Chariots of Fire and Eric Liddell

In the Episcopal church, we have a calendar of Saints.  Today's feast day is the day to remember Eric Liddell.  You might remember his name from the movie, "Chariots of Fire".   Many movies are just meant for entertainment and they seem to portray people in a more favorable light, but in this case,  they must have been hard pressed to make the moviemakers even believe how good he really was...

Eric Liddell (and it is pronounced as it it rhymes with middle) was actually born in China of Scottish missionaries.  He excelled in athletics and was not only good at track but was also very good at rugby and had to make a choice between the two since he didn't have time for both.
As depicted in the movie, "Chariots of Fire", he won a gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in the men's 400 metres...which really was not his best race.  He was predicted to win in the 100 metres, but refused to do so since it was scheduled for a Sunday.  (He knew this beforehand but in the movie, they depict it as if he only found out about it just the day before.  To me, it makes it even more startling, since he had even more pressure upon him to make this race ...and he still refused.)

Eric Liddell returned to China to work as a Christian missionary and also worked with his brother, who was a doctor.  He married a Canadian woman who was also there with her missionary parents but he had her leave (with their two young daughters and she was pregnant with a third)  when  World War II broke out.  He was imprisoned in an internment camp and was an inspiration to all who knew him. It was discovered only recently that he could have been released but he gave up that place to another person, a pregnant woman.   Eric Liddell died on Feb. 21, 1945.   Langdon Gilkey, one of those in the camp with him, had this to say about him: " He was overflowing with good humour and love for life and with enthusiasm and charm.  It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known."   It pleases me that my church honors him on the Calendar of Saints.

If you have never seen the movie "Chariots of Fire", please watch it.  You can also watch actual scenes of Eric Liddell on Youtube and you will be amazed at how perfectly the actor portrayed him, with his head thrown back and arms flailing at his sides.  I tried very hard to get a clip on here from Youtube and it is "Chariots of Fire - Where Does the Power Come From?"  Just type that in on Youtube and please watch it...I really have worked to get that on here but I've not been able to do so!   I have heard that there is a movie in the works about what happened after "Chariots of Fire", if anyone hears anything else about it, please let me know!    Oh, can you tell that this movie is one of my absolute FAVORITES?  It is!