Notes for
A Christian Perspective
on Sport
Franciscan University of Steubenville Athletic Dept.
Retreat
August 12, 2022
curated by Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR
John Paul II:
25th World Day of Tourism (27 September 2004)
3. St. Paul the Apostle proposed the image of
the athlete to the Christians of Corinth in order to illustrate
Christian life and as an example of effort and constancy (cf. I
Cor 9: 24-25). Indeed, the correct practice of sport must be
accompanied by moderation and training in self-discipline. It very
often also requires a good team spirit, a respectful attitude,
appreciation of the qualities of others, honest sportsmanship and
humility in recognizing one’s own limitations.…The Christian can
also find sports helpful for developing the cardinal virtues of
prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance in the race for the
wreathe that is “imperishable”, as St. Paul writes.
Virtue of Sport
Catholic Register Editorial
July 25, 2012
John Paul II was affectionately known as the
“athlete pope.” As a student he was a runner and soccer player and
later became an ardent swimmer, skier and hiker. He believed that
sport, in its pure form, could provide an arena for evangelization
because the attributes required to become a champion — sacrifice,
passion, obedience, discipline — were similar in many respects to
those required to become a saint.
Sportsmanship, as an ideal, is all about character. It’s about
humility, honesty, loyalty, respect and generosity. It is not a
quest for perfection but, like a faith journey, is a quest for
virtue. There will be moments of temptation and times of failure
but the true sportsman, like the faithful person, will acknowledge
setbacks with integrity and strive to become better. John Paul II once said the Church values sport because it advances
the complete development of the body and soul and contributes to
the advancement of a more human society. He believed the virtues
evident in true sport could cultivate harmony among cultures and
peace among nations.
“Sports have, in themselves, an important moral and educative
significance,” said John Paul II. “They are a training ground of
virtue, a school of inner balance and outer control, an
introduction to more true and lasting conquests.”
He called sport a gift from God to mankind.
George Feeney
“A Catholic Perspective: Physical Exercise and Sports,”
Aquinas Press, 1995, p. 20.
Pope John Paul II…“views sports as a
school for social education in that it encourages solidarity,
brotherhood and loyalty. He sees it also as a school of human
virtue, inspiring the noble ideals of courage, honesty, sense of
duty, fair play, discipline, tenacity, self-control, and chivalry.
He values exercises and sports as a means of greater self-mastery
and as a way of helping people through basic human virtues, to
develop a balanced personality. He views the dignity of the human
person as the goal of sporting activity.”
Bro. Jude McKenna, OFM, Cap., former
professional boxer, judo professional and an Olympic coach, reflects
on John Paul II’s statement:
“Sports have, in themselves, an
important moral and educative significance.”“I always believed in the value of [sport] as a
school for personal discipline,” Bro. Jude wrote. “Sport gives
people focus and vision. They aim for something, they train for it
and many of them are or have become tremendously disciplined
people. This is a quality that adds to the journey of life, making
them much better citizens, fathers and mothers of the future.”
“John Paul II urged the faithful to find a sport “which
contributes to the love of life, teaches sacrifice, respect and
responsibility, leading to the full development of every human
person.”
It “…is no easy task for athletes — it takes
commitment, sacrifice and countless hours of practice,” Bro. Jude
said. “This applies, also to our journey of faith where we work to
receive our eternal reward.”
“I think that our minds, our spirits and the
whole soul of m/w all operate better via sport. In every
dimension, where the body is kept fit and clean and pure,
overall morale is improved.” Bro. Jude emphasizes John Paul II’s statement
that “sports are a godly endeavor when approached in prayer and
love.”
Developing a Theology of Sport
Today’s Parent Note is contributed by Andy Burns,
Religion and Family Life Consultant for the Hamilton Wentworth
Catholic District School Board
Ontario, Canada
Theology challenges us to
reflect upon our relatedness to God, to others and to the
created order. A study of theology can enrich our
understanding of the meaning and purpose of living and of our
daily activities.
