Fr. Bob's Reflection for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Guest Post

Many of us are familiar with the legendary track and field athlete, Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals for the United States at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Far fewer people, however, know the name Luz Long. Luz Long was Germany’s top long jumper at those same Games and one of Adolf Hitler’s favorite athletes. During the Olympic trials, Long broke the long jump record and stood as the clear favorite to win. When Jesse Owens stepped onto the field to qualify, Hitler abruptly left the stadium – a pointed snub toward an athlete he considered inferior. Owens fouled on his first attempt and fell short on his second. One more failure would mean elimination. Then, just before his final jump, Owens felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Luz Long. Long quietly suggested that Owens draw a line in the sand a few inches before the takeoff board, giving him a safer launch point. Owens followed the advice – and it worked. He qualified by more than a foot. In the days that followed, Owens and Long formed an unlikely friendship, staying up late into the night, talking about life and the troubling state of the world. When the long jump finals arrived, Owens defeated Long for the gold medal. Yet it was Long who lifted Owens’ arm in victory as the two took a lap around the track together, arm in arm – while Hitler glared in disapproval. Ordinary athletes do not help their rivals. But Luz Long was not ordinary. He found joy in another’s success, even when it cost him personally. That spirit brings us to today’s Gospel. Matthew’s Gospel was written primarily for Jewish converts to Christianity, many of whom struggled to understand how Jesus’ teachings related to the Law of Moses and the words of the Old Testament prophets. Jesus addresses that concern directly. He makes it clear that He has not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. Think of it this way: adulthood does not destroy childhood; it completes it. Jesus then deepens the Law with striking examples. Moses taught that adultery was wrong. Jesus goes further, teaching that even entertaining the thought of adultery can lead us down the same path. If we stop planting the seeds of sin, the sin itself cannot take root. There is a scene in the famous play, “Peter Pan,” where the children ask Peter how he can fly. He answers, “Just think wonderful, beautiful thoughts.” Those thoughts lift him off the ground and into the sky. In many ways, the Christian life works the same way. Wonderful, beautiful thoughts lead to wonderful, beautiful actions – and can send us to Heaven. And that brings us back to Jesse Owens and Luz Long. Long responded to Owens in the way Christ calls us to respond – because He chose to be different. Jesus never asks His followers to be merely ordinary. He calls us to something greater. Jesus does not invite us to ask, “How far can I go before I sin?” Instead, He invites us to ask, “How much more can I do, because I love?” The key to living the Gospel is learning to shape our hearts and minds with what is good, true and beautiful. Only then can we live as Jesus lived: loving in ways the world often considers impossible. And so, the message of today’s Gospel is clear: live your ordinary life in extraordinary ways, just as Christ Himself did. Yours in Christ, Fr. Robert Warren, S.A. Spiritual Director