Crossing the Finish Line

By Jamie Gruber

The gun fired and the eight runners took off toward the finish line. Mid way down the track, one man fell. He got up, but fell down again. This happened a couple more times before in frustration, the man began to sob loudly. Two of the other runners heard the cries and turned to look at the man stumbling down the track. Without hesitation both runners turned away from the finish line and ran to help him. Picking him up off the ground, the three runners ran holding raised hands across the finish line. The cheering crowd erupted with joy for the next ten minutes.

This story of the Special Olympics is a beautiful picture of humanity. Sadly, for every one story like this, we could think of hundreds that have defiled humanity. Terry Polakovic, co-founder of ENDOW, in a speech at the Eucharist Congress earlier this month defined for us why the bad stories outweigh the good. Quoting Sister Maximilia Um, FSGM, she said, “The angst of modern man lies precisely in his inability to decode and understand the secret of his own nature.” We have it all twisted—we are running away from the opportunities that will teach us how to decode and understand our nature, and instead we are sprinting toward a “gold medal” that has no merit in Heaven.

Last night, I was in the kitchen with my roommate doing the dishes. She asked the routine questions about my day. I answered in my usual way: super busy. She prodded a little deeper and I realized my day really wasn’t that busy or crazy, but by saying I was busy I felt that I had made progress in the pursuit of my own “gold medals.”

The story of Mary and Martha from Luke’s Gospel shares a similar message:

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.
-Luke 10:38-42

Can you imagine Jesus coming into your house to spend time with you and you are running around, cleaning and cooking and INGORING Him!? Absurd, right? That is what we do every day when we choose to follow paths to our own gold medals. Jesus has fallen and He is crying out in every person we pass. We have ignored Him and continue to do so as we choose worldly pursuits.

The story of the Special Olympics is a perfect picture of what I hope to see when I enter into God’s Kingdom. As I run across the finish line, I want to be holding hands in triumph with all those who have helped me and I them gain Heaven. And when we get there we will hear the sweet words “Well done, good and faithful servant.”