A Christian theology of sport
invites and encourages each member of the Church to enter
conversation about the meaning, purpose and value of sport
from a faith perspective. It is an activity in which we desire
to express our beliefs about the relationship between sport
and the Gospel and how that relationship may be best lived out
in our everyday sporting activities.
"Lessons from World of Sports"
Archbishop Jurkovic
December 1, 2017 | Jim Fair
Pope Francis said in his
message for the FIFA World Cup, “In this practice of sports,
we can see a metaphor for life. In life it is necessary ‘to
train’, to strive to achieve important results. The spirit of
sports becomes an image for the necessary sacrifices in order
to grow in the virtues that are necessary for the character of
a person. For a person to improve, extensive and consistent
‘training’ is necessary, and much more is needed to achieve an
encounter and peace between ‘improved’ people! It’s necessary
‘to train’ a lot…” (Pope Francis, Video message for FIFA World
Cup 2014. Translation in L’Osservatore Romano, 12 20 June
2014).
When athletes prepare
themselves for a race or a match, the methodical workout
develops their talents and helps them to overcome personal
challenges, learn discipline and a sense of sacrifice. All
this creates the pathway for authentic human development since
it requires sacrifice, tenacity, patience, and, above all,
humility, which does not receive applause from the public, but
which is the real secret of victory.
…the Church attaches great
value to sports education, which is a training ground of
virtue, a school of inner balance and outer control, an
introduction to more true and lasting conquests. As a matter
of fact, athletic activities — when practiced in the proper
manner — can develop strength, proficiency, perseverance, and
harmony, while, at the same time, favoring interior growth,
becoming a school of loyalty, courage, endurance, tenacity,
and fraternity.
Since “in sport, as in life,
competing for the result is important, but playing well and
fairly is even more important!” (Pope Francis, Address to
participants in the “Sport and Faith” conference: ensure sport
is inclusive and its benefits are accessible to all. 05
October 2016), the real challenge before us is, therefore, to
maintain the honesty of sport.
Pope Francis
Letter to Cardinal Farrell on the New Document on Sport:
“Giving the Best of Yourself. A Document about the Christian
Perspective on Sport and the Human Person.”
June 01, 2018, ZENIT
“I would like to emphasize the role of sports as
a means for the mission and sanctification. The Church is called
to be a sign of Jesus Christ in the world, also thru the sports
practiced in oratories, parishes, schools, and associations… Every
occasion is good for announcing Christ’s message, “whether the
time is favorable or unfavorable” (2 Tm 4:2). It is important to
bring, to communicate this joy transmitted by sports, which is
none other than the discovery of the human potentials that incite
us to unveil the beauty of creation and of the human being, made
in the image and likeness of God. Sports can open the way to
Christ in those places or environments where, for different
reasons, it is not possible to announce Him directly; and people,
with their witness of joy, practicing a sport as a [team], can be
messengers of the Good News.… “We need to deepen the close connection that exists between sport
and life, which can enlighten one another, so that the effort to
surpass oneself in an athletic discipline also serves as a
stimulus to always improve as a person, in all of life’s aspects.
This pursuit puts us on the path that, with the help of God’s
grace, can lead us to the fullness of life that we call holiness.
Sport is a very rich source of values and virtues that help us to
become better people. Like the athlete during training, practicing
sport helps us to give our best, to discover our limits without
fear, and to struggle daily to improve…
"Giving the Best of Yourself:
A Document on the Christian Perspective
on Sport and the Human Person"
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life
June 1, 2018
This marks the
first document of the Holy See on sport.
Giving one’s very best is a fundamental theme in sports, as
athletes both individually and collectively strive to achieve
their goals in the game. When a person gives his very best, he
experiences satisfaction and the joy of accomplishment. The same
is true in human life in general and in living out the Christian
faith.…This document attempts to help the reader understand the
relationship between giving our very best in sports and in
living the Christian faith in every aspect of our lives.
Pope Francis in an address to the Italian Tennis Federation (8
May 2015) said, “The Church is interested in sport because the
person is at her heart, the whole person, and she recognizes
that sports activity affects the formation, relations and
spirituality of a person”[2] .
