My son plays baseball- a lot of baseball. He is on two different teams. Since Sunday, he has played 5 games. He plays on high school now and plays MLB rules except when it comes to substituting players, number of innings played and tie breaker rules. It is real baseball. And it has always made me think a lot about the really good theology found in baseball. It is good stuff. And for reasons not clear to me yet, baseball has become my church. I have found an entire community of people I love and spend a lot of time with in contemplative silence watching grass grow in the outfield or gazing at the sky wondering if we can squeeze the last inning in before the bottom falls out. I love everyone of (OK- I am using hyperbole here- just about everyone) my baseball friends and I do love every little now half grown man-boys I have ever watch play the game. And that is what healthy community does- it teaches you to love through thick and thin, how to behave reasonably like adults, resolve conflict and just plain love each other no matter what. God meant for us to live relationally and I can think of no better way than to follow a baseball team.
Our community always meets at least weekly and usually three times and repeats the same rituals. The rituals center us and bind us together. We put our chairs in nice pew-like rows and face the diamond-like nave. In the middle of this diamond is a piece of earth a little higher than the field. Kind of like those mounts Jesus was famous for sitting on and talking. And we watch the pitcher begin his sermon on the mound for the batter. From fast balls to curve balls to change ups to sliders, the pitchers teaches the batter how to pay attention to life. Life lessons are taught in those at bats. And you do have to pay attention to the pitcher or a change up is going to fool you every time. The spiritual life is alot like that. It requires constant attention or you fall asleep and a change up is going to fool you or you sit back and wait on the perfect pitch and watch it come right across the plate and you never swing the bat. And sometimes that perfect pitch is thrown and you drive it. You drive right down the left base line.
Jesus told us about striking out too. He told he knew we would strike out a lot. And still he raises his fist in triumph, declaring... "thata boy...I knew you could hit it." In fact Jesus expects us to fail more than we do. As a matter of fact, he told Peter he would do it three times in a day. But you strike out, you learn from your mistake, you move on. You don't dwell on it. It is ok to strike out. Babe Ruth struck out 33% of the time. Now I know what you are thinking and this would be the point...BUT he is remembered for the other 66% of the time. As we will be. It is our successes that should define us not our failures. You will get another at bat. So don't worry in that batter box. Stay close to home plate, see the ball and drive it. And as batting coaches are always saying...pu that a bat behind you. Forget about it. It is done. And Jesus is like that too. His short term memory is basically non existent. He does keep a list of wrongs committed. He just smiles and says, "Well, ok you made a mess of things...now go out there and play the glove. That was just one inning guys." God really doesn't keep up with our failures nearly as much as we do. In fact, God doesn't have to, we do such a wonderful job of that ourselves.
And as in the spiritual life, you are going to get walked sometimes. Some things just come easy and with no effort and we forget to say grace. Any way on is what we say in baseball. Any way on the bag. It matters not how you get to first base as long as you. On base percentage is way more important than batting averages. Just ask the Oakland As. And when it is easy, say grace.
And as in the spiritual life, you are going to have wear a few pitches. I remember one night in TN, Davis got hit so hard by a pitch (he was 10), that it left the seam marks on his back for a week. He didn't flinch until he got to the bag and then he collapsed. I yelled, "Its ok Davis, I have ice. Now make sure you steal second." I have been known to yell a time or too..."You gotta wear that one..." My girlfriend with the great shoes thinks I am too hard core and have slipped into the darker side of baseball and I have. But, you really do need to get to first base, because the only way home is through first.
Swinging the bat is important and you have to do it everyday just like a prayer. You keep swinging and you keep praying.
Now sometimes we pray for the wrong things. Like in baseball, some batters like those high fast pitches. But you gotta lay off the high stuff. Sometimes the change up fool us and we forget the basics of praying thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And every once in a while, you get thrown a curve and wind up praying those begging prayers. It is all good. The praying, the constant praying is all good.
No comments:
Post a Comment