Biathlon reminds The County of body’s holiness

Residents of Aroostook County certainly have been in the “realm of the body” these past two months. If I were to ask my father’s parents living on a Caribou potato farm and dairy in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s what they did for exercise, I would have received blank stares in return. Getting a sufficient amount of strenuous activity was simply not a problem in that place and time. Things are, of course, no longer that way.

As a society many of our daily activities, from work to entertainment to civic contributions involve sitting in a chair, having abundant food within easy reach, and perhaps clutching an electronic device to save us having to move around too much.

That being the case, you can imagine the eye-opening experience of suddenly being in the presence of 250 or so world-class athletes at the Junior World Championships of the International Biathlon Union, held here in Presque Isle in late January and early February at the Nordic Heritage Center.

On cold, rainy mornings, or icy, windy afternoons, we witnessed dozens of young men and women out running, stretching, bending and jumping. We watched as they executed a balletlike motion of dropping to a prone position from skis while simultaneously preparing a rifle to shoot at distant targets, always aware of their heart rate, breathing and mental distraction while judging the effect of a light or heavy breeze on their bullets. We saw the salty tears in their eyes as anthems were played, and experienced the smiles and hugs that substituted for a lack of common words.

The biathletes are gone now. The cardboard stars with their names and flags on them are slowly being removed from the gymnasium where the opening ceremonies were held. The lines at Rite Aid are almost back to normal. No one has to explain how much a dollar is worth to an Estonian, Czech or Pole.

The restaurants are quiet again, the distant sound of gunfire on the Parkhurst Siding Road is gone, the magical luminaries made of ice are waiting behind someone’s equipment shed for a touch of spring warmth to turn them back into ordinary water, and the parking area is once again a beautiful open field.

Nonetheless, the inspiration of those supple, lithe and energetic young men and women remains. Just as the biathlon got under way, local residents got their first look at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s new Gentile Hall, a multimillion dollar investment in the idea that human beings are more than brains. We are created as bodies: muscles, bones, tendons, joints.

It is as bodies that we experience pleasure, push ourselves to endure, experience the passing of the seasons, and know the sweet release of death when our time has come. In Christian theology, human souls are embodied things, not a collection of fireflies that simply leave the jar behind when the lid is left off on some warm June night. It is true that we outgrow our physical bodies over time, but it is only to embrace a greater, spiritual body, retaining the best of what we are and have been in this life and will be in the next.

The idea that human souls are purely spirit, that bodies are irrelevant to the journey of the individual believer, is an ancient one but one that Christianity ultimately rejected. There are lessons to be learned from listening to a baby’s heartbeat. There is wisdom in gnarled hands and wrinkled eyes. There is a purpose to the morning aches that make us long to stay in bed, and nobility in rising to start the day despite them.

February mornings are cold in The County, and the sunrise still waits far too long in finding her way here. Nonetheless, I’ve seen more of our residents out and around since the biathletes left, at the new walking track, gym, and climbing wall, parking at the far ends of parking lots, rather than jostling for a place by the door, pushing the snow away with a scoop rather than firing up the snowblower, and christening old and new skis on the amazing trails that the Olympic hopefuls have left behind.

Very few of us dream of being star athletes anymore. For most, that day has long since past. For a brief moment, however, we in this place have been reminded of the amazing human body and how it rewards the soul when it is pushed, cared for, challenged and soothed. May our bodies be a source of joy in days of health and strength, and when energy fails and eyesight dims, may we know the sweet anticipation of the body that will be.

The Rev. Thomas L. Blackstone, Ph.D., is a United Methodist pastor in Presque Isle and a brother in the Order of St. Luke. He may be reached by e-mail at tlbphd@yahoo.com. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.