The universality of the sports experience, its communicative and
symbolic strength, and its great educational and training
potential are very evident today. Sport is now a phenomenon of
civilization that fully resides in contemporary culture and
permeates the styles and choices of many people’s lives so we
could question ourselves as Pius XII did: “How can the Church
therefore not be interested in sport?” (Address to Italian
Sportsmen, 20 May 1945).
…“The Church must be in the front ranks in this area, in order
to plan a special apostolate adapted to the needs of athletes
and especially to promote sports which can create the condition
of a life rich in hope,” said John Paul II (Address to the
participants in the National Convention of the Italian Episcopal
Conference, 25 November, 1989). The Church not only encourages
sports practice but also wants to be “in” sport, considered as a
modern Courtyard of the Gentiles and an areopagus where the
Gospel is announced.…
The Church has been engaged in dialogue with sport from the
earliest years of its existence. It is well known that St. Paul
used sports metaphors to explain the Christian life to the
Gentiles. In the medieval period, lay Catholics played games and
sports on feast days, which accounted for a good deal of the
year, as well as on Sundays. Such play found theological support
in the writing of Thomas Aquinas who argued that there can be “a
virtue about games” because virtue has to do with moderation. A
virtuous person, by this account, should not be working all the
time, but also needs time for play and recreation. The humanists
of the Renaissance and the early Jesuits made use of Thomas
Aquinas’ understanding of virtue when they decided that students
needed time for play and recreation during the course of the
school day. This was the original rationale for the inclusion of
play and sports in educational institutions in the Western
world.
…the purpose was not to create a “Christian” sport that was
different, separate or an alternative development but to offer a
vision for sport that is grounded in a Christian understanding
of the human person and of a just society.
…The experience of sport is one that involves justice,
sacrifice, joy, harmony, courage, equality, respect, and
solidarity on this search for meaning. Ultimate meaning from a
Christian understanding is the ultimate happiness that is found
in the experience of the all-encompassing love and mercy of God
as realized in a relationship with Jesus Christ in the Spirit
which takes place in and is lived out in the community of faith.
The term ‘sport’ itself, of course, is more recent. It stems
from the Old French expression desporter or se desporter — which
is a derivate of the Latin word de(s)portare — and means to
amuse oneself. Eventually, in the early Modern Age the
abbreviation ‘sport’ was coined, and from that time on, the term
was used to describe the variety of activities that fascinate so
many people as athletes or as spectators.…
…in the “throwaway culture” of which Pope Francis often reminds
us, lasting commitments often scare us. Sport helps us in this
regard by teaching that it is worth embracing long-term
challenges. Training and sustained efforts to improve are
worthwhile, as the highest goods can only be achieved when
people seek such goods without shying away from uncertainties
and challenges that come with various responsibilities. In
addition, overcoming difficulties such as injuries and resisting
temptations to cheat in a game help strengthen one’s character
through perseverance and self-control.
The word competition alludes to this experience, as the word
comes from the two Latin roots “com” –with –and “petere” — to
strive or to seek. The competitors are “striving or seeking
together” for excellence. The many examples of athletes shaking
hands and embracing or even socializing or sharing a meal after
an intense contest have much to teach us in this regard.
"Sporting activity," John Paul II said, “must be an unavoidable
occasion to practice human and Christian virtues of solidarity,
loyalty, good behavior and respect for others, who must be seen
as competitors and not as mere opponents or rivals” (John Paul
II, Address to the Mexican national soccer team, 3 February
1984.) In this way, sports can set higher goals beyond victory,
toward the development of the human person in a community of
teammates and competitors.
…Nowadays we can see many manifestations of individualism.
Individual goals sometimes seem to prevail over the common good.
Sport is a school of teamwork that helps us overcome
selfishness. In it the individuality of each player is related
to the team that works together toward achieving a common goal.
Each member is unique and contributes in a particular way to the
team. Individuals are not lost in the whole, because they are
valued in their particularity. They all have a unique importance
that makes the team stronger. A great team is always made up of
great individuals who do not play alone but together.
