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They said it couldn't be done. People for decades had said it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes. The great American miler Glenn Cunningham had held the world standard of 4:06.4 in 1934, but it was a Swedish runner, Gunder Haag, who clocked an amazing time of 4:01.4 in 1945, a record which stood for nearly a decade. Although the four-minute mile appeared physically and more importantly psychologically unattainable, the standard did fall on May 7, 1954, when a British medical student, Roger Bannister, in a dual meet at Oxford University, broke the tape in 3:59.4. Roger Bannister had proved the world wrong.

In many ways Bannister had spent his whole life running. Born and raised in England, Roger ran from those who told him that the lofty dreams he held were impossible. He came from a poor and less-educated family and thus his dream to become a physician seemed remote at best. But Roger Bannister did not allow obstacles or outside influences to derail him from the goal which he had set. He gained admission to one of the world's most prestigious universities, Oxford, and then went on to St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London. Bannister ran track at both schools, earning British championships in the mile run in 1951, 1953, and 1954, and a European title in the 1500 meters in 1954.

Bannister was a gifted athlete who studied the mechanics of running. This knowledge helped him run faster, but it was his determination to keep his mind fixed on the goal that resulted in the first sub-four-minute mile. Roger Bannister's ability to keep his objective in focus and not allow the overly pragmatic to influence him made the impossible possible.

The setting of goals and the pursuit of their accomplishment is an integral part of our daily human drama. Everyone sets goals, some of which are accomplished and others which we fail to achieve. It is appropriate when speaking of something as basically human as the setting and attainment of goals that Saint Peter, who the Gospels depict as the most human of apostles, is at the center of today's reading. Peter demonstrates his humanity most visibly in his failures and faith. The apostle many times does not understand Jesus and the mission which the Lord must undertake. We recall that immediately after Jesus calls Peter the rock (Matthew 16:18), the foundation of the new Church, the apostle tells the Lord that he must be spared his predicted death. Peter fails to comprehend the big picture; he does not understand Jesus' mission as savior and the need for his salvific death. None of us as well can forget Peter's failure the night of Jesus' arrest and his three denials of the Lord. Yet, it is this same Peter who, after the Resurrection, is described in the Acts of the Apostles as one who possesses a rock-like faith which allows him to perform great signs and miracles.

Today's familiar Gospel passage describes another failure of Peter -- his lack of faith. More importantly, however, we see how the forces which surrounded Peter derailed him from achieving his goal -- union with the Lord. Jesus asks Peter to come to him on the water; his goal is to reach the Lord. Initially Peter is fine because he keeps his eye and mind on the goal. Then, as Matthew describes it, Peter allows the wind, an outside force, to distract him. The apostle's inability to keep focused on his goal causes him to fail. On a human level Peter realizes that it is impossible to walk on the water. He probably said to himself, "I can't do this." His shallow faith is easily compromised when he allows the wind and waves to be of more concern than the goal of reaching Jesus. Thus, he begins to sink until the Lord reaches out and saves him. Peter allowed things on the outside to cloud his vision. Matthew tells us that the apostle was fine until he began to fear the wind; then he began to sink. Jesus criticizes Peter for his lack of faith, the doubt he possessed which kept him from his goal.

We must be like Roger Bannister and keep our sight fixed on the goals we set, even if people say they are impossible. We cannot allow outside influences -- people, situations, or events -- to keep us from achieving our objectives. In the days of the great sailing ships, when a vessel encountered a storm, all hands were sent to their duty stations until the crisis passed. One day as a storm arose, a young cabin boy was sent to the crow's nest above the main mast to act as a lookout. As he climbed, the howl of the wind and the rocking of the ship caused him to look down and he began to waver. Fearing the boy would fall, an old sailor shouted to the lad, "Look up to your goal; don't look down." The sailor could well have spoken to Peter; he speaks to us today as well. We cannot allow the wind and surf in our life to steal away the one true goal of our life -- union with Jesus.

Life today is not easy. Every day the world becomes more complex and we become increasingly busy. Life is a flurry of dynamism; nothing seems static any longer. More than once I am sure each one of us has felt that our life could be titled, like the popular television program of the 1970s, Mission Impossible. In each episode the head of the Impossible Missions Force (the IMF) was offered an assignment for his team which could be accepted or rejected.
Like the program, it appears on the surface that we have an option to reject the mission offered to us. We think we can opt out, throw in the towel, and surrender to the multitude of forces which make our contemporary existence a challenge -- what we might label Mission Impossible. But the true Christian has only one option. We cannot avoid reality but we must do our best to meet the challenges that reality brings with all the weapons at our disposal. Author David Knight says the true Christian is one who tackles reality and does his/her best to keep focused on the goal, which is union with our Lord.

Many people, events, and things encountered along the path of life will vie for our attention. Some of these outside forces will foster our relationship with God and assist us along the road to our goal. Others, however, will be like the wind and surf which frightened Peter, made him shift his focus away from his goal, and led to his failure. We must keep our attention focused on Jesus and our goal to find union with him. The allure of the world, fascination with created things, and "prophets of the impossible" gain many adherents in our world. We, as followers of Jesus, must demonstrate a different attitude that places our relationship with the Lord as our highest and most desired goal -- one from which we cannot be deterred.

Roger Bannister, a medical student from England with a few running titles to his name, did what was thought to be humanly impossible in running a sub-four-minute mile. He possessed many native physical skills and worked hard in perfecting them. He achieved a place in sports history, however, by keeping his attention fixed on his goal and not allowing outside forces, especially soothsayers who said it was impossible, to derail his drive. Let us set our goal on Jesus and concentrate all our efforts toward the promotion of his reign. Our reward in heaven will be great!