July 2, 2014 WBAS Topics Prayer, WBAS Topics Virtues & Values, REL Topic- Virtues/Values, REL Asset - Prayer Card, REL Catechetical - Adult
By: Kathy Hendricks
A few weeks ago I mentioned the training my husband, Ron, had been doing for a 50-mile ultra-marathon. The race has been run and Ron finished in good measure, even winning third place in his age group. While only a bystander, I found the experience to be a grand example of cooperation. This awareness began to dawn on me while Ron was in training. While definitely a sole endeavor, the team of people helping, guiding, and supporting him for months was impressive. A chiropractor with a specialization in sports medicine treated a foot injury, and the owner of a store specializing in running gear advised him on foods to eat before and during the race. Family members, friends, neighbors and even casual acquaintances offered words of encouragement.
On race day itself, I was impressed with the cooperative efforts of volunteers registering the runners and serving their needs at the various aid stations along the way. It was evident how much work had been done prior to the race to mark the trail and plan for any number of contingencies. At the awards ceremony on the morning after the race, every single runner was called forward and acknowledged for his or her time. A prize was given to the man finishing three seconds before the sixteen-hour cut-off. He was cheered as loudly as the first place, eight-hour finisher.
Maybe I was so taken with all of this because there seems to be so little cooperation these days in other areas of life. The nature of competition in sports and business sets one person against another in a race to be #1. Even worse is vying to be on the right side of the political divide. Such fierce competition means there have to be losers in order to make way for the winners.
Jesus would certainly be an ill fit in such a society. He constantly seemed to cheer for those in last place and had little tolerance for the self-righteous. He called for cooperation with one another and with God’s magnificent Spirit so that all people could take their place with dignity and grace. He knew we wouldn’t all have the role of the runner who is feted at the end of the race, but that the task of service for and with one another mattered just as much. He viewed life, not as a rat race, but one only worth running in concert with each other. With Christ as both goal and inspiration, we find our strength renewed and able to soar with the wings of an eagle, running and not growing weary, walking and not growing faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
Bright Ideas
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Engage in a discussion with your family or group about the value of cooperation in your life. How do you find encouragement and support from those around you? How do you offer it to others in a spirit of cooperation?
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Download my Prayer for a Spirit of Cooperation and use it in your home or parish.