…In sports, the gifts and talents of each individual in
particular are placed at the service of the team.
People who participate in sport are very familiar with the
notion of sacrifice. No matter the level of expertise or type of
activity involved, team or individually focused, the athlete
must subject themselves to discipline and focus on the task at
hand if they are to learn and acquire the necessary skill. To
achieve this often means that the person has to follow a regular
and structured program. This is best done when the sport
participant accepts that they will have to take on a path that
involves some level of hardship, self-denial and humility. This
is because learning and performing a sport always involves an
encounter with failure, frustration and challenge.…Although
addressing Olympians, Saint John Paul II has this to say on the
value of sacrifice in sport for all athletes, no matter their
level: “…we admired the feats of the great athletes, who
sacrificed themselves for years, day after day, to achieve those
results. This is the logic of sport, especially Olympic sports;
it is also the logic of life: without sacrifices, important
results are not obtained, or even genuine satisfaction” (John
Paul II, Homily on the occasion of the Jubilee of sports people,
29 October 2000).
These encounters with sacrifice in sport can help athletes form
their characters in a particular way. They can develop the
virtues of courage and humility, perseverance and fortitude. The
common experience of sacrifice in sport can also help believers
understand more fully their vocation as children of God.
Maintaining a life of prayer, a rich sacramental life, and
working for the common good, are frequently accompanied by many
obstacles and difficulties. We try to overcome these challenges
by our steadfast persistence and self-discipline, and with the
grace that flows from God. “Strict discipline and self-control,
prudence, a spirit of sacrifice and dedication,” (John Paul II,
Address to the delegates of the Italian mountain climbing club,
26 April 1986) according to Saint John Paul II, represent the
spiritual, psychological and physical qualities tested in many
sports. The mental and physical demands and challenges of sport
can help to strengthen one’s spirit and self-awareness. A
Catholic account of the anthropological value of sport and
sacrifice is grounded in the everyday world of all players. They
know through their lived experience that sacrifice and suffering
have a potentially transformative nature.
…We are asked to live our sport in and with the Spirit, since as
Saint John Paul II once said, “You are true athletes when you
prepare yourselves not only by training your bodies but also by
constantly engaging the spiritual dimensions of your person for
a harmonious development of all your human talents” (John Paul
II, Address to athletes of the Athletics world championships in
Rome, 2 September 1987).
Pope Francis said to members of the European Olympic Committee:
“When sports are considered only within economic parameters or
for the sake of victory at any cost, one runs the risk of
reducing athletes to mere merchandise for the increasing of
profit. These same athletes enter into a system that sweeps them
away, they lose the true meaning of their activity, the joy of
playing that attracted them as children and that inspired them
to make many real sacrifices and become champions” (Francis,
Address to members of the European Olympic Committee, 23
November 2013).
…”The pastoral care of sport is a necessary moment and an
integral part of the ordinary pastoral care of the community.
The first and specific purpose of the Church in the sports field
is manifested as a commitment to give meaning, value and
perspective to the practice of sport as a human, personal and
social fact” (Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, “Sport e Vita
Cristiana”, n. 43).
The human person who is created in the image and likeness of God
is more important than sport. The person does not exist to serve
sport, but rather sport should serve the human person in his or
her integral development.
As has been mentioned, the person is a unity of body, soul and
spirit, this means that the embodied experiences of play and
sport necessarily also involve and impact young people at the
level of soul and spirit. For this reason, they can be a part of
the education of the whole person. Pope Francis has encouraged
viewing play and sport as a part of a holistic education which
addresses the head, the heart and the hands, or what one is
thinking, feeling and doing.…
Sport Pastoral Ministry
The Church’s commitment to sport is to ensure that sport always
remains an experience capable of giving meaning and value to
people’s lives, at whatever level it is promoted or practiced,
in any place or environment where it is organized. Sport must
always be aimed at the integral formation of the person,
improving social conditions, and the building of interpersonal
relationships. This is why the pastoral care of sport is fitting
in many environments and can be promoted in many contexts.
