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Some 32,500 runners competed in this year's edition of the Boston Marathon on Monday, one of the largest fields in the history of the race, which has been held annually for 118 years. This was not simply another running of the event, however, due to the two bombs exploded last year near the finish line by two terrorists, killing three spectators and injuring 260 more, some severely. That made this year's race not only a reclamation of the event, but also a declaration of resilience, pride and determination.
"There is a different energy this year," Jeff Morris told a Boston Globe reporter. Morris has attended the Boston Marathon as a spectator for many years. "This year they all have something different to run for," Morris said. "You can feel it."
The Globe reported that "elite athletes and weekend plodders together renew[ed] a determined pursuit of the finish line in Copley Square, amid greater-than-ever security."
Participants and spectators alike welcomed the security measures and said they felt safe.
In the week following last year's race, one of the bombers was killed in a shootout with police. The other was captured and is in prison awaiting trial.
The 2014 running of the 26.2-mile marathon marked the first time since 1983 that an American won the men's division. That runner, Meb Keflezighi, 38, had written four names on his yellow race bib: Martin, for 8-year-old Martin Richard; Krystle, for 29-year-old Krystle Campbell; Ling, for 23-year-old Lu Lingzi; and Sean, for 26-year-old Sean Collier. Richard, Campbell and Lingzi were the three spectators killed by the bombs last year. Collier was an MIT police officer later shot to death in his cruiser by one of the bombers. Speaking of his win, Keflezighi said, "This is for the victims."
Rita Jeptoo of Kenya won the women's division. Jeptoo also won the women's race last year.
Beyond the big wins were personal victories and moments worth celebrating. Celeste Corcoran, who lost both legs in the bombing, and her daughter, Sydney, who was also injured, ran the last block of the course with Celeste's sister Carmen Acabbo. "I did this for every single person who can't run this race," said Celeste, who ran on prosthetic running blades. Several other survivors also took part in the race.
At mile 26, near where the first bomb exploded last year, one runner, overcome with exhaustion, collapsed. Within seconds, four other runners, three men and one woman, all strangers to each other and to the fallen man, picked him up. Watching all of this, spectator Wesley Lowery tweeted, "Runner falls just short of the finish. Four others pick him up and carry him. I'm literally in tears." The four then carried the fallen runner the remaining two-tenths of a mile. At his request, they set him down a few feet short of the finish line so he could cross it under his own power. "The crowd exploded into [the] loudest cheer I've heard today," Lowery tweeted. "Walking, then jogging, they all, all 5, finished the race."
More on this story can be found at these links:
Outpouring of Resilience Fuels Boston Marathon. Boston Globe
Meb Keflezighi Makes History and a Statement in Boston Marathon. Los Angeles Times
Runner Falls Just Before Boston Marathon Finish Line, Others Carry Him Across. SB Nation
The Story Behind ... Runners Carrying a Competitor Toward the Finish. Washington Post
The Big Questions
1. Why do you think some of the New Testament writers used a race as a metaphor for the Christian life? In what ways does the image of a race apply to our lives?
2. Several of the competitors in this year's marathon ran not only for themselves, but also for others. What might be the equivalent of "running for others" in the Christian run toward the finish line?
3. In competitive racing, there can be only one first-place winner in each division. So how does that imagery work when applied to the Christian "race" where we do not normally speak about who comes in first?
4. Athletes discipline their bodies and train hard over long periods. Should that aspect of athletic competition translate into the spiritual life? If so, how?
5. Who contributes to your staying in the race of faith? Who has carried you when you have not been able to continue on your own?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Psalm 19:4-5
In the heavens [God] has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. (For context, read 19:1-6.)
Psalm 19:1-6 celebrate God's glory as seen in creation. In the verses above, the psalmist uses poetic language to speak about the passage of the sun across the sky during a daily cycle, which "like a strong man runs its course with joy." The psalmist invites us to picture the glory of God in that movement as a fit runner who competes joyfully, knowing that his training is coming into play, conveying him successfully to the finish line.
Questions: In what ways do both nature and Scripture speak to you personally about the glory of God? How is joy reflected in your Christian race?
Ruth 1:22
So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. (For context, read 1:1-22.)
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (For context, read 2:11-22.)
This year's winner of the men's division, Meb Keflezighi, is the first American man to win in decades, but he was not always an American. Keflezighi and his family were refugees from a part of Ethiopia that is now in Eritrea. They came to the United States in 1987, and Keflezighi became a naturalized citizen in 1998. Like others who have become citizens by naturalization, his story reminds us of the value of drawing a wide circle when defining who is an American.
Consider the biblical Ruth. The author of the book of Ruth goes out of his/her way to constantly identify Ruth as a Moabite, knowing that it's a loaded term. Moabites were supposed to be outside the circle, and Israelites were never to include them or marry one or eat with them. But Ruth exemplifies the Hebrew word chesed, the steadfast love that asks nothing in return, which is an attribute of God. And we learn at the end of the book that Ruth becomes one of King David's -- and therefore one of Jesus' -- ancestors. A Moabite is one of us.
