22/11/2024

Sport and The Church -1

1. The content of the word ‘sport’ – like ‘war’ – has varied much through the ages.

2. Sport is NOT the same as play. People, typically young people, play to have fun, to be amused to pass the time pleasantly – even to bond. To take part in a sport - as in life seen as a vocation with a purpose - is to attempt to achieve an outcome using only means permitted by the rules, where the rules prohibit use of more efficient in favor of less efficient means. Sport – like life – has its ethics.

 2. Any Sport – as ethics (think usury, slavery, torture, freedom of speech and thought, women’s rights) – develops, evolves, changes even.

 3.  Sport – a metaphor for human life is, as life, unnecessary AND meaningful. At its best magnificent at its worst grotesque, grim. 

A London Premier Football League Academy  spent a whole morning on ‘simulation’. In case you did not know, that is pretending to be tripped in the penalty area and thus be awarded a penalty. Most of these 16-year-olds will end up not playing football but working elsewhere. Life skills – both virtues and vices – are transferable.

4. The relationship between Christianity and physical activities has not always beencongenial. The Christian church has regarded sport with suspicion, owing to its emphasis on the profane body and its potential to lure its followers away from their godly responsibilities.

However, St Paul had a positive take on sport.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (Paul would be surprised his letters are still read 2,000 years later).
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receivesthe prize? So,run that you may obtain it.Everyathlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but wean imperishable.So I do not run aimlessly; Ido not box as onebeating the air.But I discipline my body andkeep it under control,[a]lest after preaching to othersI myself should bedisqualified.

He often uses purely Greek terms such as stephanos (crown), trecho (run), brabeion (reward), agon (contest) and others. 

“You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. ˮ 1 Cor 6, 19-20 

“God paid a great price for you. So, use your body to honour God 1 Cor 6, 15-20 

“Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. I don't run without a goal. And I don't box by beating my fists in the air. I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others. ˮ 1 Cor 9,25-27 

Paul's choice of the terminology was – perhaps - pragmatism. For Greeks, especially in Corinth, the center of gladiator games of that time, it was convenient to choose a popular topic. 

Paul was one of the first Christians talking about sport in the context of the new religion. However, there are many other theologians who were influenced by similar ideals and thus they implement sport into the doctrine and religious practice of the emerging religion. 

Athlete, with all his features necessary for success in a sport arena, is seen as a source of inspiration for a persecuted and oppressed Christian. The bishop of Antioch,  Ignatius(probably 50- 108ce) uses these symbols in his letters to Polycarp(69-155ce), the bishop of Smyrna, during the second century CE. Due to the persecution of Christians Polycarp was in danger of martyrdom. Ignatius calls him a "divine athlete" in his work and invites him to bear his weakness "... as an athlete." He keeps his hope alive with the final words: "the great athlete who … will win." 

Eusebius of Caesarea (260/5 -339), who became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima (Near Haifa) about 314ce, in his Ecclesiastical History recounts among other things, the life story of some martyrs. One of these suffering martyrs was Blandina, a woman repeatedly tortured in an inhuman and fanatical way. Yet she never wavered in her faith. Eusebius compares her to a "noble athlete". If the author refers to such an extraordinary woman as an athlete there can be no doubt about how extremely important this term was.

John Cassian(360-435) greatly influenced Western monasticism. Inspiration by Apostle Paul, which is typical of him, probably also predetermines his assessment of the athlete ideal. When interpreting Paul’s parable of game, he argues that it is necessary to understand correctly the ideal of games itself. That is one reason why the monks under his leadership also get a detailed explanation of the Olympic Games with an increased emphasis on training athletes. Understanding the relationship of hard training and winning the Olympics should help them in their own struggle on the spiritual field.

Saint Ignatius (died in Rome c.110) asks Polycarp (69-155) to “increase the pace of the career” to busy himself with the unity with his community, and exhorts him to bear with everyone’s illness as a courageous and – perfect – athlete. He makes the analogy complete with this expression: “Be sober, as an athlete of God. The prize is incorruptibleness and eternal life, whereof you also are convinced.... athletes are wont to be skinned and yet to be victorious... fight together, run you all at the same pace”. In the story of Saint Ignatius’ martyrdom, made by Sura and Senecio as “eyewitnesses”, Ignatius is referred to as a “generous athlete and martyr that trod the devil down and ended his career of his pious wish in Jesus Christ”

As for Tertullian (160-220) in the treatise “De spectaculis” meant to the catechumens, written probably in 200 or even 197ce, he condemns irrevocably the attendance by Christians at circus, stadium and amphitheater spectacles, demonstrating that these recreational practices contained a form of idolatry, exhibited violently the passions and were incompatible with the Saviour’s religion.