In his talk to the Italian Sports Center in 2014, Pope Francis
encouraged his listeners and encourages us today to give the
very best of ourselves, not only in sport, but in the rest of
our lives as well: “As sportsmen, I invite you not only to play,
like you already do, but there is something more: challenge
yourself in the game of life like you are in the game of sports.
Challenge yourself in the quest for good, in both Church and
society, without fear, with courage and enthusiasm. Get involved
with others and with God; Don’t settle for a mediocre “tie”,
give it your best, spend your life on what really matters and
lasts forever” (Francis, Address to members of the sports
associations for the 70th Anniversary of the foundation of the
CSI (Italian Sports Center), 7 June 2014).
"More than a Game: A Theology
of Sport"
Jeremy R. Treat
Themelios: an International Journal for Students of Theological
and Religious Studies,
Volume 40 - Issue 3
What is the meaning of sport? There seem to be two polar
responses: some dismiss sports as merely a game, while others
worship sports as nearly a god. The first response minimizes
sports as a childlike activity, good for passing time but
largely insignificant for the deep matters of life. The second
response deifies sports, expressing religious devotion and
offering sacrifices of money and time at the altar of winning.
What is the meaning of sport? There seem to be two polar
responses: some dismiss sports as merely a game, while others
worship sports as nearly a god.
The church has always struggled to rightly understand the role
of games in God’s greater purposes. The Apostle Paul seemed to
appreciate sports, or he was at least familiar with them, using
athletic metaphors such as running the race (1 Cor 9:24),
fighting the good fight (1 Tim 6:12), and training in
righteousness (2 Tim 3:16).
In the first few centuries of the church, however, Christians
were largely against the sports of the day, albeit for
understandable reasons. The early Olympic games were dedicated
to pagan gods like Zeus and Nike and athletes usually competed
in the nude. Moreover, the most popular sporting event — the
gladiator games — involved throwing Christians into the ring
with wild bears and lions.
Up until the late eighteenth century, sports were for the most
part recreational. The industrial revolution, however, laid the
railroad tracks for the professionalization of sports, with the
train pulling into the station in the latter half of the
twentieth century. With the professionalization and
popularization of sports today, Christians have jumped on board,
to say the least, seeing sports as a potential classroom for
morality and a platform for evangelism.
How, then, ought followers of Jesus think of sports today?
Play…is the unstructured…activity that creatively enjoys the
gift of creation. Play turns into a game when rules are added
and teams are formed (in some cases). Sport, then, is when the
rules of a game are universalized and there is the added element
of agon, moving it from a mere game to a contest.
Jeremy Treat notes: I need to clarify at this point that by
“sport” I do not necessarily mean what we think of with modern
professionalized sport. It is debated whether that counts as
“play” by definition, and in many ways modern sport is more
about entertainment and business than about playful delight. The
complex issues of sport and economics, culture, and sociology
are not easily detangled from the games themselves, and engaging
these aspects of the professional world of sports is beyond my
scope.”
Competition has often been one of the most difficult aspects of
a Christian understanding of sport. Can one love their neighbor
while trying to block their shot, tackle them behind the line of
scrimmage, or check them into the boards? The etymology of the
word “competition” is helpful, for the Latin com-petito
literally means “to strive together,” rendering sport a
“mutually acceptable quest for excellence.” As iron sharpens
iron, competition enhances play. Michael Goheen and Craig
Bartholomew rightly argue that it is cooperation, not rivalry,
that is at the heart of competition: “In sports, teams or
individuals agree cooperatively to oppose one another within the
stated goals, rules, and obstacles of the game.”
Within this context of playfully developing and delighting in
God’s creation we can say that sports are part of God’s
intention and design for creation.
Scripture clearly says that after God finished his work of
creation, he proclaimed that it was all very good (Gen 1:31).
This declaration of goodness does not merely pertain to the
physical matter of creation (dirt and trees) but also to the
cultural fabric of creation (developing and delighting). God
cares about baptism and business, redemption and romance,
Sabbath and sport. Playing sports was not meant to be a neutral
activity, but was designed as a good part of the broader vision
of humanity cultivating and cherishing God’s creation. Although
sin and the fall certainly have done their damage to sports, one
thing is clear: sports were made good and were part of God’s
plan for human flourishing.