Immigrants like Ruth -- and Meb -- often appreciate what it means to be one of us more than some of us who were born here. The same is true for the church. Those far off are brought near, as Paul notes in the Ephesians verse above.
Questions: In what ways does your congregation work at widening the circle of whom it welcomes? What do you think it is like to be an outsider who is welcomed and made part of the family/group/church?
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (For context, read 11:1--12:13.)
Hebrews 12 begins with "Therefore," which tells us that we are joining a discussion in progress (which makes reading the context important). In chapter 11, the author named and described a number of people from Israel's past who obeyed God.
As chapter 12 opens, the writer pictures his Christian audience as runners in an important race, "surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" -- those faithful people he has named in chapter 11 and countless others not named, who have already completed their race of faith. But rather than heading for the showers, these previous faith runners have now taken seats in the heavenly bleachers to cheer on those who are currently on the track. Thus, says the writer, the Christians currently alive ought to run their own races "with perseverance."
Like all runners, those now racing should "lay aside every weight," including sin, that hinders them from running. They should keep their eyes on the finish line, where Jesus, the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith" stands waiting for them. Jesus, too, has run the race, and on the way he "endured the cross, disregarding its shame" and "endur[ed] ... hostility against himself" (v. 3). Now, however, he stands at the finish line urging the best from those still on the track, so that they "may not grow weary or lose heart" (v. 3).
Question: How does the imagery of this passage from Hebrews apply to your life?
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (For context, read 3:3-16.)
In verses 4-11, Paul refers to his former status as an observant Jew and a Pharisee, but then testifies that his conversion to Christ rendered those earlier achievements as "loss." Now, Paul is moving toward a new goal, the "resurrection from the dead" (v. 11).
In the quoted verses above, Paul says he had not yet reached that goal. In one sense, his claim is incorrect, because all Christians are promised eternal life from the moment of conversion, but Paul likely meant that, since he was still physically alive, he had not yet entered into the eternal realm. Thus, he is still on the way there, a journey he describes in metaphor as a race. Paul understood that a runner can lose a race if he turns to see what is happening behind him. Instead the runner must keep the goal line in view. Paul's earlier achievements were behind him and the resurrection was ahead of him, at the finish line. What was present was the race of faith, which he needed to run faithfully, keeping the goal in sight.
Questions: To what degree are you motivated in the life of faith by the promise of eternal life? To what degree does the race itself provide its own motivation?
1 Corinthians 9:24, 26
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. ... So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air ... (For context, read 9:19-27.)
Here, Paul is talking about being completely committed to Christ, and he uses two athletic events as examples.
First, Paul again refers to the Christian life as a race. This time, however, Paul points out that in competitive racing, "only one receives the prize." In that regard, a footrace is not a good metaphor for the Christian life, for it is God's will that all runners in the race of faith win the goal of the kingdom of God. Nonetheless, Paul's point is that all Christians should run the race of faith as if they were striving for the winner's wreath. At the very least, we should be going for a personal best and not running aimlessly.
Paul's second example from the world of athletics focuses on the dedication one should bring to following Christ. In verse 26, Paul pictures himself as a boxer in training, disciplining his body so that when he enters the ring, he does not merely shadowbox "as though beating the air." Instead he actually takes on the faith-killing opponents.
Questions: What faith-killing opponents do you encounter in the spiritual boxing ring? How do you avoid only shadowboxing with them?
For Further Discussion
1. Comment on this, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "I ran seven marathons in the 1980s. A wonderful experience, very difficult for a non-athlete like me. When I was growing up, I wondered what sport I would be great in. It turned out I wasn't good at any of them. The only thing I excelled in was endurance. Slow, steady, trying to break four hours in the marathon (and doing it once). One of the key words in Scripture is endurance -- hypomone in the Greek [Editor's note: hypomone is the word translated as "perseverance" in Hebrews 12:1 above] -- 'this is written for the endurance of the saints.' I think that is the true message of apocalyptic. Not predicting the end, but enduring hard times, knowing they won't last. Hang on!
"I remember when I ran the marathon, I was shocked to discover (this never happened in training) that between miles 16 and 20 I would become chemically depressed. I lost all urge to continue, saw no point in it, was very negative. But I kept putting one foot in front of another. At mile 20 I was in terrible shape physically, but I was elated. The last six miles usually averaged out to 12 minutes a mile, but I was very happy. I could see the goal. After I got through the first marathon, I was no longer surprised by what happened at mile 16. But I was ready. This is for the endurance of the saints."
2. Comment on this, from a Yahoo! Sports report of Monday's marathon: "It was remarkable how few people got upset on Monday. There were a million people in the narrow streets of this old city, and there were hardly any scuffles or sharp words. Accidental bumps led mostly to quick apologies. A lack of space along the guardrails set off from the streets for safety led mostly to compromise. When a man tried to get to the overlook of a bridge to watch the men finish and couldn't squeeze in, he handed his two tiny American flags to the people who did make it to the front. They spun around in surprise and thanked him. Then they waved the man's flags as the leaders ran underneath where they stood."
Responding to the News
It is important to remind ourselves that endurance/perseverance is an important part of the faith.
Closing Prayer
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