Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026

“You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.” (1 Corinthians 9: 24 -25, The Message Bible)

                Some of us are old enough to remember the opening words of the old TV show “The Wide World of Sports” on ABC, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” The latter was visually illustrated by a snow-skier epically wiping out on his downhill run.  Yikes!

                Susan and I have been watching a fair amount of the Olympics on TV lately.  Thus, we have seen both the thrills and the spills. We have seen both the tears of joy and the tears of defeat. We’ve heard stories about athletes who have overcome serious injurious, past failures, hardships, even cancer. Some were doubted when they began their sport’s journey. Yet here they were, finding themselves among some of the elite athletes of the world.

The winter Olympics features some of the most dare-devilish sports in the world. Sliding down a long icy chute on your back, riding on not much more than a sled which looks much like a cafeteria tray is not anywhere on my bucket list of things to do in my life. But we listened as these athletes explain how much they love their sport, how hard they have trained, the sacrifices they have made, what they have had to deal with and how grateful they are for those who have helped them along the way, for their families and coaches, their constant cheerleaders. All of them, win or lose, are proud to be Olympic athletes.

Several times, Paul uses athletic imagery to describe the Christian life. Not that Christianity is a sport, but he is encouraging excellence in our Christians endeavours. We don’t rest on our past laurels, but “press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:14, New Living Translation) It suggests that we should not settle down in our comfortable (?) pews and sink into lethargy, apathy, indifference and inactivity, thinking that we have it made or that we have punched our ticket into heaven.  Being a follower of Jesus requires movement, actions, intent, practice and setting our goals and aims for being the best we can be for Christ.

We are not alone in this ambition. Like the Olympic athletes we too, are surrounded by encouragers. So often, I heard one of the athletes talk about how “it takes a village” to get them to this point in their sport.  My prayer would be that we all are blessed by some community of believes who have walked beside us with their own examples, their encouragement, their support and their teaching. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

There are always excuses for avoiding the authentic work which we need to exercise our Christian faith and practice. Right now, I am blaming the weather or my bad leg or something for not getting any exercise. It is all too easy to sit at home and watch church on my screen. But there are things any of us can do even if we feel “disabled” in some way, ways which we can exercise our faith by reaching out to others, caring for others, supporting our church financially. We can pray; we can study our scriptures; we can offer kind, encouraging words becoming part of the village.

Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season, a season of reflection, self-examination and a re-kindling of faith in Jesus Christ who walked the road to Gethsemane for us.  But I don’t think that it should be just a passive undertaking. Jesus cleared the obstacles of sin, hell and even death so that we may live fully and abundantly. He has opened a way for us to do remarkable things in bis name: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (John 14:12) He has prepared us to strive for goodness, to achieve the best standards of love we can, to run the race before us.

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” (Hebrews 12: 2 -3)

Strap on your faith and see what you can do! You ‘ll be amazed.

 Prayer:

Our Loving God, as we begin this season of Lent, we are encouraged to follow the footsteps of Jesus. Help us to understand the amazing sacrifice which he took upon himself for our sakes, so that we may have life and life abundantly. Encourage us so that we may honour him by doing our best and giving it our all. Help us to accept the challenges which we face and yet, strive for gold standard of Love in all we do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.