Opening Day

It is the weekend of the Final Four, the climax of March Madness, the Big Dance. But it is also the last weekend of spring training, and Monday is Opening Day.

Steve Spencer, our friend at Wheaton College, reaches for his Opening Day tie. Today he will teach theology through stories of the Cubs (longsuffering hope) and the White Sox (inexplicable grace). Down at the ballpark, box seats and bleachers buzz with people who realize for at least one day that the economy will survive without them. The familiar voice of John Fogerty carries over their happy conversation:

Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
We're born again, there's new grass on the field.
A-roundin' third, and headed for home, it's a brown-eyed handsome man;
Anyone can understand the way I feel.

Oh, put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be Centerfield

Hope abounds. The past is forgotten, and every team is tied for first. The new kid has a chance to bat 1.000. Both starters are thinking no-hitter. Even the vendors are giddy. Intensity can wait for the playoffs; today the atmosphere is simply buoyant.

I love this moment.

I ask myself, Why do church worship services not feel more like this? Why do they often feel more like a baseball game in late August, when the team is tired, the sun is hot, and the few faithful fans either revisit past glory or talk about next year? Do we need to sign some free agents and release those who have performed badly? Do we need to take a few months off and start over? Or is the problem my own expectation? Have we lost the pace of the liturgical year? Have I forgotten the excitement approaching with Easter?

But such thoughts travel the wrong direction. To paraphrase Buechner, I am Adam, and today is my birthday. It is Opening Day, minutes from the first pitch. It is a wonderful moment, a good gift from God who gives us all things to enjoy. Hope abounds.

Bob