Why are we here?
messageofhope | Reflection | Sunday July 4 2010Integrating Faith and Sports
Gospel: Lk 10:1-10
Week of 7/4/10
Brett Illig
Founder/Director
The Message of Hope Foundation
In this past week’s Gospel, we are asked to do His work.
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’” Lk 10: 1-10
Why are we here?
Over this past holiday weekend I was away with my family in Ocean City, NJ. Anyone who is from the Tri-State area knows that “the shore” during this particular weekend can be very crowded. And so on Sunday morning in the course of deciding on which Mass to attend I knew I had to leave a little bit early even though I was only about 3 blocks from the church. I got myself ready and off I went. As I was sitting in the pew about ten minutes before the Mass started I noticed the droves of people that kept piling in from all of the doors. As I slid into the middle of the pew I realized that the seats were going quickly and with 5 minutes before the start, the church was filled to capacity. As the Mass started and I tried to “get centered” I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the doors that by this time just stayed open with everyone coming in and in and in…I began to wonder what a cool sight to see. On a very busy and crowded holiday weekend, sunny one too, the church was beyond capacity and people were still trying to get in.
As I began to listen to the readings I couldn’t help but to look at everyone around me and start wondering. I began to wonder why are we here? What was it that drove us here on this beautiful sunny morning at the beach? Was it out of duty? Was it out of faith? Was it due to a death of a loved one or maybe a loss of a job? Was it a physical ailment or a bad week at work? Did some have family issues or problems looking at themselves in the mirror? Or was it all of the above?
As I began to wonder about all of these questions, there was a sense of peace that was present as I watched the faces of my brothers and sisters. A sense of peace that for whatever reason we were there, Christ was there with us. That He was meeting us where we were. Because of our known brokenness, we can begin to heal in Him.
Then the gospel reading came and I began to think this through again. Why are we here? You mean besides getting healing we are to be sent and spread the gospel to others? The peace was beginning to erode a little bit as I began to become a little fearful. “God use me?” Does He know who He is talking too? Does He know my weaknesses and shortcomings? Not only that, I began to wonder about what others would think of me too. “Who does He think He is?” “We know him, what a hypocrite.” As I began going down this stream of consciousness, there once again became a peace in me as I thought about Jacob from the Old Testament.
In Genesis 32, Jacob is depicted with wrestling with God (through an angel) and coming out with a new name, Israel. Oh, and most importantly, he came out walking with a limp. I began to find that peace again as I asked myself, what is the alternative of these fears, not to wrestle with God? Not to attempt to do the will of God in my life? I began to look around again at all of the faces. Despite our ailments both physically and emotionally, and probably because of our ailments, we are to be sent and spread the good news. How counter-cultural this is, yet how fulfilling and full of grace.
As we “were sent” walking out of Mass, my mind again began to spin. Where are these people going? Back to their houses or to the beach, or maybe to the ball field to play or coach? And I began to think about the roles of coaches, players, and parents in the context of our athletic fields. What does spreading the good news look like in the athletic harvest?
We can Imagine
We are saved so we have Hope. And through this Hope we can imagine. And when we imagine we begin to serve in His name.
“Imagine sport programs where every player feels safe, valued, affirmed and challenged to be the best they are capable of becoming. Imagine coaches implementing the idea that the physical, intellectual, social, emotional and moral well-being of players is part of every coach’s responsibility. Imagine leagues and institutions providing a safe and supportive environment for healthy competition where parents are fully invested and engaged. Imagine this not as the exception but as the rule at every level of sport, from tee-ball to high school to college. Imagine sports and coaching used to initiate individual, communal and societal change throughout America.” Joe Ehrmann
We can imagine this type of sports culture because we are sent out to do His work. We can imagine this love for others and ourselves in our uniforms because we are loved from God in ways we can’t begin to consider. We can imagine a sports culture from “game faces” to “loving faces” because we are renewed in the Spirit. We can imagine because we have Hope. Hope in the One that has changed the course of humanity once and for all…including the harvests of our locker rooms, sidelines, and stands of our athletic fields.