Sports can be a platform for evangelism or a classroom for
morality, but they are first and foremost a playground for
receiving and enjoying the goodness of the Creator.
But how does sin affect sports? The answer is twofold because
all sin amounts to either taking a good thing and twisting it
into a bad thing (sin as immorality) or taking a good thing and
making it an ultimate thing (sin as idolatry).24 Both aspects
are crucial to understand how the fall affects sports.
In a world marred by sin, sports become a playground for
violence (bench-clearing brawls), cheating (corked bats,
deflated footballs, etc.), injury (especially life-threatening
and brain-damaging injuries), and performance-enhancing drugs
(haunting whole sports such as baseball, cycling, and track).
The effects of sin, however, are not limited to the individual
immorality of athletes, but also extend to the systemic
brokenness of sports teams, cultures, and industries. Modern
professional sports are a powerful engine in the machine of
American consumerism, greed, and narcissism. In many ways,
modern professional sports simply represent the cultural
brokenness of the society at large, but they also further shape
the society as well. Sin shapes sport culture in a variety of
systemic ways, such as the win-at-all-costs mentality that
leaves in its wake broken families, compromised integrity, and
wounded friendships.
Sin is not merely doing bad things, it is making a good thing an
ultimate thing. The Bible calls this idolatry.
When a good thing becomes an ultimate thing it eventually turns
into a destructive thing. Sports are more than a game, but they
are certainly less than a god.
Just as sports were created good but can become twisted by sin,
many people begin playing sports with a love for the game but
then turn to using sports for a deeper love of fame, money, or
accomplishments. Sports begin as a gift but can easily evolve
into a god.
…When sinners understand that they are justified by the blood of
Christ, this frees them from having to justify themselves
through their accomplishments. Sports then become a gift; they
no longer bear the pressure of being the way that we prove
ourselves to the world. Because of grace, God’s people are
motivated not by guilt but by gratitude. Through the gospel,
athletes can stop looking to sports to justify themselves and
play sports as they were designed to be, as a gift to be enjoyed
for their intrinsic good and to be stewarded for the good of
others.
The core identity of a Christian is that he or she is “in
Christ” by the work of the Spirit. This truth flows from the
fountain of the gospel: the Christian’s identity is based not on
their performance but on God’s grace. One is not a soccer player
who happens to be a Christian. He or she is a Christian who
plays soccer. The follower of Jesus does not need to build an
identity through their accomplishments, for they have been given
an identity because of Jesus’s accomplishment. Sports matter,
but they must be understood from the right perspective. Because
of the gospel, we are not defined by our sin nor by our success,
but by our savior.
Sports ethics plays out on the field and off the field.
The church does not need more athletes who cut corners so they
can get to the top and thank God, but rather athletes with
integrity who are unwilling to compromise their conduct because
they care more about what God thinks of them than what the world
does.
William Barclay,
1 Cor. 9:24–27 — "The Letters to the Corinthians"
The Daily Study Bible series, Rev. ed. (Philadelphia: The
Westminster Press, 2000, c1975), 86.
“Do you not know that the
runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins
the prize? Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They
do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were
shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that,
after having preached to others, I myself should be
disqualified.”
Exercises: Greek:
agonizomai (ag-o-nid’-zom-ahee)
to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively
(to contend with an adversary), or genitive case (to endeavor to
accomplish something): — fight, labor fervently, strive.
Paul was always fascinated by the
picture of the athlete. An athlete must train with intensity if
he is to win his contest; and Corinth knew how thrilling
contests could be, for at Corinth the Isthmian games, second
only to the Olympic games, were held. Furthermore, the athlete
undergoes this self-discipline and this training to win a crown
of laurel leaves that within days will be a withered chaplet.
How much more should the Christian discipline himself to win the
crown which is eternal life.
In this passage Paul sets out a kind of brief philosophy of
life.
(i) Life is a battle.
