This is the 6th of a series of Olympic-themed sermons. The title of the sermon series, "Faster, Higher, Stronger" is the English translation of the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius. We live in a spectator culture. We watch and we may know theoretically how certain things are done, but if we don’t do them ourselves, in some sense we can’t really say that we know them.
Today’s Olympic moment begins with a poser: Which is harder to hit, a major league fastball, or an Olympic women’s softball? [1] Although a softball is admittedly bigger, the reaction time is less for softball, because the rubber on the pitcher’s mound in softball is only 43 feet from home plate (as opposed to baseball’s 60 feet, 6 inches). For a Randy Johnson 95-mph fastball, the batter has .39 seconds to see the pitch, decide whether to swing, and then swing. For a Jennie Finch 71-mph softball, the batter has only .38 seconds! [2] After the 1996 Olympics, star pitcher Lisa Fernandez pitched against a MLB all-star lineup, striking out the likes of David Justice and Bobby Bonilla. It’s all about reaction time.
1 Timothy 4:1-8
Commentary
v1 later times. Not necessarily "last times." Don’t go too eschatological here. The word for time here doesn’t refer to clock or calendar time, but rather a season.
v2 seared. The word here can also mean "branded." There are three main interpretations of this verse: (1) the liars are branded with the mark of Satan; (2) the liars are branded (marked) by their teaching as false teachers; and (3) the consciences of the liars are scarred (and insensitive).
v3 This is an illustrative list of vile teachings, not an exhaustive list. What sort of other teachings does Paul oppose in his other letters? John Calvin says of this verse, "The doctrine of faith is destroyed as soon as the worship of God is infected by such corruptions."
v4-5 Compare this with Acts 11. What kinds of teachings are nullified in the account in Acts?
Application
Where do sermon ideas come from, and whatever possessed me to do a series of sermons with Olympic themes? Rick Hall was in my office one day and he said, "As an athlete, I cannot be thinking about what I need to do, because the action happens too quickly. If I have to think about it, I’m going to fail. I can’t think as fast as I have to react. I have to train myself to be able to react without thinking about it." In the same way—and this was the point Rick was making—as Christians we cannot be thinking about what we need to do as fast as life is coming at us. We need to train ourselves to react without having to think about what’s right or wrong. As Rick was speaking, I thought of 1 Timothy 4:8, and a sermon series began to take shape.
Where does life come at us so fast that we cannot react in time if we have to think it through? How about:
Forgiveness: If you have to think about forgiving the one who has done you wrong, you’ve probably missed the moment—and you have given the devil a foothold.
Generosity: If you have to think about giving your time, your money, or your self to another, your motive is suspect—are you gracious, or calculating?
Gossip or Vulgarity: If you have to monitor your speech that closely, what escaped before you reigned in your tongue? ("Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." James 1:19b)
Certainly there will be occasions when we need to reconsider what we have done, or go back and make amends, or even go back and do something more. The point is not to operate without thinking; rather, the point is to have a bias for godliness.
One way to think about working on a bias for godliness is to compare it to speed training, overspeed training, or assisted sprinting in sports. These various techniques trick the body into thinking that it can really move faster than it’s used to moving. For a distance runner, it might involve sprinting short distances at a faster pace than one’s long distance pace. For a sprinter, it might involve running downhill, building up more speed than one could achieve a flat track. For a thrower, it might involve throwing a lighter-than-normal implement. None of these techniques is really the way to operate in the long term—these techniques are just tools for tricking (or conditioning) the body into doing something new.
Perhaps some of those diabolical teachings—celibacy, fasting, and all the rest—could be viewed the same way. Plenty of saints, ascetics, advocated renouncing material comforts and embracing a life-style of self-denial as a way of training the soul. However, the saints would certainly agree that these disciplines were not themselves the way life, for either the present life or the life to come. None of these techniques was really the law of how to operate in the long term—these techniques were just tools for tricking (or conditioning) the soul into seeing or doing something new. The bane of our human existence is that we take a discipline, a special occasion, or a fanciful story (aka myth) and try to make it into a new law of how to live.
Points to Ponder
What do you struggle with? Forgiveness? Generosity? Gossip? Vulgarity? Purity? Anger? Pride? Selfishness? Your assignment for the week is to discipline yourself to have a bias for godliness. Think of the situation that you struggle with; now, determine what you want your response in that situation to be, and commit to that response. For example, if you struggle with forgiveness, perhaps you could resolve to simply say, "I forgive you," (and none of the usual sarcastic and judgmental stuff) whenever someone this week tells you they’re sorry. If you struggle with generosity, perhaps you could resolve to give something to everybody who asks you for help this week. Think of it as your speed training for the week. (Note: It’s not the law for the rest of your life—that’s the point of the sermon—it’s just a technique designed to help you get past where you are stuck.)
Compare what Paul says here to 1 Tim 1:3-7; 2 Tim 4:1-5; TItus 1:10-16. How do these other passages shed light on today’s text?
End Notes
1 - Softball has been an Olympic sport since 1996, but 2008 marks the last planned softball competition. Why? Many opined that the USA women’s team was just too good. Going into the 2008 Olympics, the USA softball team had won every gold medal. In 2004, the team went 9-0: outscoring the opposition 51-1, with the lone run coming in the penultimate inning of the final game; yielding only 17 hits in 56 innings; and winning 4 games by the slaughter rule. Sports Illustrated dubbed that team "The Real Dream Team". As of August 16th, the 2008 USA softball team was 5-0: outscoring the opposition 36-1; yielding only 4 hits in 34 innings; and winning 3 games by the slaughter rule. For a brief history of U.S. women’s Olympic softball, check out: http://www.usasoftball.com/folders.asp?uid=153
2 - The math here assumes both pitchers are stepping off the rubber towards home plate, so the distances of the thrown pitches is actually less than the distance to the rubber. For more baseball/softball physics, go to http://sportsfigures.espn.com/lp_math_reaction03.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment