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The Collect for Proper 26 Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Collect for All Saints Day Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen These days, Monday Matters offers reflections on the prayers we say in church on Sunday, the collect of the day. We do this based on the conviction that praying shapes our believing, that what we pray forms us. We do this hoping that the prayers we say on Sunday will carry us through the week. |
Running the race
Yesterday was one of my favorite days in New York City. The marathon took place with thousands of runners gathered from all over the world, participating in a great parade through all five boroughs. Many if not all runners had folks standing on the sidelines cheering them on, a great cloud of witnesses.
I don’t know how often it is the case that the NYC marathon coincides with observance of the feast of All Saints. I suspect given the calendar it’s more often than not. I am struck with the overlap between the two.
Our scriptures, as they reflect on the ministry of saints in the world, often frame that ministry in terms of running a race. St. Paul, at the end of his life, writes as mentor to Timothy and says “I have run the race. I have kept the faith.” The letter to the Hebrews speaks of Jesus running the race that was set before him. It invites us to do the same.
Our liturgy picks up the theme. In one of the prayers as part of the eucharistic celebration of all saints, we speak of saints as lights in their generation who have run the race. And the collect which may or may not have been read yesterday in church, printed above, asks for the grace to run without stumbling to obtain God’s heavenly promises. (Note: no extra charge this week to get the collect for yesterday, as well as the collect for All Saints observance. A two-fer this Monday morning!)
The spiritual journey is definitely more of a marathon than a sprint. It calls for training, for discipline, for practice. Unless you are the spiritual equivalent of Rosie Ruiz (a generational reference) or George Santos (a more contemporary reference), there is no faking participation. It calls for practice. It is not a matter of circling a track dozens of times. It is a movement from here to there. Perhaps we can describe that destination as becoming more and more like Christ in the words of our mouth, the meditations of our hearts, and maybe most of all, in the ways we act. How would you describe the aim of your spiritual journey?
This spiritual marathon involves challenges like heartbreak hills. There may be moments when the runner hits the wall, even if we feel like we’re in good spiritual shape. That has happened to the best of the saints. If you want to get a vision of what the marathon looks like for people of faith, read the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 11. And while it is in many ways an individual pursuit, there is also great encouragement that one does not run alone.
The Feast of All Saints makes sure we recognize that, as we not only join with saints around the world, we claim to be part of the great communion of time linking us with those we love but see no longer, linking us with great heroes of the faith who have gone before. Think of them like the crowds lining the streets of the city, cheering the runners on, saying things like: “You’ve got this!”
All Saints observance invites us to think about the race we are running. Where is it headed? Where do we find energy? How have we trained for it? What’s the prize at the end of the race? St. Paul, spiritual marathon runner, described the prize in his letter to the Philippians. He said he was pressing on toward the high calling of God in Jesus Christ. Maybe we can claim that same goal this week. What would that mean for you?
-Jay Sidebotham
