Running the Race, Seeing the SignsRead Time 9 min

27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
HABAKKUK 1:2-3; 2:2-4
2 TIMOTHY 1:6-8, 13-14
LUKE 17:5-10

When I was in college, I loved to train for and run marathons. And while there were many aspects of race day that were special, one of the most memorable were the signs that spectators held up along the course. As you may expect, there were plenty of inspirational signs often held by family or friends of a particular runner. But there were also some downright funny signs that got all the athletes to laugh.

Some of my favorites: “I trained for MONTHS to hold this sign! You are NOT almost there! Worst parade ever.” And maybe my favorite, “Isn’t this a bit much for a free banana?” Even if it was, after hundreds of miles of training, we were all too far in to care.

These signs would come in all shapes, colors and fonts. They were held up by family, friends and complete strangers. But they all had at least one thing in common: None of them said “stop,” or “give up.” The signs were all easy for us to read no matter how tired we were, and they all encouraged us to keep going.

In our first reading, we read from Habakkuk. Habakkuk’s book is shorter compared to the other prophets, making him a “minor” prophet. But do not let that fool you. Without flinching, Habakkuk takes on some of the problems that have vexed humanity from the beginning. For the prophet Habakkuk wrestles with nothing less than the mystery of evil. In the short span of a couple chapters, he raises questions such as: Why do the wicked seem to triumph over the just? Why does God seem silent when violence rages all around?

After Habakkuk finishes his lament, God gets to respond. That is where our first reading picks up. God says, “Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily … the just one, because of his faith, shall live.” (Hab 2:2) There is another English translation I like that illustrates just how clear the vision is written. Something the weary Habakkuk could read. “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets,” God says, “so that a runner may read it.” Like the signs of the marathons, God is effectively saying, “keep running.”

The rest of the book of Habakkuk is a reminder that, while evil might enjoy a short-term gain, it will always result in an eternal loss. On the other hand, there is joy awaiting those who keep the faith and whose strength is the Lord. In fact, the book closes with the image of the runner. Habakkuk concludes the book with a prayer ending with, “God, my Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet swift as those of deer and enables me to tread upon the heights.” (Hab 3:19)

St. Paul is notable for likening our life of faith with a footrace. (2 Tm 4:6) Like a marathon, with each step forward, there can seem to be many forces slowing us down whether internal or external. But a consistent message of Scripture is “keep going.” We get a sense of this when we turn to our Gospel. While not speaking of a race, Jesus tells the parable of a servant returning home after working in the field and tending sheep. Turns out, this servant was only half done with his day’s duties.

After working in the field, that servant, says Jesus, has even more work to do before he is invited to sit at the dinner table. When will we get a rest? We should not be surprised when Jesus says, “not yet.” After all, even when Jesus invites us into his rest, he invites us to take his yoke upon our shoulders. (Mt 11:29) A yoke, of course, is an instrument of work.

In the parable, Jesus has the master saying to the servant, “prepare something for me to eat.” This command of the master in the parable echoes in the words of our Lord in Matthew 25. In Matthew 25, Jesus revealed that in feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, etc., we are truly serving Jesus. We are truly preparing for him something to eat. The poor we will have with us always. (c.f. Mt 26:11) Thus, on this side of eternity, there will always be work to do.

Only the saints, those who recognized Jesus in the least among them, who saw him hungry and gave him food, who saw him thirsty and gave him drink, are finally invited to sit at the banquet of heaven now that their earthly course is finished. Only after serving Jesus did they eventually receive the invitation to sit at the feast. So too for us, our primary vocation, that of holiness, will be fulfilled only insofar as we continue to serve. The Church gives us the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that help us to see the multitude of ways we can serve Christ in our action, words and prayer.

But the saints who are at peace are not distant from us. They are found along the entire course of life urging us to complete our race. They each echo the consistent message of God: to have faith, to run the race and never give up.