In medieval times, despite losing relevance in the public sphere, sport played a significant role in Christian imagery. For example, inCity of God, Augustine (14.9) referred to the apostle Paul as ‘the athlete of Christ’. Thomas Aquinas, like Plato and Aristotle, advocated for the need to cultivate body and soul to flourish as human beings.

The 6th century Rule of St. Benedict contains several explicit references to various sporting activities including running, climbing, and training. The first instance of use (in Prologue 13) sees the founder quoting Jesus’ own counsel as recorded in the Gospel of John (12:35). It reads, “Run while you have the light of life that death’s darkness may not overtake you.” St. Benedict(480-547) employs the ‘running’ metaphor a second time in the twenty-second line of the Prologue. He writes: “If we wish to dwell in the tent of this Kingdom, we will never arrive unless we run there by doing good deeds.” (Contra ‘by faith alone’. Need to become capax Dei). “We must run, and do now what will profit us forever”, writes St. Benedict in the forty-fourth line of the Prologue.

The first three references have largely been encouragements against sin, almost “a flight (away) from evil and doom”, but by line forty-nine, St. Benedict’s tone has changed. Writing, “As we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run along the path of God’s commands, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love” (Pro. 49), it seems that the running of the spiritual life has become less an effort to avoid sin and more so a running toward God’s love. The running of Pro. 49 is much more joyful in tone.

The three commonalities include: self-discipline (that considers also both training and persistence), resiliency, and adaptability.

Beyond the Prologue, there exist two other sports references apart from running – the next of which being wrestling. In his very first chapter, when identifying and describing the various sorts of monks, St. Benedict writes of anchorites and hermits, saying, “… they are ready with God’s help to grapple single handedly with the vices of body and mind” (RB 1:5). Whether understood as “wrestle,” “fight,” or “combat” makes little difference as all possible understandings point to the same commonality – namely, a form of hand-to-hand engagement against an opponent. 

Admittedly, the high incidence of martial terminology in RB1 may be somewhat off-putting”, especially when juxtaposing it with the Benedictine order’s primary motto of “Pax.” 

However, all the semi- violent language must be understood for what it truly is – metaphor. For monks, spiritual seekers, and laity alike, St. Benedict’s references to wrestling are matters of struggling or contending – ever with the aim of emerging the victor – with sinful temptations. How applicable and relatable even for athletes, whether wrestlers, boxers, martial artists or not! Consider what necessarily occurs in any of these sporting endeavors. 

Each of them involves: (a) an opponent, (b) parameters that determines a victor, (c) prior training or preparation, (d) stamina, and (e) a common goal (to subdue). If the common goal in any hand-to-hand engagement is to subdue the opponent, one must prepare to sustain blows amidst the engagement itself. While this physical exchange of strength often is perceived as needlessly brutish, there remains a spiritual counterpart. For St. Benedict, the opponent standing between spiritual progress and the fullness of Communion with God is not merely the temptations of sin, but sin itself and, in a very real way, even the inducer of sin (the evil one). Life seen as sport  

Apart from both running and wrestling, St. Benedict also makes explicit reference to climbing. That he chooses the longest chapter of The Rule to contain the climbing reference may not have been intentional on his part, but it does give Benedictine scholars reason to muse upon its significance.

However Manichean dualism: ‘matter bad, spirit good’ and thus self-flagellations and mortification of the flesh (with no external benefits to anyone else) seeped into Church culture.

Emperor Theodosius I (347-395) – who made Christianity the official religion of the Empire in 381 – banned the Olympic Games - dedicated to Zeus and Nike - in 393.

Later there was the split between ‘sacred v. secular’ – losing the sense of all being sacramental.

Hugh of St Victor (d.1142) stated that recreation and sport are positive. Thomas Aquinas representing the centerpiece of scholastic theology tradition, is strongly inspired by Aristotle whose approach differs from Plato's dualistic conception of the human person as an immortal soul imprisoned in a material body in his vision of psychosomatic unity of each person.

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) - as Aristotle - brakes Plato's dualism. Thomas moderates dualistic tendencies of the first millennium by his formulation that man is a harmony of the soul, spirit and body. But it is not only the human body as such he is concerned with. Especially in his Summa Theologica he also addresses specific physical activities, such as games. It is immediately apparent that Thomas's attitude to the physical culture of man was positive. However, if we inspect the question of the right place of physical exercises in the Christian life more deeply, we find multiple concepts in Thomas Aquinas.

