Good morning, I'm
the Rev Steve Page from St Patrick's Anglican Church, and you're
listening to the Daily Devotional moment, sponsored by the Hudson Bay
Ministerial.
This month, I'm
drawing our images of Christian faith and spirituality from the world
of Sports. If you've missed any, they are available through St
Patrick's church (call 3488).
Nowadays, in the
early 21st century, figure skating is all about quads. The
best of the best can leap in the air, spin around four times, and
successfully land on a thin
skate blade. Don't ask me to try it! But it's impressive to
watch.
But once upon a
time, even double-spin jumps were unheard-of. In the 1948 Olympics,
Dick Button landed figure skating's first-ever double axel. During
his free-skate routine, he glided forward on one foot, jumped into
the air, spun two and a half times, and landed on his other foot
while skating backwards. The jump was the centrepiece of his routine,
and he took the gold medal by a wide margin as the judges were
dazzled by this new jump.
Button had now
earned a name for himself, but he refused to rest on his laurels. He
enjoyed trying new things, and pushing the envelope of figure
skating. And so, 4 years later, at the 1952 Olympics, he introduced
another new jump, the first-ever triple loop. That year, all 9 judges
gave Button first place, and his margin over the runner-up was even
larger.
Button performed
new, very difficult jumps that had never been seen before. And he
dared try them during the highest levels of international
competitions. He moved figure skating to glorious new heights of
grace and athletic prowess.
Sometimes we
settle into comfortable little ruts in our faith. Our Bible reading
and prayer life becomes rote and unexciting, maybe it even stops
altogether. Or our worship at church feels old and stale. Goodness,
as a priest in our little Anglican church, I wear clothes that,
depending on what article you ask about, they were the height of
fashion between 200 and 2000 years ago!
Other times we
want things to stay exactly the same. It's safer and more comfortable
that way.
But our creator
God is always doing something new. We see that every spring, of
course, when the fields and trees spring forth with new life. But
God's exciting new activities don't end there!
Listen to Isaiah
43: “Forget the former things, don't dwell on the past; see,
I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, don't you see it?” God
is up to new and exciting things, and wants us to join in the grand
adventure of faith. But sometimes we don't want to follow where God
would lead us. We already know how things work here, this way, and so
we resist God's little nudges.
But God's breeze
is blowing all around you. Maybe he has someone he wants you to see,
or call, or a new ministry to try. Or even new habits of prayer and
Bible reading and Sunday worship to try. Ask God to give you the
courage and confidence to try the double-axel and triple-loop leaps
of faith that God is nudging you toward.
For St Patrick's
Church, I'm Steve Page.
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