Septuagesima | 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5 | Its Time to Train for Eternal Life is Now

Septuagesima February 1, 2026 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5   The Winter Olympics will begin this Friday, and athletes from around the world will gather to compete in various sporting events that test strength, endurance, discipline, and resilience—all in pursuit of winning a gold medal.     If you take a step back, the Olympics are truly remarkable; these athletes often dedicate their entire lives to training for this moment. For some, their livelihood depends on their training – competing in the Olympics is their full-time job.    They dedicate themselves to the pursuit of winning the gold, but the truth remains that only one person walks away with it.   Just imagine if everyone received a medal; how many people would cry, “That’s not fair!”   Who would tune in and watch their favorite sport?   Probably not many. It would be a travesty, really; there would be no competition, no drama, no rivals to enter the arena.   Only one person can win the prize.   Now, what does any of this have to do with the Christian life?   Well, the epistle reading from St. Paul takes on not only a bit of an athletic lens, but an Olympic theme as he wrote.   Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.   Running is a way for St. Paul to say, “live the Christian life.”  It means walking in the path you’ve been set to follow.   And you know that your Christian life started at the font of Holy Baptism, and for this reason, you are to live in your Baptism by confessing your sins, receiving God’s forgiveness, and seeking the Holy Spirit’s help to stay on the narrow path.   Remaining on the narrow path is challenging, isn’t it?   St. Matthew wrote, Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14)   One truth is that you cannot walk the path or enter the narrow gate of heaven through your own training, works, or merit. This journey requires faith in Christ Jesus, which is given through the work of the Holy Spirit within your heart.    And so, St. Paul continues in his epistle, Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.   The need for the Holy Spirit’s help is because you struggle with self-control. You struggle with the things that hinder your faith and lead to destruction.   This is one of the ways the season of Lent can help Christians practice self-control. It encourages learning not to be controlled by addictions such as overeating, endlessly scrolling on Facebook and Twitter, or the temptation of pornography that’s just a click away.    These things do not grant you a wreath or crown of victory. Instead, they control you and draw you away from your Savior, from the path that leads to the imperishable wreath of eternal victory.    Remember, living the Baptismal life is a narrow path that demands the enduring faith of a Christian.    In a literal sense, the wreath Paul mentions can be translated as a crown, which winners in the first Olympiads would receive on the podium.   This reminds me of the Revelation of St. John, as he wrote, “Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10)   What a prize to earn at the finish line: the imperishable and eternal “Crown of life.”   So, St. Paul goes on in the epistle, I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.   Paul says, “Do not run aimlessly.”   Don’t go through life aimlessly as if you lack purpose. Doing so leads to being full of Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth.   A mirror on the wall or a quick review of your phone’s history will reveal the idolatries that control you.    So, how do you train with a purpose to achieve the desired result, life with God?   Discipline. It begins with discipline.   To live with a purpose, to intentionally seek the good of others. [We read in the Augsburg Confession] “[St. Paul] clearly shows that he was keeping his body under control, not to merit forgiveness of sins by that discipline, but to keep his body in subjection and prepared for spiritual things, for carrying out the duties of his calling” (AC XXVI 38). (The Lutheran Study Bible)   You are called to live purposefully, to discipline the body so that you may not be disqualified from eternal life or receiving the prize.    And disqualification in this race of life happens when you pursue your own path, turn away from Christ, or damage and obstruct the faith of others.    St. Ambrose, a church father of the fourth century, wrote regarding the training and discipline of the Christian life this way, Like an athlete he comes last into the arena. He lifts his eyes to heaven… . He sees that his whole task awaits him… . He chastises his body so that it will not defeat him in the contest. He anoints it with the oil of mercy. He practices daily exhibitions of virtue (or in other words, demonstrating behavior of the highest morals). He smears himself with dust. He runs with assurance to the goal of the course. He aims his blows, he darts his arms, but not at empty spaces… . Earth is man’s training ground, heaven his crown.   Hear that last sentence again,“Earth is man’s training ground, heaven his crown.”   With this understanding, you cannot drift aimlessly through life, but having heard God’s Word, you are called to live, train, and prepare for eternal life.   And this brings us to the season of the Church Year we begin today, the Gesima season, a time dedicated to training and preparing for Lent. You need to take this period seriously because Lent is difficult and demanding. No athlete simply shows up at the Olympics and wins gold. Likewise, you can’t just wake up in heaven one day unless you train and practice your faith.    However, a great comfort for you, dear brothers and sisters, is that there is no time limit to merit heaven; in fact, you cannot earn it at all, because the one who works, whether from the first hour or the eleventh hour of the day, from the first day of this life or the twilight of life, will receive the imperishable wreath and crown of eternal life if they have a present and active faith.   And this is what we call grace.   Grace is a gift of forgiveness and eternal life. It isn’t earned or won by you, but is given freely.   Sure, some of you will undoubtedly want to test God’s grace by delaying your prayers and the practice of Christian faith.   I mean, how many of you would shout, “That’s not fair!” if your neighbor, who didn’t come to faith until the eleventh hour of this life, received the same wreath of eternal life as you?   But if God’s judgments were fair, would any of us receive the crown of life?    Absolutely not.   If God’s judgments were fair, you would be handed over to the shackles of hell for how you have wandered through this life so aimlessly.    But this life is not fair, and through the death of Jesus on the cross, your heavenly Father poured out His wrath for your sin upon His Son. For this reason, the cross, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus now focus you as you approach the season of Lent.    Because the season of Lent is one of the most challenging seasons of all, it’s not a simple race, but a time to train and re-learn the fundamentals of the Christian life.   Remember, “Earth is man’s training ground, heaven his crown.”   As you approach this season of Lent, do so with purpose. Start setting aside time to train your body, mind, and spirit, engage in prayer, and meditate on God’s Word. Not that you would earn eternal life through your own merit or worthiness, but so that the Holy Spirit can create and sustain faith in you, leading you on the narrow path and shaping you into the likeness of your Savior, Jesus Christ, who is your eternal crown of life. +INJ+   Rev. Noah J. Rogness Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Tomah, WI   www.goodsheptomah.org