1.Game is a rest. Game used to be and still can be seen as idleness from more meaningful activities, work or prayer. Ideas that express this attitude can be found for example in the Nicomachean Ethics, where he describes the game as a necessary rest from the exertion of body and soul. This statement may seem trivial today, of course, but it is appropriate to note that Thomas speaks this way at a time when there are no specialized disciplines that provide these findings today. However, today's medicine, psychology, pedagogy and other scientific disciplines confirm this view. Similarly, in his Summa contra Gentiles, Tomas indirectly indicates that physical exercise can be a cure for the soul, which helps to refresh the tired mind. 

Modern research has discovered that aerobic activities have a positive influence on the intellectual abilities of men and women. 

2. Game as an activity of reason. Like Aristotle, Aquinas highlights reason as the guiding principle of man. Thanks to reason we are able to awaken certain virtues in our behavior such as temperance and others, which then become a benchmark of human life. The criterion of reason should also be applied to games as well. No doubt games are beneficial to humanity and bring virtues in our lives, however, if their implementation is inconsistent with reason, it is not a virtue any longer, as well as the lack of games: “In human affairs whatever is against reason is a sin. Now it is against reason for a man to be burdensome to others, by offering no pleasure to others, and by hindering their enjoyment.” 

Thomas warns of three possible dangers. The first one is characterized by the words: " … the pleasure in question should not be sought in indecent or injurious deeds or words." The second reads: “Another thing to be observed is that one loses not the balance of one's mind altogether. Hence Ambrose says (De Offic. i, 20): "We should beware lest, when we seek relaxation of mind, we destroy all that harmony which is the concord of good works." Finally, the third danger: “Thirdly, we must be careful, as in all other human actions, to conform ourselves to persons, time, and place, and take due account of other circumstances, so that our fun "befit the hour and the man," as Tully says (De Offic. i, 29).

“If the activity meets the following three main criteria, Thomas refers to it as in accordance with the rules of reason and therefore virtuous. Otherwise, as already mentioned, play may even become a sin.

Until analgesics, anesthesia and effective medical treatments came on line, it seemed natural to make a virtue out of a necessity. For all too many, many days were Good Fridays; their pain uniting them to Jesus Christ; offered to God as a sacrifice.

However, Pope Pius II (1458-64) stated that sport was good for education.

Even Protestant thinkers, often thought to have been opposed to leisurely activities such as sports, embraced the practice of athletic activities for formative purposes. Martin Luther (1483-1546) and John Milton(1608-1674) advocated for the utilization of sport activities to educate individuals and train Christian soldiers. 

For the Jesuits – 16 century CE – sport was included in their 800 schools. By 1750 Wednesday afternoons were dedicated to sport.

During the Enlightenment, drawing on the empiricists’ emphasis on the cultivation of bodily capacities to achieve accurate sensory data, Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1712-78) argued for the need to exercise and develop body and mind harmoniously. Rousseau’s pedagogical theory, along with several others, was implemented in the 19th-century Victorian England and Germany, where sports were valued as character-building activities. 

Even though, research has shown that in the 19 century Public Schools brought in sport to lower risks of rebellion and internal aggression.

St JH Newman (1801-90) wrote his Athlete's Prayer

God let me play well, but fairly.
Let competition make me strong, but never hostile,
In this and in all things, guide me to the virtuous path.
If I know victory, grant me happiness;
If I am denied, keep me from envy.
See me not when I am cheered, but when I bend to help my opponent up.
Seal it in my heart that everyone who takes the field with me becomes my brother.
Remind me that sports are just games.
Teach me something that will matter once the games are over.
And if through athletics I set an example, let it be a good one.

Amen.

And A Coach's Prayer

O' gracious God, I thank you for calling me to the ministry of coaching. Help me to answer that call with a generous heart. Enable me to be a good coach, skilled, informed, fair-minded and caring. Let me see beyond the rules of sports and catch their spirit. Grant me the wisdom to see that athletics are not only about healthy bodies but healthy minds, that sports are not only about victory but enjoyment, that competition is not only about winning but building community.

Let the mind of Christ inspire and guide my coaching so that I never lose sight of the dignity and worth of each and every person whom I coach. Help me to follow the example of Christ who coached not only by instruction but by encouragement and love. Finally, dear Lord, teach me and the athletes whom I coach to be grateful for your many blessings. I make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.