(ii) To win the fight and to be victorious in the race demands
discipline. We have to discipline our bodies; it is one of the
neglected facts of the spiritual life that very often spiritual
depression springs from nothing else than physical unfitness. If
a man is going to do his best work in anything he must bring to
it a body as fit as he can make it.
(iii) We need to know our goal. A distressing thing is the
obvious aimlessness of the lives of so many people; they are
drifting anywhere instead of going somewhere.
(iv) We need to know the worth of our goal.
(v) We cannot save others unless we master ourselves.
J. Paul Sampley,
"The First Letter to the Corinthians,"
in New Interpreter's Bible, ed. Leander E. Keck, vol. 10
(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994–2004), 909.
As Paul draws the first part of the
digression to a close, he invites his readers, so familiar with
the Athenaic and Isthmian games, the latter probably having been
staged no more than eight miles from Corinth and most recently
less than a year prior to this writing, to think of themselves as
athletes, as indeed he considers himself. In the Greco-Roman world
athleticism was highly valued, athletes were honored, and every
major city had an arena. The games were analogous to war; the
events were often those associated with battle. This association
of games and battle fits Paul’s notion that God’s plan is like a
battle and believers must be fit and ready (cf. 2 Cor 6:7; 1 Thess
5:8). To be the very best possible athlete — the function of the
“only one wins the prize” argument (9:24) — requires discipline and
self-control, self-mastery114 “in everything” as everyone in that
culture surely knew; and it is this point upon which Paul seizes.
Believers are like famous athletes115 in that believers must
exercise self-control “in all things” (pavnta panta, 9:25);
they are unlike those athletes in that believers are running for
imperishable rewards. In 9:25 Paul’s emphasis lies on the single
term panta, “in all things,” “in everything.” Typically,
Paul views life as an integrated whole; all of life is to be
placed in service to the gospel and others.
Along this line it must not go unnoticed that when Paul describes
the proper discipline appropriate to life in the gospel he
expresses it in two verbs bearing on to; sw`ma (to soma),
the body, that is, his own self, understood. The verbs (hypopiazo,
“to treat roughly” or here “to impose discipline”) and (doulago-
geo, “to enslave or bring into subjection”) surround and have as
their direct object “the body, the self”
In 9:26-27 Paul explicitly exemplifies the need and importance of
self-mastery as a part of the daily life of the believer this side
of the last judgment.
The first part of the digression closes with an ironic note that
may echo Paul’s earlier cry of “Woe” if he does not preach the
gospel. Would it not be ironic, he says, if after preaching to
others he failed to practice what he preached, and, at the
judgment, if he were found to be “disqualified” (adokimos, a
technical term of athletics in which a competitor fails the test
or is thrown out of the competition)? The implication is palpable:
If Paul, the chosen apostle, can anticipate that he might be found
disqualified in the last judgment because he did not exercise a
training code and life appropriate to the gospel, then all other
athletes in the gospel must reevaluate their discipline and
practice and bring themselves into comportment with the gospel.…In this Pauline irony there is a cautionary word for all who,
powered by the gospel, busy themselves so much with “helping” and
“rescuing” others that they end up not taking proper care with
their own self-discipline and thereby risk becoming disqualified.
Giving of the self without proper care of the self can be
self-destructive.
Paul relates one of the secrets of his evangelistic prowess: He
goes to people, where they are, on their own terms. He does not
require that they come to him or that they meet him on his own
ground. He, a Jew, is apostle to gentiles, non-Jews, but they do
not have to become Jews in order to be welcomed into the gospel.
He knows that the gospel bridges ethnic boundaries and works its
power in whatever context. he careful reader of 1 Corinthians will
have noticed, in the immediately preceding chapter, another
illustration of Paul’s willingness to adapt to others…
Kenneth L. Chafin and Lloyd J.
Ogilvie,
The Preacher’s Commentary Series,Volume 30 : 1, 2
Corinthians,
Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary, T
Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1985, 117.
