This past Monday, 30,000 athletes gathered in the streets of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, ready to start their 26.2 mile journey into the city of Boston. Thousands of people watched either along the course, or on ESPN (like I did) with a sense of wonder, determination, and an inkling that “maybe I should do another marathon?”
Among the professional athletes running the race, including Olympic runners and elite athletes including winners Sisay Lenna and Helen Obiri -was one man who finished the Boston Marathon this year and earned his six-star Abbot world Marathon majors medal – for running NYC, Chicago, Tokyo, Berlin, London, and Boston Marathons.
This man, Mark Rodgerson – joined the 12,772 runners to earn this award- but he ran all 6 marathons-157.2 miles-blind. Mark began losing his sight in 2013, Mark lost his sight after discovering he had a detached retina and some complications following his surgery resulted in vision loss in both eyes. He began his marathon journey with the help of his guide, Katie, who he has been running with since his 2018 Chicago marathon. He thanked Katie during a recent interview, saying: “We’ve got this bond that I don’t think I have with anyone else – we do all this running together, it’s a unique bond. I trust her with my life in these races.”
Katie and Mark need to have a unique relationship. They run side by side with a strap connecting their arms together, making sure Mark doesn’t wander off course. Katie talks to him throughout all his races, telling him where hills are, when to turn, and if there are any obstacles in their path. She guides through gentle touch, shepherding Mark through his marathons.
Today is known as “Good Shepherd” Sunday in our church year, the fourth Sunday after Easter, when we hear from the book of John about how Jesus is the Good Shepherd, not running away when troubles arise, but instead laying down his life for his sheep, eventually bringing even the sheep that are not in his herd together into one flock. He ends with a discourse about his own choice to lay down his life and take it up again, as commanded by his Father.
There is beautiful imagery in this text from John, who in a few sentences describes the person and legacy of Christ, through a lens that is a perfect example of how we relate to Christ, not just when he was alive, but how we too should rely on God today in our everyday lives.
It’s important to note that this portion of John takes place after Jesus heals a blind man and is being investigated by the Pharisees. This discourse about shepherds and sheep comes in a speech to the Pharisees after accusing them of being “spiritually blind”, alluding to the Pharisees’ weak faith. . John was written the latest of all the Gospels, around 90 CE, when those who followed John were harassed by the synagogue leaders and the Pharisees had abandoned their faith community – in other words, they were bad shepherds.
But Jesus pinpoints the cause of a good shepherd/sheep relationship- one that the Pharisees lacked when the book was written- and that is trust. John’s Gospel reminds us that the sheep know the shepherd and the shepherd knows them. And this knowledge extends far beyond a casual friendship. This knowledge is deeper, the knowledge of a person’s self, their being. The kind of knowledge that exists between a parent and a child, between twins, or friends who have grown up together. And the defining characteristic of that knowledge, according to Jesus today, is trust.
It took incredible trust for Mark Rogerson to trust his guide, Katie to lead him through 157.2 miles of marathons, different courses in different languages, separate terrains, crowds, and emotions. He had to trust that Katie would be there, in the good “I can do this” emotions, as he fueled, during the mentally challenging, difficult “I can’t do this” feelings. Katie shepherded him through his incredible running journeys.
And it too takes incredible conviction on our part to admit that often, we too, need guidance, We are oftentimes spiritually blind- to the needs of others, to how a season of life is meaningful, blind to what God requires from us.
Katie Garrity, in an interview with Abbott World Marathon Majors, reminds us of this trust that we are called to have in our relationship with Christ: “They say that joy shared is joy doubled, and sorrow shared is sorrow halved. Running with Mark is like that – every high is shared with your friend, it’s so much better than doing it alone.”
Beloved people of God, do we trust Christ the same way? Do we know his voice-heard in the voices of loved ones, in the smiles and laughter of children, in the song of birds outside our window in the morning?
Jesus ensures us that that trust exists within our relationship with Him, as well. We, His sheep, are called to trust our shepherd, knowing his voice and answering when He calls on us. That trust isn’t always easy. Sometimes, we will want to run the opposite direction, but Jesus cares for us, goes after us, and welcomes us back in the sheepfold when we wander. Knowing that every joy is doubled and every sorrow is halved.
This week, let us run with endurance the race marked out for us – trusting in Christ, our guide and shepherd- to lead us along life’s marathons.
Sermons at St. James Gettysburg 