Prize for Others

Sermon on 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, February 15, 2009,

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B,

(word count: 994)

The Prize for Others

Exercising demands discipline. Exercising is something you need to do even if you don't feel like doing it. Some days, as you're sweating, burning and aching, you may say, “What is the point of all this? Is this exercise really doing me any good?” However, even though, at any one moment, the benefits of exercise may not be obvious, we have faith that a steady, persistent regimen of exercise does make us healthier. The research has shown over and over that exercise has large benefits for body and mind. So we keep plodding to the gym, keep walking, keep doing sit-ups, keep lifting weights, keep feeling the burn, because we have faith in the huge health benefits of exercise.

In some ways, living as a Christian is like exercise. We show up for worship, even if we don't feel like it. We pray, even if we doubt that prayer is beneficial. We read the Bible, attend Sunday school, even if we do not understand what we are reading or learning. We keep helping people, striving to do the right thing, even when there is a part of us nagging us to do the wrong thing. We keep living as the baptized, repenting, attending, praying, doing, over and over, day after day.

At any given time we may want to sigh and mutter, “What's the point? Is all this Christian stuff really beneficial? Does living as a Christian truly make a difference? Does God care? Does God even exist?” We have unbelief pacing inside us, but we keep going, because we believe that all of this is worthwhile, even priceless. Just as we trust that exercise is beneficial, we also have faith that the Christian life is beneficial.

Of course, even if living as a Christian weren't beneficial to us, we would do it anyway, because God deserves it. God, who has makes us, saves us, and sanctifies us, deserves our constant dedication as Christians, even if such living does not benefit us.

Nevertheless, it turns out that the Christian life, the life of the baptized, like exercise, does indeed benefit us. In fact, Paul talks about the benefits of the Christian life in our second reading, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. In this short passage, Paul uses athletic language to describe the Christian life. He writes, “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.” Later, in verse 27, Paul states, “[ . . . ] I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” Did you hear that? Paul uses athletic imagery to talk about the Christian life, and he indicates that, like exercise, the Christian life is beneficial. Paul preaches, “Run in such a way that you may win [the prize].” In other words, sweat, pant, and push yourself as a Christian, as the baptized, so that you can win the prize. Just like athletes racing to win the gold medal, live as a Christian, as the baptized, so you can win the prize.

What is the prize? For us Christians, what is the prize that we are racing for? Many Christians would say that the prize is eternal life. “Run the race of being a Christian so that, when you die, you can go to heaven, right?” Wrong. The truth is that we Christians do not run the Christian race to win eternal life, because Christ has already won that race for us. As Luther and the Book of Concord teach us, illuminating the Scriptures, you and I, the baptized, have eternal life in heaven waiting for us, but not because we are good at running the Christian race. We have eternal life for one reason and one reason only: Jesus died and rose for us. Period. All the racing in the world will not earn us the prize of eternal life. Christ won that prize for us when he died on the cross and came back to life. It is finished.

So then, what are we Christians straining, aching, and sweating for? What is the benefit that comes from being a Christian? If we are not racing for the prize of eternal life, then what is the prize, the benefit, that we are racing towards?

Maybe part of what we are racing for is, not a prize for the self, but a prize for others. Think about it. When a runner wins a race, that victory is often for her own glory, for her own prize, but maybe the Christian race rewards us, in part, by rewarding others. As I run the race of the baptized, the Christian race – as I attend worship, read the Bible, pray, eat and drink holy communion – one of the great prizes is that my running the Christian race leads to victory for others.

Picture this. You come to worship Sunday morning. You say hi, and your friendliness helps others feel better, even people you don't know well or who you think don't like you. You pray, and your prayer helps people have hope and healing. You attend Sunday school, and your presence and contributions help other people around the table to grow in wisdom. You place money in the offering plate, and that money helps to support the Church and people in need. The Holy Spirit uses us, the baptized, members of Christ's body, to build each other up.

“Oh, not me, Pastor.” “Yes, you. All of us.”

We, the baptized, run the amazing grace-race, the race of the Christian life. On any given day, we may slouch and sigh, wondering if any of this matters, feeling like we cannot trudge one more step. So tired, but we keep running the race, exercising, living as Christians, to win the prize, and part of that prize is that our racing helps others. When we win, others win, and God cheers.