Yesterday was the Major League Baseball All-Star game. As many of you know I am a huge baseball fan and so any opportunity where all the best (OK, maybe not all the best) Major Leaguers get together for a night of pseudo-meaningless exhibition flanked by some of the best players EVER in attendance you can be sure I am going to watch. The festivities included Barak Obama throwing out the 1st pitch wearing a Chicago White Sox's (his favorite team) jacket which breaks the streak of baseball impartiality by our Commanders-In-Chief, poorly sung national songs, and one of my favorite baseball past-times: speculation.
Speculation is welcome at every sporting event and certainly it is in spades at All-Star games. What better place to gaze into the baseball crystal ball and figure out who will win the batting title, or the Cy Young, or who might have all the right stuff to make it to Cooperstown - the Baseball Hall of Fame. Everyone who engages in such an undertaking has their own personal criteria as to why Albert Pujols is a lock for the Hall and why someone like Vladmir Guerrero might not be. When you hear announcers talk about players they tend to talk about stats and perhaps the kind of people they are. When retired players and especially Hall of Famers talk about potential Hall-mates they tend to talk about approach of the game, and their commitment to playing the game right. When fans engage in the same speculation they tend to talk about accomplishments like making the All-Star game, Batting Titles, and game wining performances. Which one is the most valid? Which proof carries with it the most weight, the most predictive power?
The above comic helps me see that the life of faith is a lot like the speculation that takes place at the All-Star game. We tend to engage in speculation about the will of God, the state of the world, and other mysteries & paradoxes of faith with support based off of our own criteria. Perhaps you draw from experience, perhaps it is from Scripture, perhaps tradition, maybe it comes from the monkeys on your underwear but where ever it does come from it is compelling enough to become a foundation of your faith. Now, some religious folks may be interested in telling you that your criteria is wrong and then not-so-subtly tell you the "right" (aka. their) criteria for Truth. I am going to avoid that. What I will say is that no matter if it is the Monkeys or Scripture we should all strive for a faith rooted in experiences of the Divine - no matter where they are to be found. By opening ourselves up to encounters with Truth we can be challenged and shaped in a way that is not possible when our speculative criteria is too rigid. Let all of us remain open and flexible to what God will show us throughout our lifetimes!
Speculation is welcome at every sporting event and certainly it is in spades at All-Star games. What better place to gaze into the baseball crystal ball and figure out who will win the batting title, or the Cy Young, or who might have all the right stuff to make it to Cooperstown - the Baseball Hall of Fame. Everyone who engages in such an undertaking has their own personal criteria as to why Albert Pujols is a lock for the Hall and why someone like Vladmir Guerrero might not be. When you hear announcers talk about players they tend to talk about stats and perhaps the kind of people they are. When retired players and especially Hall of Famers talk about potential Hall-mates they tend to talk about approach of the game, and their commitment to playing the game right. When fans engage in the same speculation they tend to talk about accomplishments like making the All-Star game, Batting Titles, and game wining performances. Which one is the most valid? Which proof carries with it the most weight, the most predictive power?
The above comic helps me see that the life of faith is a lot like the speculation that takes place at the All-Star game. We tend to engage in speculation about the will of God, the state of the world, and other mysteries & paradoxes of faith with support based off of our own criteria. Perhaps you draw from experience, perhaps it is from Scripture, perhaps tradition, maybe it comes from the monkeys on your underwear but where ever it does come from it is compelling enough to become a foundation of your faith. Now, some religious folks may be interested in telling you that your criteria is wrong and then not-so-subtly tell you the "right" (aka. their) criteria for Truth. I am going to avoid that. What I will say is that no matter if it is the Monkeys or Scripture we should all strive for a faith rooted in experiences of the Divine - no matter where they are to be found. By opening ourselves up to encounters with Truth we can be challenged and shaped in a way that is not possible when our speculative criteria is too rigid. Let all of us remain open and flexible to what God will show us throughout our lifetimes!
No comments:
Post a Comment