Rocky II

No - not the sequel to "Rocky" - where the rematch with Apollo Creed does take place - although that movie has it's share of inspiration, too.

This "Rocky II" refers to another moment of greatness for Rocky Balboa - one that doesn't show up on screen. It was when he gets out of bed at 4:00 a.m. the second morning.

It was a great thing for a bleary-eyed pug to roll out of bed and start to train the day after he was named to fight the Champion, but he would have never made it to a point where he could "go the distance" if he had not gotten up the next day, too - another day when no one was there to cheer (or even to notice) - another day when he was still basically, as fighters go, a bum (one day of training doesn't make you strong, it just makes you hurt).

The day that I wrote the last blog was one of the first times in months that I was able to undertake my modest physical regimen. Health - the Ohio Winter of '10 - spirit struggles - take your pick from the menu of brick walls that had stood in the way. That day I was able to resume my 'cellphone plan for cardio' (set a timer on the phone for 15 minutes - walk away from home until the timer rings - turn & return home, and 'voila' - 30 minutes of cardio).

It turns out that the difficult thing in reality was to go back out & do the afternoon portion, and to go out the next day - that's when I thought of Rocky.

I thought about the moment, unrecorded in the movie, when he got up again at 4:00, & chugged another 5 eggs (still not recommending that, BTW), and went out and jogged one step closer to the prize.

Here's to everyone who is gets up and goes today without cheers, without visible results, sometimes even without any encouragement, and takes the step. Good work.
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[As always, if this is your first visit to Leaving Nadderby, I invite you to click on the Archives for 2008, then click on February & go to "Looking Back" for an introduction to the site (& an explanation of the name)].

Rocky - Our Lenten Guide

Picture Rocky Balboa running up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the music of "Gonna Fly Now" - at the top of the steps he throws his hands in the air in celebration as he looks out over a scenic view of Philly.

It's a great scene - & it has inspired countless folks to re-live the moment and run up the stairs when they are there. One of the best videos of this is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMm99pHMR5Y - give it a look (it will do you good) - then come back for the REAL inspirational moment of "Rocky".

BACK? Good. As great a moment as that is, there is an earlier, truly inspirational moment in the movie. It's the moment that made we want to use Rocky Balboa as my guide for Lent this year.

It's the scene when Rocky's alarm clock goes off at 4:00 a.m., and he stumbles out of bed & cracks several eggs into a glass & chugs them (that's not the inspirational moment - wait for it). Then he walks out into a dark street, with no crowd, with no energy, in maybe the sorriest-looking sweatsuit in cinema history, and begins to jog down the street.

That's the moment.

When he's not being cheered - when he's not in shape - when he's still basically a bum - and he still takes off & begins to train. It's not pretty. When he first tries the run up the steps at the Museum, he is not triumphant. He's out of breath - gasping - bent over - beat, as he slowly makes his way back down the steps. Did you miss the inspirational part? It was when he began to run down the street - when he said "yes" to training for this impossible fight. That's when I knew that he would be a good guide for Lent (or for any other day of a lifetime).

Christians need to learn to pray. As a group we're not very good at it. We confuse prayer with sitting on Santa's lap in December, with our list of wishes. We forget that prayer is about moving ourselves closer to God's will and not about moving God closer to our shopping list of desires.

There is a way to learn - IF we are willing to try when we're not yet very good at it - IF we are humble enough to take some 4:00 a.m.-type steps of our own - if we're willing to return to the first days of our 'training' in prayer.

Pray the Lord's Prayer. Pray it when it's not inspirational. Pray it when it doesn't even seem real because you've heard it so many times. Pray it until it becomes a prayer again. Someday it may be possible to move on to the prayers that ascend to the mountaintop - but that day won't be today - and it won't be tomorrow - but those days of obedience to the idea of prayer need to happen if we are ever to reach the heights of what prayer can do.

The world needs what the Church can become - and we have settled for far too little. It's fun to run up the steps and dance around. The hard work is when it's dark and we're alone and even feel a little foolish for trying - but if believers take those first steps of obedience, we're gonna fly now.

+++[As always, if this is your first stop at "Leaving Nadderby", I suggest that you click on the "Looking Back" blog (from February 2008 in the archives) by way of introduction to what the Blog is about.]