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January 29, 2023: Seek the Lord
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Here’s a couple problems with us New England Patriots fans; first, we’re spoiled, which makes us more like New York Yankees fans rather than, say, Baltimore Orioles fans, a group of thousands who forgot what it’s like to win the whole shebang in the sport of baseball. The Orioles (not the cookie) forgot what it’s like to have a victory parade travel through the heart of their city as thousands celebrate, get intoxicated, hopefully making it back home safely without getting pick-pocketed. In seminary, I spent five years in Baltimore, a good city, rich in history (Babe Ruth was born there, Betsy Ross did her thing in Baltimore for America), similar to Boston, but with a better waterfront called the Inner Harbor. And after spending five years there, all thoughts of hosting a city-wide parade one future day for the Baltimore Orioles have dissipated. And this was the mindset almost 20 years ago. It’s a good thing for that city the Baltimore Ravens came along, replacing the Baltimore Colts whom Indianapolis stole from Baltimore in the middle of the night, winning a couple Super Bowls. Otherwise, that city would be lost in space. Us Patriots fans? We’re spoiled when our team does not make it to the Super Bowl, never mind being shut out from the playoffs altogether like this year.
And second, when the above happens – and this is where it gets dangerous – football fans in New England who wish to watch playoff football are now forced to go looking for another team to support and root for. This is almost like enjoying a root canal or open-heart surgery. Admit it, it’s really tough to go from 20 years’ worth of knowing without question that our team was either going to the Super Bowl, or give one heck of a try trying to get there. It certainly took a village all those years to go that far into the football playoffs. But we all know in our heart of hearts that one guy, one player, one handsome quarterback the women love so much, was the main reason for making first, the playoffs, and second, advancing to the Big Game in a warm weather climate. When Tom left for whatever the reasons, so left our chances of being spoiled any longer.
The past few years, we’ve been forced to, hmm, halfheartedly choose another team for those who stayed tuned to professional football at this time of the year. We know in the deepness of our hearts that if we, say, root for the Dallas Cowboys, or San Francisco 49ers, or the Buffalo Bills, the same level of support cannot be mustered up. Not even close. It’s almost like we’re trying to live out the glory of our own team through that of another team. At the end of the day, this simply does not work. It brings very little joy if the “secondary team” goes on to win the Super Bowl. No tears of joy; no celebrations; no staying up into the wee hours of the morning to soak in the victorious interviews with players and coaches of the New England Patriots; no getting up late for work the next day, or even calling in sick on the Monday after the Super Bowl. All the fun stuff is removed when we are forced to choose another team that is not ours, rooting for them at a 5% clip, and witness them win a game on the biggest stage there is, when we just watched our team do the same for years on end, making it a routine annual experience for fans in the land of, not milk and honey, but snow and cold. Yes, Tom used to make our winter days warmer around here. Instead, we’re looking a little too much like the Baltimore Orioles. God bless the Baltimore Orioles, but we’re not interested in looking like you when it comes to the sport of professional football in these parts. I guess they have some work to do in Foxboro.
To transfer this logic to our faith lives, which I believe works just fine, when we have the best God there is in the universe, and the only God there is in the universe, and He loves us with all His might, let’s make certain we never treat Him like He was traded to a team in Florida, left us for good, and never coming back to us. The Israelites certainly knew this experience in the Old Testament, but it was because of their own doing. They lost God as the first and only leader of their team because they got rid of Him, wanting to replace God with some other teams that cannot satisfy the human heart the way God can and does. God is God forever and ever. But, for some strange reason(s), we curious humans lean toward the habit of looking for a second team in this most important area of life. For whatever reason(s), us human beings have the tendency to search for some other team to satisfy our professional need of spiritual and physical satisfaction. Why is this? I don’t get it. Whatever happened to the words given to Moses from above, “There are no other gods before me?”
The difference here, of course, is that God is never knocked out of the playoffs of our lives. He makes our playoffs, not only every year like Tom did, but every day, reflecting how much and how often we need God as our Leader and Teammate. There is no earthly force capable or strong enough to rid our Creator from being the first team (Father, Son Spirit) we root for. Now there’s an interesting twist; God roots for us every moment of our lives. The proof is found in the all-encompassing event of Jesus dying for each of us in the deepest personal way. But do we root for God? Or, do we get volatile and angry at the Divine in our weakness, believing that God has been traded to another team, or has retired and left the league altogether? I love the idea of rooting for God at a time in human history when, by appearances, the devil seems to be winning the game a little too often. And it’s not that God needs our rooting against a creature like Satan, for God is all-powerful and can wipe out the devil in a whim. This will happen, of course, and in the realest sense has happened in Jesus’ victory on the Cross. But, the actual wiping out of the devil from all things on earth, especially the in the hearts and actions of God’s people, will be settled for eternity when Jesus returns.
The problem here, of course, is that in this world we can still choose to root for a team, or go over to another team, that in our heart of hearts we have no business rooting for, and really don’t want to at the end of the day. I can speak only for myself in this matter by saying that God is the first and only team (Father, Son, Spirit) I wish to “root for” in this world of brokenness and blessings. Our life begins and ends with this Team. I love the blessings, especially that of 20 years of victories and excitement that came from Foxboro, not to mention Big Papi and what they’ve accomplished down the road at Fenway. I love the million times more important blessings of baptizing a child, leaving a holy, indelible mark on their souls forever. Or marrying a couple in the Sacrament of Matrimony, which every baptized Catholic in the world has the responsibility to perform in the Church when they get married. (Destination weddings I totally oppose, as does God’s Church, unless on the other end a priest or deacon is the person accepting the vows of man and woman. God intends the Catholic relationship of husband and wife to be Sacramental. This is another column for another day.) There are countless blessings to ponder on this journey.
However, it’s the brokenness we all experience that should lead us to God being the first team we root for. It’s in such moments, from sickness and disease, to financial worries and loss of loved ones, from relationships and broken families that take a grave toll on children, youth, and adults. When such things happen, touching all of us in the most personal ways, and when our death is staring us in the face someday saying, “I’m coming for you,” it’s in these moments when we root for God’s Team to be ever near. Next to us and within us. Our rooting for God’s Team is not to be helter-skelter, here one day and not the next. Rooting for God’s Team has no season, per se, like a football or baseball season. Each year they have a start and finish. Our rooting for God’s Team is all the time. The Israelites in the Old Testament found out rather harshly what happens when they turned their back on God and replaced the Lord as their first team, going over to false gods. Our present culture excels at doing this, especially in the areas of materialism and sexuality. False gods in these two areas of bad living run rampant in 2023. Avoid them, as they call your name. Father, Son, and Spirit are THE TEAM.
In the Book of Zephaniah in this week’s first reading, the call is put out by the Prophet; “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.” Yes, seek the Lord, for reasons given by the Prophet, for sure. So that we will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger, not forgetting on our part that God gets angry at a few too many human choices that tell the Lord we’ve left his team and went over to another. But central to this column is “Seek the Lord.” Make God our daily Friend, Companion, Teammate, Pilot, our first choice and Partner on this journey. God deserves this level of attention and commitment on our part, blessing us with the gift of life, and bringing us, through Jesus, to the life that never ends. Thank you to Tom for bringing much joy and victories through a short couple of decades. He was a great teammate in his own right. But in the bigger picture…Well you know who we root for with all our heart, soul, mind, and being.