A few springs ago, Western Oregon State played Central
Washington University in women’s softball for the conference
championship. An NCAA playoff spot was on the line. With two on,
Western Oregon’s Sara Tucholsky connected to hit a home run clearing
the center field fence. It was Sara’s first home run ever. A part-time
starter in the outfield, Sara, a senior, had only 3 hits in 34 at-bats all
season.
But as she circled the bases, Sara fell and hurt her knee. The five-
foot-two-inch senior lay crumpled in the dirt a few feet from first base—
and a long way from home plate.
Her teammates ran to help her—but their coaches stopped them:
According to the rules, if any teammate ran on to the field, Sara would
be called out. The umpires said that if Sara could make it back to first
base, a pinch runner could be substituted—but Sara’s home run would be scored a single. Any assistance from coaches or trainers while Sara
was an active runner would result in an out.
While Western Oregon was deciding its next move, the first
baseman for Central Washington asked the umpire chief if she and her
teammates could help her. The umpire knew of no rule against the
opposing team helping the player—so two Central Washing players put
their arms under Sara’s legs and Sara put her arms around their
shoulders and the three headed around the base paths, stopping to let
Sara touch each base.
Central Washington’s compassion cost them. They lost the game
—and the playoff berth—4.2.
But that didn’t seem to faze Central Washington. “In the end, it’s
not about winning and losing so much”, Washington’s first baseman
Mallory Holtman said. “It was about this girl. She’s a senior; it’s her
last year. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a
home run. It was the right thing to do”.
This ultimate act of sportsmanship mirrors the generosity of spirit and humility of heart that Jesus asks of us in today’s Gospel. When Jesus calls his disciples to embrace the simple faith of “little ones”, he is not
saying that our approach to faith should be “watered down” to the level
of children. He is calling us, instead, to embrace a faith that is centered
in the love and compassion of God: love that is not compromised by
self-interest and rationalization, compassion that is not measured but
given completely and unreservedly. Christ is asking us to embrace a
faith that is simple, pure and honest—not complicated and compromised
by “adult stuff” like winning and losing. May the “wise and learned”
among us embrace the spirit of generosity and selflessness exhibited by
the Central Washing University women’s softball team—the class of the
NCAA.
Archive for the ‘14th Sunday’ Category
The Class of the NCAA 7-5-2020
Sunday, July 5th, 2020Instruments of Peace, Who Me? 7-7-2019
Sunday, July 7th, 2019Lord, we hear today that You sent many others out before us as
instruments of Your peace, and I am told that You want all of us here to
be instruments of Your peace; I am feeling a little overwhelmed by all of
this and so I have to ask, where do we begin?
A woman was standing on a curb, waiting for the light to say
WALK so that she could cross the street. Directly across from her on the
opposite curb was a girl of about 17. She too was waiting for the light to
say WALK so that she could cross the street.
The woman couldn’t help but notice that the girl was crying. In
fact, her grief was so great that she made no effort to hide it. For a
moment their eyes met. It was only a fleeting glance, but it was enough
for the woman to see the terrible pain that filled the girl’s eyes. Then the
girl looked away.
At that moment the light changed. Each stepped off the curb into
the street and started across. As the girl approached, the woman could
see that she was quite pretty, except for that terrible grief in her face.
Just as they were about to meet, the woman’s motherly instincts came
rushing to the surface. Every part of her wanted to reach out and comfort that girl. The desire was all the more great because the girl was
about the same age as one of her own daughters.
But the woman passed her by. She didn’t even greet her. She just
passed her by. Hours later the pain-filled eyes of that girl continued to
haunt the woman. Over and over the woman said to herself, “Why
didn’t I turn, fall in step with her, and say, ‘Can I help?’ But I didn’t. I
walked on by. Sure, she might have rejected me and thought me a nosey
person. But, so what! “Only a few seconds would have been lost, but
those few seconds would have been enough to let her know that someone cared. But, instead, I walked on by. I acted as if she didn’t
even exist.”
I have been reminded many times that a person in need does not
always need a great expenditure of our energy, or our time, or our money. What they need most is a simple and sincere sign that we care.
Our Scriptures this week, last week and next week, do not invite us
to go out, risk our lives, and become religious heroes or superstars; they
invite us to reach out, risk our pride, and become humans; they invite us
to ask sincerely, “Can I help?” Instruments of Your peace . . . “Can I
help?” – that is where we begin.
