As
I contemplate the wisdom of running in the Sunderland 10K tomorrow, I am also
contemplating five times the Bible draws on running to impart wisdom…
Jeremiah
12:5
If
you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you, how will you
compete with horses? And if in a safe land you fall down, how will you fare in
the thickets of the Jordan?
One
of the highlights of my week is an early evening 10K run each Friday, always a
different circular route, always starting/finishing at the pub just across from
my house. It is a gentle way to transition from the week to the weekend, in
good company. Wednesday nights are training sessions, with efforts and
recoveries; but Friday is a steady pace. As we run, we talk; about our week,
our lives, or as a distraction from matters that weigh us down.
Out
for a run together, the prophet Jeremiah lays his complaint before God, that
the wicked flourish while the righteous suffer. And in reply, God takes him
deeper into the experience of running. Stretches Jeremiah out, until he is
blowing his cheeks and needs to drop his pace—something I know all to well, from
my conversations with fitter, faster runners on Friday nights. Is right there
when Jeremiah stumbles and falls—something else I know about, from running with
a pack. But this lesson is an intimate moment; for God shares that, just as Jeremiah
has been betrayed by his own family, so God has been betrayed by his people. God
is not indifferent to their wickedness; Jeremiah is not the only one grieved by
it. And God says that the wickedness
will result in the land lying desolate, even emptied of the people; but then, I
will once again show my compassion on them, will restore their fortunes.
We
run all over the city, through neighbourhoods that appear quite desolate (even
here, signs of hope, glimpses of God’s love) and through areas experiencing
regeneration. The city as a sermon, delivered on the run.
No comments:
Post a Comment