23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Eric Liddel was a Scottish Olympic Gold Medalist runner. He was given the honor of running for the 100 meters in the Olympics, but when he learned it was scheduled on Sunday, he refused to run because he believed Sunday is the day of rest. Scotland criticized him because of this. He was put into the 400 meter race which happened later that week. He won the race and broke the world record despite the fact he was not expected to win it.

Eric Liddel showed Scotland how he renounced the honor granted to him to run for the 100 meters in the Olympics for the sake of his faith. Even if he was misunderstood and criticized by his countrymen, he stood by his faith. He would not run on a Sunday as it is the Lord’s Day. His decision reminds us of the Gospel of Luke 14: 25-33, when Jesus said, “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” We, too, like Eric Liddel are called to follow Jesus not only in good times but also in bad times. We are called to renounce anything that may hinder us in following Jesus. We can only be called disciples of Jesus if we learn to make Jesus our priority. Amen.