In these verses Paul begins by
putting the price tag on spiritual leadership, and he closes
with a solemn warning. The cost for spiritual leadership is
spiritual discipline. The analogy he uses first is that of the
track meet. Corinth hosted one of the most famous of the Greek
athletic events, second only to the Olympic Games. It was
impossible for anyone in the city not to be aware of the strict
disciplines and the strenuous training. But Paul felt that the
Christian race was different in at least two ways. The crown the
runners received was a wreath which soon wilted, while the
reward of the faithful Christian would last forever. Also, in
the races only one person could win, while in the kingdom of
God, every child of God has the potential for success. But there
was one thing that Paul felt that each Christian had in common
with the athletes — he or she needed discipline.
There is something in us that
makes us want the rewards of accomplishment without paying the
price.
We live in a day of “instant
everything,” but there is no such thing as spiritual leadership
without spiritual discipline. Growth involves consciously
cutting out of one’s life everything that does not aid in
reaching the goal. It involves patiently building into the life
those skills and habits of thought and action that make the goal
reachable.
The picture he paints with words
is that he is not some shadow boxer who shows off his muscles by
poking at the air but that he is in a real fight. Then as you
read, you realize that the enemy he is describing is not some
external foe who threatens his leadership but his own desires.
His words “I discipline my body and bring it under subjection”
(v. 27) obviously included all of the appetites of the body that
had to be controlled, but they also included everything Paul
meant in other places when he used the term “flesh.” That
more-inclusive term described anything, whether physical or
spiritual, that might undermine his effectiveness as God’s
servant. He was saying that he stayed in a constant battle with
himself in order to prevent doing anything that would disqualify
him in the work.
1 Timothy 6:12 — St. Paul then tells
Timothy to "compete well for the faith"…other translations say
"Fight the good fight of the faith".
➣ Compete/Fight in Greek = agonizomai
(ah-go-nee-zo-mai)
➣ Def: disciplined and determined struggle, to contend with an
adversary, or to endeavor to accomplish something — fight, labor
fervently, strive.
➣ Do you hear the word Agony? That is normal, life is difficult.
➣ To be a champion in sport, in life, or in faith requires great
struggles…
➣ As St. John Paul II said: striving “in perseverance, in
overcoming laziness and carelessness.”
Definition: Sport
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
physical activity engaged in for pleasure; play,
recreate, game
SPORTSMAN: person considered with respect to living up to the
ideals of sportsmanship
Cambridge Dictionary
a game, competition, or similar activity, done
for enjoyment or as a job, that takes physical effort and skill
and is played or done by following particular rules
all types of physical activity that people do to keep healthy or
for enjoyment
Ben Roethlisberger
Ron Cook |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | 7/22/2022
“I feel like the game has
changed. I feel like the people have changed in a sense. Maybe
it’s because I got spoiled when I came in. The team was so
important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and
this, that and the other.
“I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that’s my
biggest takeaway from when I started to the end. It turned
from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard. It’s
hard for these young guys, too. Social media. They’re treated
so well in college. Now, this new NIL stuff, which is
unbelievable. They’re treated so special. They’re coddled at a
young age because college coaches need them to win, too. I
know coach [Terry] Hoeppner never coddled me [at Miami of
Ohio]. Neither did [Bill] Cowher.”
➥ Ruggers: this is the core of Franciscan
rugby.<>➣ The pitch is your field for evangelization, your mission
territory:
➣ With your witness of joy in playing the game with your absolute
passion and your utmost dignity, you can be messengers of the Good
News, setting a good example on how sport can be the school of
virtue.
➥ Sport at FUS is a godly endeavor when approached in prayer and
love…and played with dignity and passion.
➣ Learn well these lessons of sport and faith that you may be found
trustworthy — with good team spirit, respectful attitude,
appreciation of the qualities of others, honesty in the game and in
life, and humility to recognize one’s own limitations…
➣ They will serve you well on your journey of life, as you grow into
the fullness God created each of you to become.
✏ Before I forget, you might check out my website which has
numerous additional resources:
✧
“Apple Seeds”®
: inspirational, motivation, quotations
✧
Athletics and Sports Ethics and Virtue
web resources
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