By Jackson Saunders
Our Diocese is filled with sports loving communities and as summer sports continue to draw to a finish, I sensed tiredness and frustration with the most recent lockdown, especially in our border communities when fixtures were put on hold at the business end of the season in the third Victorian lockdown.
Cricket, tennis and lawn bowls finals are now upon us, or have recently taken place, and we hope that the local football and netball seasons will go ahead as uninterrupted as possible.
The recent lockdown once again tested the patience of residents on the Murray, who considering the state border closures, have spent more time under restrictions than even Melbourne or Sydney.
As a student for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College in Melbourne, my eagerness to return to Echuca for fortnightly pastoral work on weekends at St Mary’s Catholic Parish was put on hold at the beginning of a new academic year.
Talkback radio in Melbourne echoed similar frustrations. I was struck by the comment of one caller to 3AW on the day the recent lockdown was announced, who simply said: “We need hope.”
Hope is central to the Christian life and Lent, a season of 40 days which we are in now, on our journey towards Easter. This hope of Lent lies in what God does at Easter through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God offers new life to each of us in Jesus Christ and the promise of salvation.
As our local sportsmen and women across the Diocese take part in finals, Lent continues. During this time, our goal is to enter into a deeper friendship with God, each other and ourselves, so that when the final siren sounds in our lives, we may also be ready to be with the risen Jesus in heaven. Like sportspeople, who give it everything they have got; in the Christian life, we are called to offer our bodies “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1-2).
This means that we are to give our hearts to God. We can do so in three special ways during Lent; prayer, fasting and charity.
Prayer means making an effort to spend more time with God. This might be through stopping to pray in thanksgiving before meals, or setting aside five minutes to meditate with God.
Fasting means making an effort to do without things in our life so as to be free and closer to God and others. This might mean spending less time on social media, or setting aside daily coffee money for those in need.
Charity means making an effort to show Jesus’ love in the world today. This might mean reaching out to your neighbour with hospitality, or setting aside a few minutes to listen to someone.
Lent is a journey of hope where amidst the darkness the spotlight in the sports stadium of our lives shines brightly on Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world.
St Paul paints the picture of a race where all the runners compete but only one wins the prize. This a perishable wreath, however, unlike the imperishable wreath of life with God. (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).
· Jackson is an avid sports lover and commentates sport on both Bendigo’s Fresh FM and Oak FM Wangaratta. He has a weekly segment on 101.3 Oak FM Wangaratta each Friday night at 5.30 p.m. This can be live-streamed at www.oakfm.com.au
Pictures of Jackson Saunders are by fifth-year Melbourne seminarian, Jean-Sebastien Gery, and Bendigo’s Fresh FM.
