THEOLOGICAL COMMENTARY – by Rev. Nicholas Sykes

RUNNING TO WIN

 St. Paul in 1 Corinthians chap 9 verse 24 says "In a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize. So run that you may obtain it."

 One of my friends and I have on more than one occasion thought together about how even minor players in the scheme of things can by God's grace make a difference, perhaps even a very great and significant difference as the future unfolds, if only they do not give up, but keep on doing what God gives them to do with the best efforts they can make, the most constant prayers they can offer and to the best of their ability. In his comparison of a Christian's efforts to the attitude of a runner in a race, St. Paul is saying something rather similar. The runner, if he wants the prize, must race with the intention of obtaining it. Any thought of giving in to defeat or tiredness or any sort of discouragement must be completely cast off. We too as those baptised into Christ have the same sort of choice to make on a continuous basis. Being a Christian, Paul says, should not be thought to be any easier than being an athlete, if we are actually and actively going to be one.

 The Scriptures give us an excellent pastoral framework for dealing with an area of human existence with which we are often greatly concerned. It is surely no secret to any of us that the area of our sexuality has a strong tendency towards disorder. Any Christian, having admitted this, is called to go on in faith by the grace of God working on the matter. What St. Paul says to the Philippians about our life as a whole, we can apply especially to the area of our sexuality: "Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect," he says, " ...but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3: 12 - 14). “So run that you may obtain the prize”, says St. Paul in today’s lesson. Paul too says that he has to discipline his body and keep it under control. We are called to be masters of ourselves in every department. Our sexuality is an area of life which we seek to bring into the wholeness of life in Christ which is promised to us eternally and which in faith we have experienced in a measure. The Church therefore teaches that in this as in all matters Christ is the great Healer, and many Scriptures also deal with healing. One may notice from Scriptures such as 2 Kings 5: 1-14 and Mark 1:40-45, that healing is not always attained without the effort of human cooperation with the grace of God: Naaman the Syrian had actually to go to traditionally enemy country for him, and then he had to suffer the indignity of washing himself in the river Jordan, to him a much inferior stream than the torrents available in his own land. That cooperation called forth a change of mind and heart in the one being healed: the ministry to him was not only physical, but mental and spiritual also. When Christ heals our sexuality, the same is true - He calls forth from us our cooperation, which in turn induces real changes of mind and heart and allegiance.

 It has often been implied that to declare that homosexual actions are not morally equivalent to the expression of human sexuality in matrimony is to show prejudice, ignorance or bigotry. Yet such a position is fully in line with the last Lambeth Conference statement on the matter. To say that the condition of homosexuality is a disorder is to tell the truth about it in the light of the unanimous witness of Holy Scripture, the historic doctrine of the Church, and in the light also of reason and accurate modern statistics. It is no more bigotry to tell the truth about it than it is for a physician to tell his physically sick patient the truth about his disordered condition. If he did not tell his patient the truth about his condition, but allowed him to deteriorate while being misled to believe all was well or not serious, the physician could be liable to censure. He would also be demonstrating a lack of care for his patient. But many of those who have identified themselves with the homosexual lifestyle adamantly refuse to receive any word about the gravity of their condition or the peril to them and others of their lifestyle.

 Healing is not always or usually attained without the effort of human cooperation with the grace of God. Some conditions, sexual or otherwise, may not be healed physically at all before death, some may be removed only over a long time, and some may only be partially removed. Nevertheless in all such cases Christ heals still. There is a mental and spiritual component to healing as well as a physical component, and the Lord knows, even though we may not, what the process of our healing will be that He will effect for us at our request. We too may need to be brought to that place of saying, like St. Paul, "I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ might overshadow me." May the power of Christ overshadow and heal all His children.

 

For commentary, information and devotional material see www.churchofenglandcayman.com and www.anglicansatprayer.org