***
2 Timothy: 4, 6-8, 17-18
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The word of the Lord.
***
***
John Stephen Akhwari was chosen to represent Tanzania in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Though his chances of winning the marathon were slim, they dropped to zero after he was nearly trampled to death by a group of other runners jockeying for position.
In a matter of seconds, Akhwari fell to the ground, gashed and dislocated his knee, and smashed his shoulder against the pavement.
After receiving emergency medical treatment, he pushed the doctors away, got up on his own and continued the race.
Almost an hour after a winner was crowned – and nearly every spectator left the stadium – Akhwari stumbled across the finish line, his bandages flapping in the wind.
***
When asked why he didn’t quit, Akhwari said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
***
Today we celebrate the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, men who ran the race to the finish and kept the faith.
In spite of being beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, imprisoned, and left for dead, they never gave up.
Even when he knew his death was near, for example, Saint Paul says, “All that awaits me now is the crown of righteousness.”
Paul had no doubts he would rise again.
***
Like Saints Peter and Paul, this is what God asks of us: not to start the race of faith, but to finish it.
All that awaits us at the finish line is the promise of the resurrection, sealed with the crown of righteousness.
***
***
Image credits: (1) The Pathway (2) Saint Peter and Saint Paul, El Greco (3) Devotions @ Methodist.SG