be a dire case of addiction where external intervention is necessary. Or, it could even be being persecuted on behalf of the Faith you believe.
This is not a new problem. Every generation faces the problem of suffering, whether it is voluntary, like when American patriots went without, and gave things up, in order to better fund our troops in the Second World War. This is why nobody really cares to fast much, anymore. Soon we’ll see our Paczys out in the stores in force, and we’ll hear of the Mardi Gras celebrations of overkill. Gluttony before Lent begins, as the mindset goes.
Be certain in this. Self-control is a mark of the Christian faith. It is what believers do. It is how we act, following in the footsteps of St. Paul, who himself was following the footsteps of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now there is an example of self-control. He who knew no sin became sin for us. He knew no sin – Jesus never sinned. It is a foreign a thought to us whose entire existence in these bodies of death is sinful. Yet God’s mercy and grace look over our sin-saturation. He has mercy on us, sinners. So much that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Infinite mercy is poured out in the blood of Jesus, enough to cover the sins of the entire population of planet earth that have ever been, or ever shall be conceived.
Self-control is a mark of the Church, but it is not what makes the Church. God knows we fail in our control and discipline, that we shun suffering like the scalding pain that it is. These things are good for us, self-control & Christian suffering. They strengthen us. They show us that we’re alive and fighting the devil and the world and our own flesh. But they don’t establish the Church among us, they don’t make faith sprout within us. Only the Word of God accomplishes that.
When you were baptized, Christ made you His own and claimed you as His beloved. You were marked with the cross on forehead and heart as a sign to the devil, the world, and also to one another, that you were brought into the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. As St. Paul declares, “do you not know that if we have been baptized into Christ’s death? If we have therefore been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His.”
Resurrection Sunday is on the way. Today begins the season of preparation before the greater season of preparation, before the season of the cross, death, and burial of Christ, and the feast of the resurrection of Christ.
Persevere, beloved. Life is hard, you know that. Persevere. Who would expect the trophy at the end of the game, if they gave up in the 4th quarter? Your crown awaits you after your death and resurrection. Christ is your crown. And He Himself sustains you.
In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.