READING 1:
Jeremiah 17:5-8 Psalm
1 READING 2: 1 Corinthians 15:12,16-20 GOSPEL: Luke 6:17, 20-26
The Vince Lombardy trophy has been awarded. The Indianapolis Colts won. Congratulations to all their fans. Vince Lombardy once asked: “If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?” Today’s readings suggest a half time talk for the fans. The 1 st reading from Jeremiah tells the people to trust God not conventional wisdom. The very first pf the Psalms tells us to hope in God. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that if their hopes in Christ are limited to the immediate concerns of this life only then we are pitiable. And Jesus advises all his followers to play through the pain as he delivered his Beatitudes. It is easy to be a fan of The Game when the season is new. The weather is terrific; the team is beginning anew with an unblemished record and high expectations; the players have just left training camp in excellent shape and usually injury-free. The excitement of a new season draws people who might not really be interested in the game. There are parties to go to, new clothes and souvenirs to buy, predictions to be made, bets to be placed. But as the season wears on the harsher realities of the game begin to manifest themselves. The pristine record from week one gets tarnished as the team battles opponents week after week. Players suffer injuries. Critics become more vocal. There is a seemingly endless list of things that can and do go wrong. Sound at all like your lives? Anyone can be a fan during the prosperous times—that means nothing. Real fans are expected to take on the suffering of their heroes if they are to assume a genuine role in the game. Suffering for the sake of the team might be easy or difficult. Suffering is much easier to endure when an obvious reward is in sight. Fans don’t mind sitting in a deluge in Miami if their team is reaching toward a National Championship. The reasons for suffering seem justifiable when a goal is clearly established and is well in sight. What’s harder to understand is why anyone would endure harsh conditions when no reward seems assured—when the team is teetering on the brink of failure. What reason could there possibly be for putting up with suffering then? This is a very human attitude. What makes the game difficult to follow is that it calls for attitudes quite contrary to those of human nature. True love, for the team, for a husband or wife, or anything in our lives, cannot be subject to any conditions; it cannot be subject to how we feel. Vince Lombardy said many other things worth repeating. Maybe the one that applies most to the beatitudes is, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” True love is a commitment. It must always be present, in good times and in bad. Our team can’t win every game; nor can it compete every season. We can’t place unrealistic expectations on those we love, for we could not live up to them ourselves. Loving our team means staying with them through all circumstances. “When you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” Even when a reward doesn’t seem to be in sight, love and loyalty always bring with them hidden rewards. My friends, today’s readings assure us we can trust God, so keep the faith and live in hope so that your love will be ever lasting. Vince Lombardy could have been referring to our Good News when he said: : “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious.”Fr. Jeff McGowan |
